Author: kfskadmin

Petersburg’s Salvation Army Church welcomed some new faces this summer. Captains Shane and Ragina Halverson took over the Petersburg post in late June. The Halversons have three kids and were most recently stationed in Anchorage for three years. They have been officers in the Salvation Army for a decade, and have also been stationed in Wrangell and Oregon. In addition, Ragina, is originally from Hoonah and still has family there. Joe Viechnicki spoke this week with Shane Halverson about the new posting.

Several creeks and a bay in Southeast Alaska have been added to the state’s 2010 list of polluted or impaired waterways. Several others have been reclassified on that list for improved water quality.

The US Forest Service is trying to inventory all the plants in the Tongass National Forest, including its mushroom populations. A crew of mycologists, or mushroom experts, visited Petersburg last month to help with the effort…and during the inventory, one scientist came across what he believes may be a new kind of truffle.

Petersburg’s city manager is applying for work elsewhere but says he does not want to leave his job here. The 52 year-old Hahn has applied to be the manager in the Mat-Su Borough. He’s one of over 40 applicants for that postion, according to a story last week in the Anchorage Daily News. In addition, a newspaper in Trinidad Colorado is reporting that Hahn is one of three finalists to be the city manager there. In an interview Monday Hahn said he has applied to other jobs as well, but declined to say where those are.

Residents in Kake are still hoping for a cheaper source of electricity and are banking on a connection to hydro-electric power, available about 40 miles away in the neighboring community Petersburg. Located on the Northwest end of Kupreanof Island, the small community of 500 is currently powered by expensive diesel fuel. Officials there are also considering other options, including wind and biomass energy.