Author: kfskadmin

The city of Petersburg will put more money into its effort to secure a federal permit for a proposed hydro electric power plant in Thomas Bay north of town. Petersburg’s city council Monday gave staff the green light to spend up to $130,000 more to compete for the permit against two other Southeast municipalities and a private company.

Petersburg’s Public Library and School district brought prominent Alaskan author and photographer Nick Jans to town this week for a presentation and writers workshops. Jans has written nine books about the wilds, wildlife and people of Alaska from southeast to the arctic. His works include “The last light breaking: living among Alaska's Inupiat Eskimos” and “The grizzly maze: Timothy Treadwells fatal obsession with Alaskan bears. He’s also contributed many articles to magazines and anthologies. Jans stopped by to speak with Matt Lichtenstein:

Petersburg Mental Health Services has released the results from a recent city-wide survey focused on substance abuse, suicide, violence and other dangerous behaviors. The respondents answered 27 specific questions and commented extensively about several broader issues including youth, morals, and the community.
The agency sent the questionnaire out to 18 hundred local box holders last fall. 284 people responded. About two-thirds of the respondents were over 45 years old. More than two-thirds were female. Most were employed and their incomes varied widely from less than 30 thousand dollars a year to over 100 thousand.
Mental health clinician and substance abuse specialist Kim Kilkenny says some of the results were pretty positive. She spoke with KFSK’s Matt Lichtenstein.

Petersburg’s City Council and City Manager will try and work through their inter-personal conflicts without seeking the help of a mediator…at least for now.

The Four Dam Pool Power Agency has now become a two dam pool.
The organization finalized its partial split-up and restructuring this week. As a result, Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan have formed the new Southeast Alaska Power Agency, a public organization which now owns and operates the two hydro-electric plants that power the three southeast towns. Meanwhile, the two electric cooperatives that serve Kodiak and Copper valley have split away from the pool and taken independent ownership of their two plants. Agency officials and town leaders say the new arrangement will mean more local control over energy development and potentially lower rates in the long term.