Sorted by date Results 5582 - 5606 of 5699
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Rocker and gun rights advocate Ted Nugent pleaded guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in Alaska, saying he was sorry for unwittingly violating the law. “I would never knowingly break any game laws,” Nugent told the court on Tuesday. “I'm afraid I was blindsided by this, and I sincerely apologize to everyone for this.” With his plea, the singer and avid hunter followed through with a signed agreement he made with federal prosecutors earlier this month. Magistrate Judge Michael Thompson accepted...
Pilot staff members Orin Pierson, Ron Loesch and Keith Chaplain earned six awards at last weekend's Alaska Press Club conference in Anchorage. The awards were for work done in 2011 and were entered in the small newspaper category. Pierson took second and third place for page one layouts published on May 5 and 12 and second for best picture story entitled Jewels and Cowboys published on May 12. Loesch received first place honors for best scenic photo for “Layers of Solitude” published on Jul...
Petersburg City Council on Monday unanimously approved ASCR McGraw Constructors of Sitka, the bid of $1,395,800 for phase 3 of the Water Treatment Plant upgrade project. ASCR McGraw Constructors edged-out Dawson Construction, of Ketchikan, which entered a bid of a little more than $1.5 million. The council also authorized a contract for $288,000 to GV Jones and Associates administration and inspection services for the project. The project requires specialists for mechanical, electrical and structural inspections, Mayor Al Dwyer. The contract...
A dozen proposed capital budget projects were promised funding at the close of the 27th Alaska Legislature, but only one is wrapped in controversy. Petersburg projects on the fiscal year 2013 Capital Budget include a commercial dock drive down for $5.6 million, the North Harbor rebuild for $3.5 million, crane dock upgrade for $800,000, dry (unheated) storage building replacement for $400,000, new police station planning and design development for $350,000, hospital roof replacement for $275,000, Sons of Norway Hall upgrades for $250,000, Sandy...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced April 12 that the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery closed for the remainder of the 2012 season. The total harvest is approximately 13,534 tons or 47% of this season’s guideline harvest level of 28,829 tons. The decision to close the fishery was based on the completion of major spawning in Sitka Sound, and vessel and aerial surveys conducted over the last several days have not identified a biomass of pre-spawning herring in the Sitka Sound area at this time. The preliminary harvest by o...
Rock-N-Road started to remove the Romiad building on Monday to make way for construction of the new City library....
Petersburg's attorney on Monday filed a response in Superior Court regarding the city's inclusion into the newly formed House District 32. “Today, we filed our request that the court take another look at District 32 and reverse the decision it made last year,” City Attorney Thomas F. Klinker told the City Council via phone. The 25-page brief, which names Counselors Mark Jensen and Nancy Strand as plaintiffs, claims the Alaska Redistricting Board “failed to take the required 'hard look' regarding what districting of Southeast Alaska best met t...
City Manager Steve Giesbrecht focused on the many downtown and harbor construction projects that are underway this spring and summer in his report to the City Council on Monday. Giesbrecht led off his report with an update of the North Harbor project. “We are continuing working with the Army Corps of Engineers on coordinating the North Harbor dredging as well as the construction project,” Giesbrecht said. “Public notices have gone out announcing upcoming Federal projects and final bid documents are forth-coming,” he added. Giesbrecht spoke w...
Second Street and cross roads are closed to through traffic due to a large-scale project. According to Public Works Director Karl Hagerman, the Water and Sewer Reconstruction Project will replace old water and sewer mains on Second Street, as well as Noseeum Street, Gauffin Street and Odin Street. The contract, for $1,050,000, was secured through loans from Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC). The ADEC Division of Water secures grants and loans for municipal water and sewer...
A mound of mud has been making its way down Hammer Slough since a mudslide near the Public Works office last fall. On Saturday, at an extreme low tide of -3.6, the silt lifted a privately-owned float and at least one boat right out of the water. “Our best guess is that it's 600 to 1,000 cubic yards.” said Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen. The problem with the mud is that when the tide is extremely low, property that should be afloat, sits on mud instead. City Councilman Rick Braun also took a loo...
OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA (AP) — A U.S. Coast Guard cutter poured cannon fire into a Japanese ghost ship that had been drifting since last year's tsunami, sinking the vessel in the Gulf of Alaska and eliminating the hazard it posed to shipping and the coastline. The cutter's guns tore holes in the 110-foot Ryou-Un Maru on Thursday, ending the abandoned vessel's long, lonely journey across the Pacific. As the crew pummeled the ship, it burst into flames and began taking on water, offic...
Police Chief Jim Agner described an incident that occurred on Saturday afternoon as something you would see in an action movie. Police were called to investigate a robbery and the theft of a truck on Harbor Way. The alleged robbery victim is someone known to police who comes to town periodically to buy drugs, Agner said. The man had reportedly approached a group of young people on Harbor Way to buy drugs. Instead of selling the man drugs, Agner said, they robbed him of about $125 and ran. The man was able to keep up with them, so the suspects...
Police Chief Jim Agner warned the Petersburg Rotary Club members on Wednesday that a jump in heroin use in town is likely to cause property crimes to increase. “We have a heroin problem in town and it’s epidemic in Alaska,” Agner said. He estimated that Petersburg is consuming as much as $750,000 a year of heroin. “With that level of heroin use, we’re going to have a huge increase in property crimes. The money has to come from somewhere. If you have a $300 a day habit, you’ve gotta come up with $300 a day,” the Chief stated. He added that ho...
