Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-07-01) The city of Petersburg will not be releasing documents written by two city councilors about former city manager Rich Underkofler. The documents were given out to the mayor, council members and Underkofler at the council’s June 15th meeting and according to council members detail some of the reasons the council voted to end Underkofler’s employment.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-30) A 29-year-old Ketchikan man died Sunday night from injuries suffered in a dirt bike accident behind Petersburg’s airport. Police have identified the victim as Bucky Leach of Ketchikan. Petersburg volunteer fire department spokesman Dave Berg says EMTs responded to call at 6:30 Sunday night about a man who was injured while jumping sand piles on his dirt bike.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-30) An attorney for the city of Petersburg says the applications for recalling two city council members do not meet state standards and cannot be circulated for signatures. In an opinion released Friday, the attorney wrote that ending the city manager’s contract does not warrant a recall. The attorney also wrote that recall supporters did not include enough specific information in their allegation of private meetings by the council members.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-30) The Petersburg City Council Monday approved an agreement to part ways with city manager Rich Underkofler. They also formed a committee to seek an interim manager.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-26) A 37-year employee with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Petersburg is cleaning out his desk this month and preparing for retirement. Biologist William Bergmann is handing over the reins of managing commercial fishing catches in the Petersburg and Wrangell area. The 61-year-old started as a temporary worker at Fish and Game in Petersburg in 1972. His first job was with the Division of Sport Fish counting steelhead at a weir on Petersburg Creek not far from where he was raised. Bergmann spoke with KFSK’s Joe Viechnicki about his nearly four-decade long career.

Alex Hotz

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-26) A group of chefs from the Lower 48 stopped by Petersburg and Juneau early this week to learn more about Alaska’s fishing industry. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the organization that brought the chefs to Southeast, is hoping to educate the group about the state’s environmental practices.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-24) Petersburg’s mayor says he has called a meeting of the city council Monday to discuss terms for buying out the remainder of the city manager’s contract and plans for filling the manager’s job on an interim basis.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-24) The city of Petersburg has received applications to recall two city council members. Sponsors turned in the two applications Friday afternoon seeking the removal of councilors Lee Corrao and Sara Stoner from office. The recall applications have been sent to the city attorney who will determine if they meet state standards and can be circulated for signatures. If they are approved for circulation, the petitions would need 181 signatures to force a vote.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-22) The latest plans for a large hydro electric power plant on the mainland north of Petersburg call for tunneling into a remote mountain in Thomas Bay and siphoning water from the perched mountaintop lake for generating electricity. The private company seeking to build the project says it will sell the power initially to customers in Southeast Alaska, but eventually hopes to export the electricity. Cascade Creek LLC presented revised plans for its Cascade Creek hydro plant to Petersburg residents last week.

Matt Lichtenstein

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-16) A federal judge is requiring the U.S. Forest Service to swear that it has released all of the documents related to the disciplinary action it took against a whistleblower employee on the Tongass National Forest. Marketa Ith asked for the documents about her late husband, Glen, under the Freedom of Information Act.

Joe Viechnicki

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-16) The city of Petersburg will be looking for a new city manager. The city council Monday voted to negotiate a settlement for the end of city manager Rich Underkofler’s employment. That was despite more than an hour of passionate public testimony urging the council to put aside their differences and keep Underkofler. Councilors held their discussion in a closed-door executive session and did not give a reason for their decision last night.

Alex Hotz

PETERSBURG, AK (2009-06-16) A group of international and national tour operators visited the Petersburg-Wrangell area last week, for a special tourism development mission. The trip was an opportunity for local vendors to make business connections and learn how to sell the area to a wider tourism market.