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September is National Recovery Month Letter to the Editor: As a person in recovery I thought I would share some of my experience, strength and hope with you. I was born and raised in Petersburg. I attended church here, went to school here and played sports here. This is also where my disease of addiction began. Like many of our kids today I started drinking and experimenting with drugs at a very young age. It slowly took over my life. It took me a long time and a hard road to reach recovery. The love, understanding and support of my family and...
A significant benefit to living in a small town is that everyone knows everyone’s business. Some consider this a detriment, but in the case of Proposition 1, which appears on October’s election ballot in Petersburg, and as Proposition 2 in Wrangell, the Financial Disclosure requirement is not needed. Currently, municipal officers and some candidates for elective office must file a financial disclosure statement. Depending upon how a person’s company is legally organized, the law can be very intrusive, or in the case of a corporation it can r...
Sorry, there is no resemblance To the Editor: Can Alaskans trust the government of British Columbia to act honestly, responsibly and openly as B.C. authorizes and proposes to manage a series of mines (up to six of them) in the watersheds of some of the greatest, wildest and most productive watersheds in North America? Is BC “basically the same” as Alaska, as Mines Minister Bennett claims, when it comes to process and regulation of industrial activity? There is no question B.C. has a “mine approval” process, but make no mistake, it is vastly...
Why? To the Editor: Over the last several weeks I have contacted the local head representative of the highway department, public works, borough manager, flaggers on the Nordic construction site and no will take responsibility for the extremely dangerous blocked sidewalks that force us into the traffic and construction. Trees, rhodies, berry bushes and general overgrowth have blocked sidewalks from use, forcing children on bikes, moms with strollers and old people like myself into the Nordic roads. We are forced to face cars, trucks, trailers an...
The Borough Assembly along with its boards and commissions has conducted the public’s business with little fanfare this past year. Even with vacancies on some bodies, the public’s work has been accomplished. When elected bodies function smoothly, we sometimes take them for granted. “Why get involved if everything’s getting done and nobody is getting hurt,” you might ask? Diversity is the reason. Good government is a result of many people working for the common good of our community. You have your choice of seats on the assembly, school bo...
I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in raising funds to travel to Mae Wang Lampang, Thailand for my Rotary Youth Exchange. People came to each fundraiser showing complete support of my exchange and have offered an endless amount of help. Petersburg is the most kind and supportive community, and I am really thankful for having the privilege of living here. Thank you for being a part of my world experience, and for helping me to meet the goals that I have set. I leave for Thailand on the 6th of August, and yes, I’m nervous. but I...
Alaska trawl bycatch halibut To the Editor: Our North Pacific Fisheries Management Council just met in Sitka, Alaska. Trawl bycatch (non-targeted species) of juvenile halibut in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands was on the agenda. Around 130 people gave public comment on this topic in addition to 3 inches of paper letters in a spiral binder compiling written public comments. The overwhelming majority urging the council for a 50 percent reduction in halibut waste. A reduction of roughly 20 percent allowable trawl bycatch of halibut was...
Father’s Day is on Sunday. Children across the country will honor their dads at family gatherings with gifts, cards and special meals. On this occasion, we encourage dads to consider the creation of a special gift for their children. It is a time consuming project that will reap personal rewards well worth the effort put forth. Why not write a family history and distribute it to your children next year, or two years from now? Other dads have done this, including my father, who wrapped up his 64-page compilation just months before his death a...
Is zoning coming to the borough? To the Editor: Prior to the Borough election, I had several meetings with the Borough manager and asked about Borough intentions for the outlying areas to be incorporated. He assured me that there would not be any additional rules and regulations in these areas. Now, suddenly, there is talk of zoning regulations. Building codes always follow on the heels of zoning codes and both require enforcement and inspection. This will result in higher government costs and require additional taxes to pay for these...
Discussion about relocating the Petersburg Borough Power and Light building has been under discussion for decades. Often the discussion came to an abrupt end because of finances. Even when Power and Light had the funds to pay for construction of the building, the Assembly nixed it. In these tight fiscal times, new construction may be a tough sell, but there is a valid reason to move Power and Light away from the busiest intersection on the island. Before the discussion about remodeling both the old municipal building and the power and light...
Tongass concerns To the Editor: Dear Mr. Jason Anderson (Deputy Forest Supervisor, Petersburg Ranger District), The board of directors of the Greater Southeast Alaska Conservation Community collectively represents over two hundred years of experience on Tongass conservation issues. We are writing this open letter to express our displeasure on 2 counts: the skewed process the Forest Service used to form the Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC), and the predictably skewed product that committee is fabricating as evidenced by the current Draft...
New state forest To the Editor: A couple of weeks ago now, Mr. James Schwarber from the State Division of Forestry (DOF) visited Petersburg to gather citizens' views on upcoming DOF actions on Mitkof Is. He got an earful. This event was not covered by the radio station or the paper which was surprising considering the serious impacts of the DOF proposals. Part of the new Southeast State Forest; containing 49,000 acres, are the south facing slopes of Mitkof Is., that face Sumner Strait, also several odd shaped units right in the middle of...