Negotiations have fallen flat regarding funding for the relocation of the 29-year-old Romiad building, and the two-story building will now most likely be torn down as soon as next week. Talks between the Petersburg Economic Development Council (PEDC) and local business-owner Pete Litsheim, who had asked for a loan of $210,000 to move the building from its current location near the corner of 2nd and Haugen to an empty lot next to Scandia House on N. Nordic Drive, have stalled do to a disagreement over collateral and other contractual obligations...
Schools students and public officials participated in a statewide Choose Respect event – with a march downtown and a rally at the Sons of Norway hall. Choose Respect is a campaign sponsored by Governor Sean Parnell to raise awareness of domestic violence, sexual assault, child sexual assault and bullying. The students marched on Nordic downtown and then gathered for snacks and to share thoughts and comments on what 'Choose Respect' means to them. “Sometimes we're a little too polite when we see...
Petersburg will be ready once again to go to court against the Alaska Redistricting Board in order to stay in the district with Sitka, the City Council decided during a regular meeting Monday. The council opposes the plan because they say it reduces, disproportionately the representation of Petersburg voters in the House and Senate District. Also, the district Petersburg would be in with Juneau under the new plan is not compact enough to be lawful under the state constitution. The city last...
WRANGELL Eight recall petition applications to remove all but one member of the Wrangell Medical Center (WMC) Board of Directors have been filed with the City and Borough of Wrangell. WMC Board members included in the petitions are WMC Board Chair Mark Robinson, Vice Chair Jim Nelson and Linda Bjorge, Sylvia Ettafaugh, Jake Harris, Lurine McGee, Dee Norman, and LeAnn Rinehart. The sole WMC Board member not included in the petitions is Dorothy Hunt-Sweat. Wrangell resident Gary Allen, Sr. is the main sponsor of the petitions, and Michael V....
City Manager Steve Giesbrecht reported to the City Council on Monday that several city projects are right on schedule. • Municipal Power & Light has completed “Witness testing” a new stand-by diesel generator, the city is purchasing from ASCR McGraw Constructors in Phoenix. The unit will be shipped to Seattle and then on to Petersburg. • There was a pre-bid teleconference on March 29 regarding the new library project. The deadline for bids is April 12. • The downtown road improvement bids have a deadline set for May. The good news for busin...
Participants in Petersburg triathlons and 5-K runs will soon have the quickest, most-accurate race results than any other area in Southeast Alaska. With a financial gift from the Chamber of Commerce, the Petersburg Parks and Recreation has purchased a Jaguar Cubby Race Timing System from Innovative Timing Systems. The system, which costs about $4,000, uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to transmit data from a chip on each of the runners to a computer that tabulates race results. The RFID chips are worn usually on clothing or in...
City official’s pleas for better communication and fewer reduced and dismissed cases from the District Attorneys may see some improvements in the near future. Although the City Manager and Police Chief fear it will not be enough. In a town hall meeting on Feb. 21, the City Council, Police Chief Jim Agner, and community members asked Deputy Attorney General Richard Svobodny why about 40 percent of cases filed with the District Attorney's office are dismissed and a significant number are plea-bargained or reduced. Agner expressed frustration a...
Pending public approval of the plans, the Blaquiere Point boat launch rebuild will be a reality soon. According to U.S. Forest Ranger Jason Anderson, plans for the proposed extension of the Blaquiere Point boat launch, are one step further along in the approval process. “We should be going out with a preliminary design that the Forest Service has cooked up,” Anderson said. Blaquiere Point is located at the intersection of Sumner and Dry Straits on the southeast corner of Mitkof Island, abo...
Schools students and public officials will take to the streets today at 4 p.m. as part of a statewide Choose Respect campaign - bringing awareness to issues such as domestic violence, sexual assault, child sexual assault and bullying. “[This is] about problems in Alaska, as well as making people think about what respect means to them,” said event coordinator Jo Ann Day. A march will go from Trading Union to Wells Fargo followed by a gathering at the Sons of Norway Hall. The event will include several speakers including Police Chief Jim Agn...
A complaint of a minor who had been tattooed has led police to investigate not only the alleged tattoo artists, but also several other crimes including the theft of $7,000 in flooring. Police served a search warrant at 306 Hungerford Hill #7, where they seized a large amount of tattooing equipment including 13 tattoo machines, a printer, sterilization equipment and ink, said Captain John Hamilton. It is illegal, in the state of Alaska, to tattoo anyone under the age of 18. Police suspect the tattoo equipment could be the property of the late...
Blood will flow this week at the Petersburg Medical Center, but it's for a good reason as health care professionals and community members prepare for the upcoming Health and Safety Fair. A blood draw and registration for the fair began this week. Participants can print out a registration form at http://www.pmc-health.com/healthfair.html. Last names beginning with the letter A through J, have drop-in times this week from 7 to 9 a.m. for the blood draw. Last names beginning with K through R can have their blood drawn April 3, 4 and 5 from 7 to 9...
Qualified Alaskans have less than a week to apply for the 2012 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) before the annual 11:59 p.m. March 31 filing deadline. Filers this week also have an opportunity to be part of something bigger – exceeding the $2 million goal for donations to nonprofits via the PFD Charitable Contributions Program Pick. Click. Give. (PCG) “Alaskans who have already filed for their dividend can still go back and make donations to Pick. Click. Give. causes across the entire state. It’s as simple as visiting the PFD Division websi...
