Sorted by date Results 3024 - 3048 of 7158
Rachel Newport's Peruvian turkey soup and Bev Siercks' crabapple cordial were named best in show in this year's Brew and Stew Festival hosted by the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Petersburg Ragnarök Rollers on Friday. There were 28 submissions in this year's festival, up from the 21 submissions last year. Contestants entered homemade "brews" and "stews" in various categories and were judged by participants in the festival who went around sampling each submission. Though each category had...
The borough is in the process of renewing an agreement with the state to receive $6,200 annually for the maintenance of the Ernie Haugen public use area, according to Public Works Director Chris Cotta at an assembly meeting on Monday. At an assembly meeting last month, the borough assembly approved letters to Sen. Bert Stedman and Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins asking them to inquire into cooperative agreements between the borough and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for the management...
Leila Gharbi recounted her journey from Newfoundland to Port Townsend, Washington through the Northwest Passage, while sharing pictures and stories to a captive audience at the Petersburg Public Library last Wednesday. Gharbi was working for a film archive in Paris, one of the most famous archives in the county, when she read the book, "Woman at Sea" by Cathrine Poulain. The novel tells the story of Lili, a French woman who leaves her country in search of adventure and ends up working on a...
Petersburg's Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla is down to zero members, and if at least five members don't joined by February, the flotilla could be dissolved. Division One Commander F. Stuart Robards and Ketchikan Flotilla Commander Renee Schofield held two meetings this week encouraging members of the public to join the local Coast Guard Auxiliary. From 2015-2018, Ketchikan's flotilla almost disbanded as members retired and remaining members were unable to fill their roles, according to...
After the tree lighting ceremony on Friday, Erin Kandoll, of Twisted Ginger Designs, revealed a collection of rosemal inspired jewelry at FireLight Gallery & Framing. During the holidays, Kandoll always notices that people around town like to don their Norwegian sweaters to keep warm as temperatures drop. To accompany the town’s holiday attire, Kandoll handmade 135 pairs of earrings, 35 necklaces, 28 rings and four cuff bracelets with rosemal designs. “I really just had fun with it this yea...
In a couple of months, Petersburg High School senior Kole Sperl has turned a pile of aluminum sheets into a skiff. He has plenty of work left to do before it's seaworthy but Sperl said in its current state, it would float. "There might be a couple leaks that I'd have to patch, but it'll definitely float," said Sperl. "All the main welding is done down by the water line." Sperl spends anywhere from one and a half hours to three hours a week working on his skiff as part of his marine fabrication...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A new study of environmental threats to Alaska Native communities has found the greatest challenges include erosion, flooding and thawing permafrost. Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Sunday that the study results issued last month found the environmental hazards continue to worsen due to climate change. The Army Corps of Engineers and researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducted the study for the Denali Commission’s Village Infrastructure Protection Program. Officials say the three-year, $700,000 study exami...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Last December, poor weather scrambled Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s inaugural plans, a bumpy start to a turbulent year marked by budget disputes and a recall threat. Dunleavy told The Associated Press recently he hopes to move past the rancor. Whether he can repair strained relationships with legislators and calm the public anger over cuts that fueled the recall push will be telling. Courts will decide whether the recall effort advances. The Republican, who marks a year in office Tuesday, defended the cuts as a tough decisio...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Cub Scout Pack 10 came face-to-face with nature in the Harborview Elementary School cafeteria. After creating bird-enrichment toys, the Scouts met Juneau Raptor Center education ambassador birds Phil and Justice, a “very social” gyrfalcon and fish-head-loving bald eagle, on Nov. 22. Scouts like 8-year-old Oliver Robertson and 9-year-old Joseph Race kept their eyes trained on the birds, speaking up whenever one made sudden movement or sounds. “He’s trying to say something,” one Scout said in earnest after Phil squawked. T...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The committee that will plan Alaska’s redistricting that occurs every 10 years is set to begin meeting, officials said. The state’s Redistricting Planning Committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting Wednesday in Anchorage, KTOO-FM reported Monday. Redistricting involves redrawing Alaska’s legislative districts to align with figures from the federal census, which also occurs once every decade, officials said. Final decisions about where district lines are drawn will be made by a separate redistricting board authori...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A southeast Alaska commercial fisherman convicted of fishing in a state research area has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined more than $35,000. Alaska State Troopers say 45-year-old Jonathan McGraw Jr. of Naukati Bay pleaded guilty last week to fishing in closed waters of Whale Pass and providing false information on a fish ticket. Both are misdemeanors. Wildlife troopers determined that McGraw in late 2017 and early 2018 harvested sea cucumbers in the research area where commercial diving is never p...
A public works crew worked from 7 P.M. on Nov. 20 to 2 A.M. the following morning to fix a leak in an 8-inch water main on 12th St. that was spurting out 250,000 gallons of water a day. The leak was first identified when an electronic leak detector was used to determine if there were leaks in any of the pipes throughout the city. The leak detector showed a major leak in the 8-inch water main on 12th St. at Haugen Dr., so Public Works Director Chris Cotta decided to dig into the ground to...
