Author: kfskadmin

As the co-chair-to-be of the Senate Finance Committee again next year, State Senator Bert Stedman will be in a key position to advocate for southeast project funding. A couple of the big-ticket items on the horizon for the region include the proposed road and electrical intertie between Petersburg and Kake as well as the construction of new ferries to replace the Marine Highways aging fleet. The Legislature approved additional operating funds and partial funding for a new mainline ferry last session and Stedman hopes to secure more. He also expects the state will fund an environmental impact statement for the intertie project. On a trip to Petersburg in late October, Stedman discussed both issues with KFSK matt lichtenstein:

Supporters of an effort to recall Petersburg City Councilor Melinda Hofstad are getting more specific. The group, which includes two former councilors, has submitted a more detailed version of their complaint to the city. The original wording was rejected by the city attorney earlier this month. The new language cites more detailed examples of what the group calls abuse of power and misconduct in office.

Three of Petersburg’s veteran National Guardsmen took part in a multinational peacekeeping exercise in Mongolia earlier this fall. Sergeant Major Dan Goodwin and Sergeants Matt Duddles and Nick Boggs joined over 40 other guardsmen from around Alaska on the training mission, which ran from late August to late September. It was a unique experience for the three soldiers, each of whom had previously served in the war zones of Iraq or Afghanistan.
KFSK’s Matt Lichtenstein spoke with Goodwin, Duddles and Boggs shortly after they returned from the peace support training, which was called Khaan Quest 2008.

Petersburg households will be seeing another survey in their mailboxes this month. Petersburg Mental Health Services is trying to gauge community attitudes toward and the prevalence of drinking, smoking and suicidal thoughts, among other behaviors. The survey is funded by a substance abuse and suicide prevention grant from the state’s division of behavioral health. Joe Viechnicki spoke with mental health’s Kim Kilkenny about the survey.

An effort is underway to recall one of Petersburg’s city council members. A group of local residents turned in an application for a recall petition to the city clerk's office in late October. The application seeks to recall Melinda Hofstad for misconduct in office.