Joe Viechnicki, KFSK - Petersburg
Joe Viechnicki is a reporter at KFSK in Petersburg.
Redistricting Decision Suits Petersburg Officials
Petersburg’s mayor is pleased with the court decision in favor of the state’s latest redistricting plan. The legislative boundary map will put Petersburg in a district with Sitka and 22 other small Southeast communities.
Petersburg Remains Among Nation’s Top Fishing Ports
Commercial fishing boats landed 52 million pounds of seafood worth 50 million dollars in Petersburg last year. Those landings rank the volume of Petersburg’s catch at 24th among fishing ports in the nation for 2012. By value of catch, Petersburg ranked 20th.
UPDATE: Former Petersburg School Maintenance Director Charged For Child Porn
The former maintenance director of the Petersburg School District appeared in a Juneau courtroom Wednesday after being charged with distribution and possession of child pornography.
Secure Rural Schools Program Extension Approved
Congress has passed a one-year extension of a program that pays out millions of dollars to communities in Alaska near national forest land, like Petersburg. The extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000 was approved by the house and senate this week.
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School Board Questions Laws On New Student Physicals
Should parents pay for a state required physical exam for new students entering a public school in Alaska? That was the question raised by a member of Petersburg’s School Board this summer.
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Dead Humpback Whale Examined Near Kake
An adult female humpback whale was found dead near the Southeast community of Kake earlier this month. Kate Savage, a marine mammal specialist with the NOAA Fisheries protected resources division in Juneau, says the dead whale was first reported around Sept. 1 in Keku Strait near Kake. It was later floated to an island outside of Kake and Savage led a team performing a necropsy on the animal on Sept. 11.
Petersburg Republican to Seek House Seat
A Petersburg Republican plans to run for House District 35 in hopes of unseating a freshman Democratic representative from Sitka. Legislative districts for next year have not cleared a legal challenge but at least two people intend to run for the new district that includes Sitka, Petersburg, Craig and other communities on the northern half of Prince of Wales Island.
Whale Tangled in Gillnet Heads North
Volunteers from Petersburg were not able to free a humpback whale tangled up in a gillnet near Petersburg on Friday and Saturday.
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Petersburg Concerned With Future of USCG In Community
Petersburg officials are seeking answers about the future of Coast Guard ships in the community. Borough Mayor Mark Jensen sent a letter to Senator Mark Begich this month voicing concern that the cutter Anacapa could be replaced by larger vessels planned for other Southeast ports.
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Record-Setting Pink Run Hits Southeast
A huge and record-setting run of pink salmon is hitting Southeast Alaska this summer. The region’s purse seine fleet has been netting around 8 million pinks per opening in late July and early August. The overall catch for all of last season was around 21 million.
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Warm Weather Kills Hatchery Chinook Near Petersburg
Over a thousand hatchery king salmon died at Blind River rapids sometime last week. The Chinook were returning to the Crystal Lake Hatchery on southern Mitkof Island, south of Petersburg. Warm water temperatures appear to be the culprit.
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Petersburg Man Killed In Trailer Fire
A trailer fire early Saturday morning claimed the life of an elderly Petersburg man. Frank Neidiffer was found dead once volunteer fire fighters were able to get in.
Preliminary report out for fatal float plane crash
The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on last week’s fatal crash of a floatplane near Petersburg. The report summarizes the circumstances in the June 4th accident but does not yet include a probable cause for that fatal crash.
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Float Plane Crash Victim Recovered From Steep Mountainside
Alaska State Troopers and other rescuers Wednesday recovered the body of a Santa Fe man killed in Tuesday’s float plane crash near Petersburg.
Body Recovered From Fatal Plane Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board needed help from mountain rescue specialists to get to the site of Tuesday's fatal plane crash near Thunder Mountain east of Petersburg.
One Dead, Six Survive Float Plane Crash Near Petersburg
One person is dead and six were rescued from a floatplane crash Tuesday on the mainland near Petersburg.
Federal Judge Dismisses Alaska’s Challenge of Roadless Rule
A federal judge has dismissed Alaska’s court challenge of the roadless rule for national forest land. Alaska had the last remaining legal case against the 2001 nationwide rule, which prohibits new road construction, reconstruction or logging on large undeveloped areas of national forest land across the U.S. That includes parts of the Tongass and Chugach national forests in Alaska.
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Troopers Investigating Kake Teenager’s Death As A Homicide
Alaska State Troopers are investigating the death of a 13-year-old girl in the small Southeast community of Kake as a homicide.
13-Year-Old Girl Found Dead Inside Kake Church
Family members have identified the person found dead in the Southeast community of Kake Tuesday night as a 13-year-old girl, Mackenzie H. Howard of Kake. Alaska State Troopers say Howard was found by a member of the community inside the Memorial Presbyterian Church.
Petersburg Officials Review Tsunami Evacuation
Petersburg officials are reviewing the community’s response to a tsunami warning from the January 4th earthquake that rattled Southeast Alaska and sent residents scrambling to higher ground in the middle of the night. The voluntary evacuation went smoothly by many accounts but also highlighted some possible areas of improvement.