With the two-decades old lighted Christmas street decorations in tatters, both the Chamber of Commerce and the Petersburg Borough scrambled to find replacements this month. New decorations were priced at $500 each, according to Chamber Manager Mara Lutomski, but when board member Carrie Martinsen heard of the cost, she proposed that her company Tamico, Inc. fabricate the decorations for half the price. The original 16 snowflake designed ornaments were made of painted steel and were prone to...
Kim Aulbach has become Petersburg Post Office's new postmaster after the previous postmaster, Mark Eppihimer, transferred to Anchorage. Eppihimer was promoted to labor relations specialist and relocated to Anchorage in August. Once he left, Aulbach applied for the position while she and Nels Nielsen took on postmaster duties. On Oct. 12, she was promoted to postmaster. During her five and a half years with the post office, Aulbach said she would learn new skills every chance she got to increase...
The Petersburg Medical Center saw a 26 percent increase in net operating revenue for the month of October, reported Controller Rocio Tereja at a board of directors meeting last week. PMC expected a net operating revenue of $1,391,250 for October, but instead the net operating revenue was $363,780 higher for a total of $1,755,030. Total operating expenses were at $1,545,742, over the $1,391,250 that was budgeted. Despite coming in over budget, the total operating expenses were lower than the net...
Petersburg Medical Center was approved for a $100,000 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation to help offset the costs of a new drug room, CEO Phil Hofstetter told board members at a meeting last week. PMC is remodeling the part of the hospital where the drugs for chemotherapy are prepared to become compliant with standards that regulate the handling of hazardous drugs. Currently, the drugs are prepared in a negative pressure hood. The new drug room will have a negative pressure hood, room and storag...
Local berry pickers were treated to a plentiful harvest this year as warm weather helped the berries thrive throughout Mitkof Island. "It was unbelievable," said Marilyn Menish-Meucci. "There were berries everywhere. If you found a spot where there weren't berries, then something was really wrong." The season starts with salmonberries in June and as the weeks go by, other berries begin to ripen, said Menish-Meucci. Some of the berries that ripen after salmonberries, are blueberries, red...
Brooklyn Dormer, a soprano, was selected to perform in the all-state mixed choir at the All-State Music Festival in Anchorage on Saturday. She was the only student at Petersburg High School that was chosen to participate in the festival. She submitted an online audition in late September and then spent weeks practicing six songs in preparation for the festival. PHS music instructor Matt Lenhard was also awarded the music educator of the year by the Alaska Music Educators Association at the...
Garitt Johnston, 30, was indicted by a Grand Jury on Nov. 21 for his involvement with Eric Jennings, who had received a package with heroin, methamphetamine and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in it on Nov. 9. Johnston was indicted on one count of aiding or abetting the manufacturing or delivery of a schedule IA controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver and one count of aiding or abetting the possession with intent to manufacture or deliver any amount of a schedule IIA or IIIA...
Ashley Lohr let her artistic instincts and habits guide her in eight new compositions on display in a solo exhibit at the Clausen Memorial Museum. Lohr's pieces are abstracts that are dominated by elements of color and shapes. She held a similar exhibit last year, but this year, she decided to include circles in her art. The circles manifested through artistic instincts, the cycle of motherhood and her schedule. Two of her compositions show a cosmic influence. Lohr said she just let her...
A group of residents and property owners in Frederick Point East are trying to remove the undeveloped subdivision from service area one. The main reason the group is trying to remove Frederick Point East from service area one is that they pay a full 12.3 millage rate, but don't receive any services. The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of a property's assessed value that is used to calculate taxes within the borough. "There has been no services provided, nor has there been an intention of...
WRANGELL - Some Wrangell residents may remember Tod Jones. He was a Wrangell resident for about 20 years, from the '70s to the '90s. He first moved to the area to help start a fish hatchery in the Burnett Inlet with the Alaska Aquaculture Company. Wrangell resident Brian Ashton was his former operations manager, Jones mentioned. When the hatchery closed down around 1995, Jones moved away. After leaving Wrangell, Jones said he spent four years in Israel, then came back to the United States and...
WRANGELL - Mayor Steve Prysunka travelled to Washington D.C. last week to speak before the Senate Committee on Energy and National Resources. He was invited to speak on behalf of the National Association of Counties, an organization that works to advocate county priorities in federal policymaking. Prysunka spoke last Thursday, Nov. 21, on the importance of the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program and Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funds. "We're somewhat unique because we're actually the third...
WRANGELL - Plans are in motion to subdivide the old mill property around 6.5 mile Zimovia Highway, according to Terri Wenger with Anchor Properties. The property, currently owned by Betty Buhler, has been on the market for quite some time. On the Anchor Properties website the almost 39-acre lot is listed at $2.7 million. Wenger said that the plan is to subdivide the land into 11 lots, ranging in size from one to three acres. "I could be wrong, but I think that it could be possibly the biggest...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Free to a good home: One newspaper. Not a single edition of a paper but the entire newspaper. Publisher Larry Persily is willing to give away The Skagway News to the right person or couple who are willing to move to Skagway, Alaska, a cruise ship town that once boasted four newspapers during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush days. "The only way this paper has a long-term future, and anything that I've ever seen that works with small town weeklies or bi-weeklies is...
