Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 6985
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved moving forward with a $700,000 sewer line repair project at the Petersburg Aquatic Center during its Monday meeting. The vote authorizes the borough to seek bids for replacing approximately 150 feet of sewer lines beneath the slab concrete floors of the aquatic center's locker rooms, where drains have become disconnected from the main sewer system. "We have a few lines, especially in the family locker room, that are plugged completely with...
The new Wellness, Education, Research, and Communications (WERC) building opened its doors this month, marking the completion of the first major phase of Petersburg Medical Center's hospital replacement project. And according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter, the success of this facility has already changed how he's thinking about the rest of the project. "This is just step one," Hofstetter told the Pilot on a recent tour of the 15,000-square-foot building. He will be the first to say that the slow... Full story
At the Petersburg fire station, Heather Bauscher sat waiting for an ambulance. She had a fake tourniquet on her arm, representing a lost limb. "I've got a small amount of time before I go into shock," she said. "So as soon as we get there, I'll start a timer, and they'll have a little bit of time to figure out what's going on with me." Bauscher was one of about a dozen Petersburg community members acting as victims in a staged mass casualty drill on Aug. 16. The drill, which was organized by Petersburg Emergency Services Director Aaron Hankins... Full story
A deteriorating baseball dugout that had been gathering moss and rot at Petersburg's ball field has found new life as a much-needed weather shelter at the Banana Point boat launch. Back in March, Public Works employee Martin Odegaard was dropping his child off at Banana Point to catch the boat to Wrangell for a wrestling trip on a typically miserable late-winter day. "It was pissing rain, as it always is this time of year," Odegaard recalled. "And so all these kids are getting soaking wet. I'm...
Part of a wastewater line in Frederick Sound has broken, and the Petersburg Borough must repair it to comply with an upcoming Environmental Protection Agency permit. The pipe, known as the outfall line, discharges wastewater from Petersburg's treatment plant into Frederick Sound. Wastewater Operations Supervisor Justin Haley said that a part of the pipe called the diffuser has fallen off. The diffuser distributes the wastewater at different places in the water, where ocean currents dilute it further in a "mixing zone." Right now, wastewater is... Full story
Three candidates are now vying for two Petersburg Borough Assembly seats as the candidate filing deadline approaches, with incumbent Donna Marsh joined by challengers Raliegh Cook and Bob Martin. Assembly member Scott Newman, whose term is up this fall, remains the only candidate for mayor, seeking to replace Mark Jensen, who announced in June he would not seek reelection after 18 years in elected office. Fifteen candidates have submitted paperwork to Borough Clerk Rebecca Regula since the...
Wrangell Police Chief Gene Meek has started a public safety campaign to enforce new e-scooter regulations through education and enforcement. The police department posted a safety video Monday, Aug. 11, on YouTube and other social media platforms. The video demonstrates proper scooter operation, hand signals, safety lighting and traffic law compliance. “I think the immediate concern is getting the scooters off of public sidewalks,” Meek said. “With this being an older community, having someo...
A group seeking to decriminalize Alaskans’ use of certain medicinal mushrooms and other psychedelics can start collecting signatures to try to put the question before voters. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees the Alaska Division of Elections, said Thursday she has certified a statewide initiative application that proposes legal but regulated use of certain natural medicines for therapeutic and traditional purposes. The sponsors may now start gathering the petition signatures they need to place their initiative on a statewide ballot. The p... Full story
Early Sunday morning, Sasha Calvey awoke to a roar. "I look out of the tent, and then I see a massive wave coming, like, inches away," Calvey said. Calvey was camped with two friends, Billy White and Nick Heilgeist, on Harbor Island, an uninhabited islet in Holkham Bay. It's at the convergence of two of Southeast Alaska's most-visited fjords, Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Calvey, White and Heilgeist had spent the past 78 days kayaking the Inside Passage from Washington. The three hoped to spend th... Full story
Hatchery managers had hoped that June's steady rainfall would spare them from having to intervene in this year's king salmon run, allowing fish to reach Crystal Lake Hatchery naturally without the stress of human handling. Those hopes evaporated in late July when a few hot days right at the wrong time caused a significant mortality event for king salmon transiting the shallow waters between Blind River Rapids and Crystal Lake Hatchery. On July 20, after observing a hundred or more king salmon...
After 17 years of shaping Petersburg's infrastructure, this has been the final week on the job for Public Works Director Chris Cotta before relocating to Florida, where he'll serve as Public Works Director in Tarpon Springs, a city on the Gulf Coast around the size of Juneau. As Cotta wraps up his tenure, Aaron Marohl-who has deep roots in the community-steps into the director role, inheriting an experienced crew and a long list of ongoing projects. From Florida to Petersburg and back Before...
Petersburg Borough Assembly Member Scott Newman has filed to run for mayor, making him the first declared candidate to replace Mark Jensen, who announced in June he would not seek reelection after 18 years in elected office. Ten candidates have submitted paperwork so far to Borough Clerk Rebecca Regula since the filing window opened July 29. Candidates have until 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 26 to file for positions on the Oct. 7 ballot. Raliegh Cook has filed to run for borough assembly. Two assembly...
