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The Petersburg Medical Center and three of its physicians are being sued over a wrongful death claim being brought by Mary Katasse Miller. Superior Court Judge William Carey set the trial date for November 20, 2018 at a scheduling conference on August 21. Also named in the suit are PMC physicians Courtney Hess, M.D., Kris Sargeant, M.D. and Jennifer Hyer, M.D. Hess has been employed at PMC since July 2014, Sargeant since Aug. 2012 and Hyer since Aug. 2011. Miller represents the Estate of Malcom Miller and herself. Her late husband died on June...
A humpback whale near Tracy Arm became entangled in a cruise vessel’s anchor line for almost 12 hours Sunday morning, but was freed by a team of marine mammal entanglement experts Sunday afternoon. The humpback struck the Uncruise Adventures cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer at about 2:15 a.m. Sunday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said in a Monday press release. A responding team of marine mammal entanglement specialists believe they freed the whale by cutting an anchor chain at about 2 p.m. Sunday. “We are grateful to the cre...
The rain in Petersburg came in consistent droves this summer, and temperatures were cooler than normal, leaving climatologists fixed on explaining sporadic weather patterns in the past and surely in the future. Petersburg experienced its seventh wettest summer since reports began at the National Weather Service in 1924 — yet there are two days left, said Rick Fritsch, the climate program leader with the department in Juneau. “You had an extraordinarily wet summer,” Fritsch said. “It’d be better if I reported how many days you didn’t ha...
A Rambler Street resident caught two bucks that became snared in a gillnet in their yard on Thursday August 24. According to the Petersburg Police Department an officer responded to the incident at 5:48 in the morning and was able to cut the gillnet from the antlers of the two deer. Gardeners often use gillnet to keep wildlife out of their gardens and flower beds....
August 31, 1917 – The Petersburg public schools open for the new term next Tuesday morning. Miss Burke, of Seattle to set to fill the vacancy left by Miss Murphy, of Montana. She is expected to arrive on the City of Seattle, together with Miss Kirchiem, from Tacoma. Miss Edna Miller, who has been attending the State Normal School at Bellingham for the summer term, has arrived back home on the Al-Ki. Miss Taylor, who has been here since early summer is the fourth member of the teaching corps. Arrangements as to grades to be taught by each w...
The hospital in Petersburg is an independent operation that makes its own decisions, despite being owned by the Borough. It makes finance decisions on its own with no proviso that the Borough oversee those moves. But one condition in the Borough Charter says the Petersburg Medical Center Board and the Assembly should meet annually. And they did last week — the first joint meeting since March 2015, confirmed by Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson. “There hasn’t been any dialogue between the Borough and the hospital,” said George Doyle, a hospita...
There will be no school for Elementary School students on September 1. Labor Day will be observed on September 4 with no school district wide....
WRANGELL — The Wrangell Tribe’s environmental program office announced last week that most species of shellfish have been cleared for consumption at a pair of local beaches. On August 24 results from the week’s sampling had indicated levels of saxitoxin – the root cause of paralytic shellfish poisoning – evident in mussels at Pats Creek and Shoemaker Bay beaches had dropped below federal safety guidelines. Conducting the site testing, the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program had previously issued a warning for Pats in January a...
Demand for nurses is growing in Alaska enough for Petersburg to open its first student-degree program with online lectures and on-island lab training. The program, sponsored by the University of Anchorage Alaska, started on Monday. The program is a two-year associate's degree with four students from Petersburg seeking to become a registered nurse with little travel off-island, said Nichole Mattingly, the local site coordinator. "In small communities like this we want to invest in nurses who are...
The hospital in Petersburg is a Band-aid station that’s aging in sections invisible to the vast majority of the community. That is according to its consultant, Monica Gross, the author of a long term planning report for the Petersburg Medical Center that was released last week. In it, she outlines a range of surveys she conducted with hospital staff and community members with regard to remodeling or replacing the hospital. In a Hospital Board meeting last week, she first addressed an apparent misconception of the Medical Center, which is its f...
Richard Lowell of Alaska Department of Fish and Game said he received a text message on Tuesday that read "this is why we have bears in town." Along with the text was a photograph of salmon carcasses sprawled across the center of Mill Slough in Petersburg. Reports of discarded salmon bodies near the city are common, unfortunately, and a significant driver of increased bear activity in residential areas, said Lowell. Those who get rid of fish on public or private land and along roads can see...
There are new species of squid near Petersburg, and determining their population is like measuring fog, according to one researcher who has defied Alaska squid assumptions for years. In a presentation at the Public Library on Tuesday, Stephanie Hayes, a PhD student in Marine Biology, which she has refined to squid research, described the Armhook species. New to the Petersburg area, the Armhook Squid has increased in prevalence, despite being told that it hadn't been the case, Hayes said....
WRANGELL - Women from the local American Legion Auxiliary took part in the national organization's 97th annual convention last week. Three members from Merlin Elmer Palmer, Auxiliary Unit 6, joined 1,500 other delegates, as well as alternates and guests from around the United States in Reno, Nevada. Accompanied by Barbara Hommel and Zona Gregg, respectively the chapter's vice president and treasurer, president Marilyn Mork was recognized as Alaska's Woman of the Year. "I was kind of surprised...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Bill Walker acted within his authority last year in reducing the amount set aside for checks from Alaska’s oil-wealth fund to state residents. The decision released Friday sided with the state, as a lower court had, in the dispute over Alaska Permanent Fund dividends. The case was brought by Democratic state Sen. Bill Wielechowski and two former legislators, who argued that the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. last year was required by law to make available nearly $1.4 billion f...