Jet foot damage To the Editor: I'm writing this letter because something has to be done about the jet foots that go up Petersburg Creek. They are damaging the spawning beds because of them eroding away the embankment causing it to smother the spawning beds and sucking up the hatching minnows and also washing away the gravel so the fish can't even spawn there. The embankment is unstable because the jet foots are eating away underneath the bank making it so you can't stand on the edge of the bank because it might collapse on you. My fiance has...
Influenza information To the Editor: Due to several recent influenza type A and type B cases in Petersburg this week I wanted to reiterate the importance of key flu prevention measures. CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first step in protecting against flu viruses. Try to avoid close contact with sick people. If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a...
State of the State To the Editor: I am greatly concerned that our local entities are not taking the fiscal crisis seriously. We, as Alaskans have permanently lost 60% of our income yet we keep spending as if this is a short term problem. Would this make sense if as a family you knew from now on that you would be bringing home 50-60% less each paycheck? Would you feel it was okay to spend all your savings to keep the same lifestyle? We as a state and borough are not borrowing from our savings. We are permanently depleting it. We are not all of...
With the filing of the second initiative petition comes additional time to continue discussion on the Borough’s recycling program. Yes, it delays the purchase of recycling equipment, but it does allow citizens, the assembly and the borough staff to reach consensus on how the program may be carried out. The report this week by Karl Hagerman noted the diverse range of pricing of recycled materials. Glass is priced at a negative $30/ton while aluminum comes in at $1,500/ton. Currently the Borough receives a $67/ton value for their mixed loads, o...
To the Editor: I have been lucky enough to not have had any pesky animals mess with my bags, but I did notice one household in town that puts their blue bag inside a round plastic garbage can brightly painted “Recycling”. They were able to work a kink out. Myself, and many others would be more than willing to purchase our own bags through Amazon, and would consider that helping to work out a kink. If this system was so flawed, with so many kinks that seemed unworkable, why would so many citizens speak in favor of it in front of the ass...
What am I missing? To the Editor: How are . . . 100's of big, blue plastic containers that will continuously need replacing and recycling, or will end up as another huge item in a landfill; a huge truck that will continuously require gas and will end up in a landfill; a specially trained city employed mechanic to maintain the truck; the part time use of two full time city employees with full employee benefits; a baler facility now reduced to fewer hours of use, supervision, and maintenance less expensive and more environmentally friendly than...
Don't give up on recycling To the Editor: I have been a proponent of recycling for decades. The recycling effort, which has been managed and maintained by the municipality for as long as I can remember, is just that: an effort to renew, reuse, and recycle. It's what is best for our community and our planet. From having to separate our recyclables to hauling them to various drop-off places around town to hauling them to the baler facility to hauling commingled blue bags to our curb, recycling in Petersburg has been quite a journey where much...
While the sanitation department gets the go-a-head to purchase recycling carts and a new collection truck, the Borough’s recycling program took a giant hit Monday night. The goodwill that is necessary to build the recycling program was sacrificed to meet the financial goals of the sanitation department. Ruger’s Trucking built a significant following as they fulfilled their contract to collect recycling for the Borough and many of their supporters have vowed to pull out of the program due to the heavy handed treatment dealt to Wes and Ang...
Share your opinions on recycling To the Editor: If you are a participant of the blue bag recycling program, then please be aware of the changes being presented. The borough assembly is very close to deciding whether or not to take over the program and turn it into a cart-based system. We signed up for the present program because it is not only a worthy program, but it is designed to be very convenient. The borough assembly proposes a system that is inconvenient and, in my opinion, will be a costly mistake. This program needs to appeal to those...
With only 90-days to conduct the public’s business, we never cease to be amazed at the bills that attract consideration by our state legislators. In the, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it,” category comes SB 6 and a companion bill HB 64 that proposes to eliminate daylight savings time in Alaska. Why? First, it puts Alaska out of sync with the rest of the country, particularly our neighbors in Canada and for S.E. residents, the west coast cities where we conduct much of our business. Second, public safety would be compromised. We need more dayl...
Community opinions needed To the Editor: The Petersburg Borough Assembly needs community opinion regarding the co-mingled recycling program. Monday, March 16th at 7:00pm the Assembly will decide if the current blue bag program should continue as is or if they will approve the new supplemental sanitation budget. This budget includes the purchase of a new $210,000 garbage truck and purchase 96-gallon blue cans for $75,000 (this does not include wages, fuel, maintenance, insurance; all the expenses the operate). This new plan will cut the hours...
Local economy overlooked To the Editor: An open letter to our Alaskan neighbors, The recent trade war over who makes the steel for the renovation of the Alaska Marine Highway ferry terminal in Prince Rupert is a tale of two economies: the national economy and our local economy. With Canadian politicians of all stripes opposing the investment in our community because of their distaste for “Buy American” restrictions, we fear that relationships that have been built up with our Alaskan neighbors over many decades may be jeopardized. We would like...
Offer the jobs To the Editor: I took offense to the last article with me being the mama of deceased Elem. Ed Teacher/Salvation Army Minister, Capt. Vicki Lynn (Susie) Jackson. I feel that Lisa Stroh made the right decision. It was stated that there are health issues in the family and she put her family before the job. As I have read there are two more than competent people, Erica Kludt-Painter and Teri Toland. If either would like the positions, hire them immediately. Since money was the concern, it would seem that money would be saved from...