A Juneau jury convicted 21-year-old John Bisset of Petersburg of two counts of sexual assault in the first degree on July 29 at the Dimond Courthouse. The verdict followed a two-week-long trial presided over by Superior Court Judge Amy Mead. Jurors acquitted Bisset of two other counts of sexual assault. The case goes back four years, when Bisset was 18 years old and the victim was 14. The case was investigated by the Petersburg Police Department and prosecuted by the state. The trial was...
When the peak of the annual glacial outburst flood hit early Wednesday morning in Juneau, newly installed flood barriers stacked along the Mendenhall River largely prevented flooding of the nearby residential area. The flooding reached a record-breaking 16.65 feet at 7:15 a.m., but nearby homes, businesses and three schools were mostly spared. On Wednesday afternoon, Juneau officials announced the flood threat was over. Officials reported there were no rescues overnight or emergency evacuations... Full story
WRANGELL - A petroglyph rock was found split in half last month, apparently damaged by someone attempting to remove the ancient carving, according to borough and U.S. Forest Service officials. "Petroglyph Beach is more than a scenic destination. It is a sacred site and irreplaceable cultural resource," the borough said in its report to the public on July 28. "The carvings found here are among the most significant archaeological artifacts in Alaska, reflecting the lifeways and histories of the Tl...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly narrowly rejected a resolution Monday that would have authorized police to dispatch approximately four black bears that Petersburg Police Chief James Kerr says his officers have identified through repeated unsuccessful attempts at non-lethal deterrence. The resolution failed by a single vote after Kerr presented evidence of what he described as "learned behavior" by specific bears. "We've tried paintballs, pepper balls," Kerr told the Pilot. "Pepper balls is like...
The Alaska Legislature, meeting in special session, has overridden Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of more than $50 million in public school funding. The vote was 45-14. At least 45 of 60 legislators are needed to override an Alaska governor’s budget veto. The override eliminates a 5.6% year-over-year cut to public school funding, leaving districts with a small funding increase. Since July 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year, oil prices have significantly exceeded the state’s spring forecast, and if that trend continues, the state would have mo... Full story
The Alaska Legislature overrode Governor Mike Dunleavy’s veto of state education funding at a special session on Saturday. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved a $700 increase in the per-student funding formula known as the base student allocation (BSA). Using his line-item veto power, the governor reduced that increase by $200. The override undoes the governor’s veto. Both of Petersburg’s state lawmakers, Senator Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) and Representative Rebecca Himschoot (I-Sitka) voted in favor of the override. Petersburg Super...
In a new administrative action, Gov. Mike Dunleavy is ordering “efficiency reviews” of state agencies and asking departments to use artificial intelligence software as part of an effort to identify budget cuts. The reviews will take place annually, according to Dunleavy’s new administrative order, published Monday, and would become part of the state’s annual budget process. The reviews will initially focus on “grants to non-State of Alaska entities” and “accounts payable,” according to a copy of the text available online. The reviews are int... Full story
To better understand the hydrology of their neighboring island, Petersburg middle schoolers mapped Coho Creek on July 30. The trip to Kupreanof Island was part of the summertime Wonder Camp series facilitated by the Petersburg Public Library and Alaska Sea Grant, a marine science education organization. The camp provides opportunities for middle schoolers to learn more about the environment around them, with the help of experts. This trip's expert was Emil Tucker, a hydrologist for the U.S....
A dozen teenagers returned to Petersburg on July 22 after a weeklong kayak trip learning how to paddle, fly-fish and lead as a team. The group kayaked and camped along the southern coast of Mitkof Island, exploring from Woodpecker Cove to Point Alexander. They were led by certified instructors from Petersburg Medical Center and the outdoor education group Onward & Upward as their guides, teaching outdoor safety skills. "Adventure wilderness expeditions changed who I am as a person, honestly...
King salmon fishing is back on for nonresident sport anglers in Southeast Alaska, effective Monday, Aug. 4, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced. Chinook retention has been closed since July 7 for nonresidents fishing in Southeast. Fish and Game said at the beginning of July that it would be putting an indefinite pause on out-of-state residents’ harvest because the sport sector was on track to exceed the regionwide sport harvest target for Chinook. The July 7 closure was geared at providing uninterrupted harvest opportunity f...
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced his policy priorities for the Alaska State Legislature for when they reconvene for a special session scheduled to start on Saturday. On Monday, the governor called for legislators to address what he called "Alaska's chronic education outcome crisis" and to reconsider his executive order they had previously voted down, creating a new Department of Agriculture that he said would strengthen food security in Alaska. Separately, the Alaska State Legislature... Full story
In recent weeks, users of the popular Hungry Point Trail system have noticed with some alarm trees coming down, a road being built, and the closure of the trail's Sandy Beach Road trailhead – all necessary for the wastewater utility's Pump Station 4 replacement project. "Folks need to be aware that [the trailhead] is going to be probably closed more than it's going to be open for the next few months," Public Works Director Chris Cotta told the Pilot. "We won't be opening things back up permanent...
The federal government will be releasing billions of dollars in education funding this week, including $46 million in Alaska, after freezing the funds last month. The Trump administration announced in late June that the funding was being withheld pending a review. Multiple advocacy groups and school districts sued the Trump Administration, including some in Alaska. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would be releasing the frozen funding. Part of that funding is Title I-C funding for migrant education. A quarter of...
