Author: kfskadmin

A new system for charitable giving in Alaska has attracted at least 15 thousand donors and over one-point-two million dollars so far this year. The Pick Click Give program is linked to the application for the permanent fund dividend and the filing deadline is coming up at the end of the month.

A local couple this winter got a chance to visit a new Rotary Club and several schools in Tanzania that have benefitted from some fund raising efforts here in Petersburg. Viking Travel owners Dave and Nancy Berg in January and February spent several weeks around the town of Monduli, in the northeastern part of that country. The Bergs visited Rogathe Kaombwe, who traveled to Petersburg two years ago with her husband Eden, friends of a former pastor of the Petersburg Lutheran Church. Eden Kaombwe, a popular teacher at a Lutheran school in Monduli, suffered a heart attack and died during his first and only visit to the United States. However, connections made during that visit have left an enduring legacy in the rural African town. Rogathe helped start up a Rotary club in Monduli after her visit, and Petersburg’s Rotarians raised money to help create a micro loan program there. The Bergs say they were able to see the micro loan program in action, and met with some other recipients of donations from Petersburg. Joe Viechnicki spoke with the Bergs about their recent trip.

Petersburg police have enlisted the help of a sketch artist in their investigation of a sexual assault they say took place on Second Street, near Haugen Drive earlier this year. The department this week released a drawing of the unknown suspect in the case.

A federal court has ruled against Petersburg in its legal fight over a hydro-power permit for a nearby mountain lake. The US Court of appeals for the District of Columbia this month upheld a 2009 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision to award the preliminary permit for Ruth Lake to the community of Angoon. Petersburg had challenged FERC’s use of a random drawing to choose between the competing applications.

Southeast Alaska’s largest environmental organization is praising a newly released plan for logging, road, trail and culvert work on Kupreanof Island in the heart of the Tongass National Forest. The Central Kupreanof timber harvest has been scaled down from initial proposals. It also avoids controversial cuts or road building in roadless areas on Kupreanof and should mean some contract work for the residents of the small, nearby community of Kake.