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A ballot proposition on October’s Petersburg election ballot will ask residents whether they want to increase the amount of a purchase that is subject to sales tax. Currently, Petersburg collects its 6% tax on sales of goods and services up to the first $1,200 on the invoice. Above that amount is free from the tax. The proposed municipal code amendment, approved for the ballot in a unanimous vote by the borough assembly on June 17, would raise the taxable sales limit to $5,000. If approved by voters, the maximum sales tax on a purchase would in...
After a six-hour search, divers recovered the body of a woman who died in a boat collision between a 20-foot Hewescraft aluminum skiff and a 58-foot commercial fishing vessel in the Wrangell Narrows near the mouth of Blind Slough on Wednesday morning, June 5. An Alaska State Troopers spokesman on Friday identified the woman as Susan Paul, 73, of California. A second individual, thrown from the skiff into the water, was rescued by a good Samaritan on the scene, according to a U.S. Coast Guard news release. The man was taken to the Petersburg...
Hunters harvested a total of 141 moose in the Wrangell-Petersburg area this year, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This year’s take is much higher than the harvest of 118 in 2022 and exceeds the five-year average of about 120 moose, according to the department’s statistics. “The previous high was 132, and it was in 2021,” said Frank Robbins, a state game wildlife biologist in the Petersburg office. The season opened Sept. 15 and ran through Oct. 15. The count covers moose hunts on Wrangell, Mitkof, Kupreanof, Kuiu, Zarembo,...
An investigation into the July 6 fire that destroyed most of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Petersburg determined that the blaze started with maintenance work outside the building. Petersburg Fire Marshal Ryan Welde said in a statement that the fire was accidental. The fire started at ground level on the exterior of the building, the statement said. The fire marshal’s report did not explain what maintenance work was underway that ignited the flames. The fire then traveled up the wall via rigid foam insulation behind the vinyl s...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 4-1 on Aug. 1 to establish a new task force to address the community’s housing crisis. Assemblymember Jeff Meucci said the task force would work with the assembly’s backing to look at housing needs in the community. “Like child care, I think this is one of the most important issues facing Petersburg,” Meucci said. “Every person that we’ve hired within the borough over the past several months — police officers, up at the fire department, Mountain View Manor (senior citizen housing) — they were all lookin...
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery closed April 10 with a final tally of approximately 26,350 tons harvested, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. It was just over half of the 45,164-ton guideline harvest level, but over 10,000 tons more than last year’s catch. In the final five days of openings, approximately 6,990 tons were harvested in the waters off of Baranof Island to the south of Sitka. OBI Fleet Manager Don Spigelmyre wrote that this year was “our best season ever,” and that the company purchased just over 3,500...
A Petersburg police officer hired last June was let go this month after a borough investigation into his posts to a Facebook page promoting white male supremacy, anti-government rhetoric and anti-Semitism. The Facebook page also expressed support for Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, who mailed explosives that killed and injured people in the U.S. in the late 1970s through early 1990s. Johnny Duane Pickle, using the account name J.D. Pickle, also posted a Facebook comment with a picture of a child who appears to be his son performing a...
Wrangell residents have long complained that Petersburg enjoys more than its share of perks - a Coast Guard station, more state and federal offices, more ferry service last winter. But now, Wrangell has something Petersburg doesn't have: Lots of free parking at the airport. Starting Dec. 1, Petersburg travelers who park at the airport but can't find one of the limited free spaces in front of the Alaska Airlines terminal will be charged $7 per day to park in an area nearby that used to be free. A...
The 2022 pink salmon harvest in Southeast is forecast at about half the 10-year average but better than 2020, the brood year for next summer’s returns. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and federal fisheries officials have forecast next year’s pink harvest at 16 million fish in Southeast. The 10-year average is 34 million pink salmon, with 2020 a very weak year at 8 million pinks harvested — the sixth-worst year since 1962. This year’s returns were excellent, at 48 million pinks, surpassing pre-season forecasts. Trawl surveys collect...
The Southeast Alaska Power Agency plans to begin an eight-day process July 1 of removing a damaged submarine electrical cable and replacing it with a new line between Woronkofski and Vank islands, SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson told the Petersburg borough assembly May 17. Crews will lay about 3.5 miles of new cable. The manufacturing and installation of the cable is estimated to cost about $13.4 million, Acteson said SEAPA board member Bob Lynn told the assembly at an earlier meeting that the regional power agency would likely need to raise its rates t...
