Sorted by date Results 851 - 875 of 947
Thank you To The Editor: This is a big Thank You letter from Ashley DuRoss, the chaperone for the upcoming Artfest event held in Skagway April 9th- 12th. THANK YOU community members for buying dinner tickets and supporting my young artists who will be participating in Artfest. We sold 145 dinners in one week! I hope your taste buds and bellies enjoyed the Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo dinner on Sunday night, March 24th. There was a lot of helping hands behind the scenes of that dinner. Thank you students! You worked hard in the kitchen, did well...
Made me feel welcome To the Editor: I want to thank everyone who helped make my first formal visit to Petersburg as your representative successful. I was lucky to be able to spend a long weekend in Petersburg March 7-10 while the Legislature took a break. On Friday, about 50 people came to a pizza party at the Legislative Information Office on Gjoa Street. I was also able to meet with various groups around town, including the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association and Petersburg Economic Development Corporation. I also spent time at some of the...
Staff does super job To the Editor: The Pilot can't get enough accolades as far as I'm concerned. Your staff does a super job at reporting with accuracy, fairness and integrity. Mary Lou Miller Detroit, Mich....
First, do no harm To the Editor: Does your heart break when you consider the motherless children? When you see a child without the loving embrace of her arms? We have been commanded to honor our mothers, yet we have allowed an innocent woman to be bereft of her life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Which law has she broken, one that is real, or one that is unreal? The law of the universe, or the law of the machine? Which law will you obey? We have also been commanded to love our enemies, to bless those that curse us, do good to those that...
Not going to mend fences To the Editor: Well, dip me in honey and throw me to the bears. For once I agree with Dana Thynes. In last week's Pilot, she took the newly elected borough assembly to the woodshed for not appointing Bob Lynn to one of the vacant assembly positions. Her point was that Mr. Lynn was a good candidate, but the elected assembly members rejected him in favor of appointments intended to preserve a uniform perspective on the assembly. Ms. Thynes also theorized that there was a “secret handshake” imbedded in a question that the... Full story
Several people have inquired why this newspaper never printed the final borough election results. We assured them that we had, but not until this week did we actually go through the January 2013 editions of the Petersburg Pilot to confirm that publication did take place. After all, this writer had a printout of the election results which were posted on the State of Alaska website, complete with scribbled notes on the page, indicating the story had been prepared for publication in the Jan. 3 edition. Also, we recollected discussions with our sta... Full story
Cruise ship sewage mixing zone To the Editor: It is with a feeling of pride that I can now tell family and friends that I am now a 'Cruise ship sewage mixing zone Alaskan commercial fisherman'. Imagine, out on the beautiful waters of Southeast Alaska, catching salmon from the fecal and heavy metal polluted waters. It's only a million people or so a season on the cruise ships. And for sure, once word gets out salmon and seafood consumers around the world will all want to purchase our fecal and heavy metal laced seafood. A nod of thanks to our...
The season of silence between the borough vote in December 2012, and the formation of assemblies, commissions, boards and committees suggested that those opposed to the formation of the Petersburg Borough might accept the election results. We hoped all would prepare to work together under the new borough. After all, many of the more vocal borough opponents drafted the very charter that provided the outline for the new government entity. Instead, this week the assembly is lambasted for the appointments they made to the assembly, filling vacant...
“Thank you” to emergency responders To the Editor: The motto for Alaska’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is, ‘Neighbor Helping Neighbor’ and in the past several weeks, I’ve been able to witness communities walking the walk, not just talking the talk. Recently, a child was murdered in the village of Kake. Responding to the call for help, the Kake EMS and the community responded to one of the most dreadful scenes imaginable. In the wake of the event, resources flooded into Kake to help with the psychological and physical trauma surrounding...
Stedman Barn Dance To the Editor: I am a little late on writing this but figured better late than never. I would personally like to thank all those who helped and volunteered for the Barn Dance. Not having any past experience with how they have run, I think this years was a great success. We couldn't have done it with out the many teachers, staff, parents and students who volunteered. We would like to thank Hammer and Wikan for donating items and the community for coming out and enjoying this great event. I'm sure I am missing people or places...
Nominate a volunteer To the Editor: Dear Alaskans, Whenever I travel in Alaska, I meet volunteers with big hearts and helping hands. I know you see their positive impact in your community. Please take time to nominate an outstanding volunteer for the First Lady's Volunteer of the Year Awards. Nominations are due by March 1, 2013. Details and a link to the nomination form are available at gov.alaska.gov. Thanks to all our volunteers for making a difference across our great state. Sandy Parnell First Lady of Alaska...
Big adventure ahead To the Editor: The newly created Petersburg Borough stands poised at an epic transformation. The big question is: How can we achieve unity in the overall populace? No other organized borough in Alaska hails any ethnic group as a component in it’s composition either in it’s name or group as a component in it’s motto/slogan/by line/ tag line. Why? It would be devisive and discriminatory, degrading every other person outside the named group. Our new organized borough now includes lands and waters and people far outside the t...
Can’t kill our way out of mess To the Editor: If we’ve reached a new biological cliff and are turning to preditor control as our last tool in the toolbox, it means we’ve failed. We’ve failed to manage ourselves and the need for a scapegoat. The reality is a number of human factors have led to dramatic declines in deer populations and we can’t simply kill our way out of this mess. The state manages deer for maximum huntable populations. The problem is, the forest service manages the land for industrial clear cutting using a 30 year old faulty de...