WRANGELL - Improvements to the observatory at Anan Creek are complete, improving access and security for one of Wrangell's top visitor attractions. Managed by the Forest Service, Anan Wildlife Observatory is best known for its bear population, one of the few where brown and black bears can be observed feeding together nonconfrontationally. Along with LeConte Glacier and the Stikine River, the sites brought in half of Wrangell's total tourism earnings in 2014, or $2 million, according to a study...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a $1 million loan for the Alaska Dispatch News to keep it operating as negotiations continue with potential buyers. The newspaper will use the loan from potential buyers approved Monday to continue paying insurance premiums and employees, KTUU-TV reported. Without the loan, Alaska Dispatch News could not afford its ongoing expenses and would have to fold, said Cabot Christianson, the newspaper’s lawyer. The Anchorage-based newspaper filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 12. Last week, a j...
SEATTLE (AP) — Investigators are weighing icy conditions and heavy crab pots as they probe what caused a Seattle-based crab boat with six people aboard to sink in the Bering Sea. The U.S. Coast Guard Marine board heard testimony from more than 30 people this month in Seattle as it determines a probable cause of the Feb. 11 sinking. The Seattle Times says it will eventually develop a report including recommendations to reduce the risks of such accidents. The vessel Destination went missing off a remote Alaska island. Searchers found the s...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska master hunting guide has been charged with using assistants on snowmobiles to herd grizzly bears toward clients, making it easier for hunters to shoot the animals. Brian Simpson, 55, of Fairbanks, also is charged with guiding on a national preserve without a permit. Simpson’s company is Wittrock Outfitters-Alaska. Messages left with the business Thursday and Friday were not returned. Online court documents do not list his attorney. Simpson is charged with two counts of aiding in the commission of a state gam...
PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Mental Health Trust and federal government have a bunch of work that needs to be done before a land swap approved last year can happen_ work that has to be completed within the next two years. KFSK-FM reported Thursday that the legislation set a two-year deadline on completing surveys, appraisals and other studies of the land. The federal government is giving the mental health trust about 31.3 square miles (81 square kilometers) of the Tongass National Forest near Ketchikan on Prince of Wales Island. W...
The race for mayor on October 3 is between the former mayor who resigned a few months ago and his replacement, who had previously hinted strongly she wouldn’t run but was asked to reconsider by a “number of people.” Mark Jensen is running for the mayor post after an abrupt exit in May. He will contend with Cindi Lagoudakis, the interim mayor and previous Assembly member, said Debra Thompson, the Borough Clerk. Jensen had resigned after expressing contempt for the actions taken by the Assembly and Borough. He left on the heels of a decis...
Rain is expected for the next week in Petersburg, along with the start of school. From elementary on up about 475 students will funnel into classrooms Monday morning. The Petersburg High School and Mitkof Middle School will have a projected 148 and 97 students, respectively, said Principal Richard Dormer. The elementary school will enroll a projected 230. There will be four new teachers this year. Ryan Hayes will teach high school math; Alenna Nilsen will teach social studies in the middle...
There will be eleven candidates running for Borough leadership on the ballot in October, including a contentious run for the mayor post, and a six-person race for two Assembly seats. The folks running for a seat on the Assembly -- there will be two -- include: Bob Lynn, Richard Burke, Ken Hamilton, Brandi Marohl, Jeff Meucci and William Ware. Cindi Lagoudakis will be running against Mark Jensen for the mayor post. The Petersburg School Board is looking to fill two seats in the election but received one submission for candidacy from Sarah Pawuk...
Mayor Cindi Lagoudakis in an Assembly meeting on Monday said the governor is hoping to visit Petersburg to sign a land selection bill and perhaps stay overnight to view ongoing projects in the community. Mayor Cindi Lagoudakis said in a report that she met with Gov. Bill Walker to discuss Senate Bill 28, which if signed would increase the Borough state land grant from 1,400 acres to more than 14,600. The bill passed the House and Senate on the last day of session in May largely due to the joint...
Alaska department of Fish & Game trapped a black bear on Howkan Street Monday evening, which comes as officials are ratcheting-up outreach to residents about securing garbage cans in residential areas. The Police Department retrieved the trap at about 11:00 p.m. on Monday. Inside the cylinder cage was a roughly 175-pound, "medium-sized" bear, said Captain John Hamilton. The bear will be transported to mainland Alaska and released at the north side of Thomas Bay, he said. This appears to be one...
The highly anticipated total eclipse that swept across much of the country on Monday went viral, prompting some analysts to revel in the moment and others to seemingly mock its brevity as bombastic and uneventful. In Petersburg, minutes before the eclipse began Monday morning, about 100 people viewed the NASA live stream in the library. Some young onlookers adorned eclipse glasses, ready to gaze into the projector, as the moon was about to shade the sun. "It was so nice of the library," said...
