Author: kfskadmin

Hunters in the Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake area may have a better chance at finding a legal moose next year. The state board of game last week liberalized the strict antler configuration rules. As part of that decision, the state will also discontinue a program that allowed a limited number of hunters to shoot any bull.

Today is the 33rd Great Amercian Smokeout, a national effort to encourage smokers to quit for a day. The American Cancer Society estimates that almost half of the 45 million people nationwide who smoke have attempted to quit at least once this year. Here in Petersburg, staff with the Petersburg Indian Association and volunteers with the Americorps program have put together a one-day display to mark the occasion. Six hundred pairs of shoes line the bike path along Haugen Drive representing the people who die each day in the U.S. from smoking. Joe Viechnicki spoke with the association's Brandi Christensen and Ben Johnson about the display.

The District Two absentee vote count is now over and incumbent Peggy Wilson is the clear winner of a fifth term as the state representative for Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka and several smaller towns. The Wrangell Republican was roughly 900 votes ahead of Democratic challenger Lily Herwald of Sitka after election day. However last week, the Division of Elections said it still had over two-thousand absentee ballots left to count in that race.
The state finished counting those absentee ballots Tuesday (11/18) according to elections director Gail Fenumiai. The state’s unofficial results show Wilson’s lead increased to nearly 11 hundred votes. Overall, Wilson received about 57 percent to Herwald’s 42 percent. Including the absentee count, the district had a turnout of nearly 64 percent. The results are not considered official until they are certified by the division of elections. That’s expected to happen early next month. (NOTE: THERE IS NO AUDIO FOR THIS STORY)

The Stevens-Begich race is not the only unsettled contest from Alaska’s election. The legislative race for the District Two house seat in southeast could still go to either candidate. Incumbent republican Peggy Wilson of Wrangell was leading Democratic challenger Lily Herwald by nearly 900 votes after Election Day. However, more than twice that many absentee votes have yet to be counted.

Alaska’s Department of Transportation says it’s cutting back on its winter road maintenance in southeast towns because of a budget shortfall. In Petersburg, local officials say the decision could have serious impacts and police are warning motorists that road conditions on Mitkof highway and other state roads could be worse than usual this winter. (PLEASE NOTE: In an earlier version of this story, DOT spokesperson Roger Weatherall said that the Department could request supplemental maintenance funding if the winter weather got especially bad. Weatherall says his original statement was incorrect. He says hat the department would have to stay within its budget and would not request additional funding.)