We were surprised to hear that 337 mail-in ballots remain to be counted by the Division of Elections. We guessed that 100 to 150 more ballots would be the likely number of late returns for the borough election whose deadline was Dec. 18. We doubt the election outcome will change, as approximately two-thirds of the final ballots would have to be cast against borough formation, to alter the outcome. — George and Florabelle Rice stopped by to show us their White House Christmas card. They supported President Obama’s re-election and received the...
If you believed everything in the news about the dysfunctional U.S. Senate, you’d agree it can’t get anything done. I certainly share the frustrations of most Alaskans and Americans that Washington, D.C., is broken and must be fixed. That’s why I ran for the Senate four years ago – to get things done for our state and nation. If you look beyond the headlines, the Senate and occasionally even the U.S. House have passed significant legislation to create millions of jobs for Americans and address some of our nation’s serious problems. Just last...
While we’re elated that the initial election results favor the formation of the new Petersburg Borough, we will enjoy even more the silenced debate over the divisive topic. Those on both sides of the issue expressed passionate positions on the proposed borough. As we await final ballot tallies, we hope all residents of the borough will contemplate the new possibilities Tuesday’s election has brought forth. The formation of a borough government will take time, as administrators transition from a city to a borough, as vacant elected pos...
Don’t stomp on the process Letter to the Editor: Ahhh, Mr. Will Ware…ever the silver tongued speaker. My comments are in regards to last week’s letter to the Pilot. You’re certainly a born preacher…. but, someone I feel is qualified to give me lectures on dignity, integrity, honor and respect? …not so much. Your self-appointed role as moral compass for the tribe, is really the true “foolishness”, here. My grandmother, Amy Hallingstad, was instrumental in forming the Petersburg Indian Association as well as in writing the original by-law...
Remember to fill-out your borough ballot and return it to election officials by next Tuesday, Dec. 18. The election for the Petersburg Borough will go down in history as the single most significant referendum to be decided for decades to come. Juneau officials hope Petersburg’s borough formation proposal fails because the door will be flung open for them to expand their borough boundary well into Petersburg’s back yard. Petersburg will lose rights to: • 1,700 acres in state land that will be granted to the borough. • $600,000 in transit...
Lifelong Alaskan, Steven Edward Clausen, 61, died at home peacefully of liver cancer on December 4, 2012, surrounded by family. Steve was born in Petersburg on September 9, 1951 to Phillip and Darlene Clausen. He was the first of three, followed by his brother Terry, and his sister, Joni. He attended Petersburg High School, and graduated in 1969. Steve was a third generation fisherman and a lifelong mariner. As a child in Petersburg, Steve loved the outdoors and learned to fish at an early age o... Full story
The key to unity is listening To the Editor: I’m glad that Petersburg has a new asset in its toolbox, called “Let’s Talk”. Half of communication is listening, and since so many of us, myself included, want to talk about just what’s important to us, we could all use some lessons in listening to others who’re normally outside our personal comfort zone, expanding our understanding of the full current, that flows within our brotherhood. Let’s Talk provides us with that deeper connection, just as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens anot...
Voting on the formation of the Petersburg Borough is underway with the arrival of mail-in ballots provided by the State of Alaska Division of Elections. The state, not the city will conduct the election. Voters have the opportunity to vote in person at the city council chambers beginning on Monday, Dec. 3, or they may vote the ballot that was mailed to them and return the executed ballots by mail. The deadline for all voting is Tuesday, Dec. 18, which is the date all mail in ballots must be postmarked, to be counted at the Division of...
Borough will benefit surrounding area To the Editor: I believe formation of the borough is a good thing for the people of Petersburg and the surrounding area. The people living in this region want a say in what goes on around us. We’ve seen many instances throughout Alaska of activities by State and Federal government and private industry that have definitely not been to the benefit of the people. Having the area’s important resources within the Petersburg Borough gives us a stronger voice over how those resources are managed. Borough for...
Thank you from VSC To the Editor: A big heartfelt thank you to the community of Petersburg for helping celebrate Viking Swim Club’s 40th Anniversary at the annual auction on Saturday. Viking Swim Club truly is blessed with an amazing community of supporters through donations, well wishes, and encouragement of swimmers in all of their endeavors. Over 40 years as a club, Viking Swim Club has seen hundreds of swimmers take their first dip in the pool and has encouraged their growth as athletes. Viking Swim Club swimmers have achieved personal b...
It’s good that the borough election will get underway next week. Following months, even years of discussion, the electorate now will have their say as ballots are cast and the fate of the city’s borough formation effort is decided. At this point, we find the arguments for and against the borough very repetitive, almost to the point that some feel if an opinion is repeated just one more time, it will carry more weight than the first time it was presented. During months of debate both the city and specific individuals have been vilified. For...
Let’s Talk continues To the Editor: Imagine a community where your viewpoint is heard and where a variety of different opinions are valued and respected. Last Wednesday nearly 60 people took part in “Let’s Talk Petersburg: A Community Conversation”. The event, hosted by the Petersburg Public Library and the Petersburg Community Foundation, focused on having respectful, open conversations and sparking discussion about the issues that are important to our community. We tackled some difficult issues. Small towns can be cliquish and gossip oriente...
