39.0°

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ANGOON

JUNEAU - Alec Venechuk joined R&M Engineering, Inc. in October 2009. Venechuk was born in Petersburg and grew up in Healy, Alaska and obtained his B.S. degree in geological engineering from University of Alaska Fairbanks in May 2009. His past experience includes working for Usibeli Coal Mine in Healy, where he was responsible for writing and reviewing drilling contracts; managing an exploration program and drill crew; performing borehole logging; monitoring and sampling piezometric wells; compiling geotechnical drilling data and designing and staking of exploration roads. Venechuk has also worked as a geology intern for Kensington Gold Mine in Juneau. He married Kelsey Sturrock, a JDHS graduate, in August 2009. Venechuk's role at R&M has included working as a surveyor and doing materials testing at the Kensington Gold Mine. He is projected to work on geotechnical and civil engineering design projects for the State of Alaska, the City and Borough of Juneau and private sector projects in Southeast Alaska.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

JUNEAU - For the fourth year in a row, high school students from Juneau took first place in the 13th annual Alaska Region National Ocean Sciences Bowl, also known as the Tsunami Bowl. South Anchorage High School's Team Starfish won second place.

WRANGELL - Rain, wind, sleet and snow-these characteristics of Southeast Alaska are often seen in a negative light. But not for Patrick Ellis. Weather keeps him in business.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ANGOON

I'm in the best seat in the house. Alone, in the dark, front and center on the M/V Malaspina. It's a February evening and the view from beyond the railings on deck is completely invisible in the night, save for a series of blinking and steady lights guiding our captain through the Wrangell Narrows. A crew member cut the inside lights a while earlier, explaining that any ambient light from inside the vessel may hinder the captain's navigation through the channels.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ANGOON

ANGOON

The most common piece of equipment on a fishing boat is also the most dangerous: the winch.

Among the various supply shortages plaguing the fishing fleet in the season of 1945, as World War II wound down, was Copenhagen "snoose." Undoubtedly all of the Southeast halibut fishermen felt the effects of the shortage, but it was Petersburg's fishermen who complained the loudest. That city's newspaper said that Petersburg probably consumed a larger tonnage of snoose per capita than any town in the western hemisphere. The fleet was due to sail May 1 for the annual "halibut-snatching" that lasted 60 to 70 days, but the fishermen discovered that the manufacturers, mostly located in Chicago, had been put under a 10-day embargo: this meant that snoose was not being shipped.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ANGOON

PETERSBURG - The 2010 reunion for Petersburg High School graduates of classes 1956 through 1970 will be held July 2-5. Register for the reunion at http://www.petersburgalaskareunion.com/. Just log in, find your name and fill in your information. If you have questions or need help registering, call Jean Pederson Curry at 772-3576, Jean Reid Ellis at 772-3240, or Karen Olsen Haltiner at 772-3237.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ANGOON

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

PETERSBURG - The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on its Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Outfitter and Guide Management Plan for the Petersburg Ranger District. A decision on the plan will determine how recreation visitor capacity will be allocated to outfitters and guides through issuance of special use permits.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ANGOON

As we look back at Alaska's seafood industry over the past year, consider this: 62 percent of our nation's seafood landings come from Alaska, as does 96 percent of all U.S. wild salmon. Globally, Alaska ranks ninth in the world in terms of seafood production. The seafood industry is second only to Big Oil in revenues it generates to state coffers, and it provides more Alaska jobs than oil/gas, mining, tourism and timber combined. Alaska's abundant and sustainable fishery resources are the envy of all other seafood producers, and its fishery management is regarded as a model around the world.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

KETCHIKAN - First Book Southeast Alaska awarded grants this month to eight regional agencies that work with children. The grant awards are in various amounts for a total of $5,480 which will purchase 10,960 new books for kids from the First Book Marketplace. Awards were granted to Community Connections Early Learning in Ketchikan and Craig; Wrangell Tlingit and Haida Headstart; Ketchikan Charter School Kindergarten; Tongass School of Arts and Sciences; Tlingit and Haida Headstart Petersburg; Ketchikan Head Start; and Parents as Teachers in Ketchikan.

Petersburg - Petersburg is well known throughout Southeast Alaska for its Norwegian heritage. Vikings and Valkyries are a common sight during the town's Little Norway Festival each May, and another unique Norwegian tradition is celebrated during the Christmas season: julebukking.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

Sales of fishing permits and catch shares is a good way to gauge how confident people feel about the economy, and brokers say the past year has been a mixed bag in their business.

ANGOON

ANGOON

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

Gov. Sean Parnell visited the Southeast communities of Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg last week. In each community he met with local leaders as well as students.

ANGOON

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ANGOON

ANGOON

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

Alaska's halibut fishery ended on Nov. 15 amidst little fanfare. Brutal winter weather wreaked havoc on deliveries the final week, and bumped up prices as buyers scrambled for the last fresh fish of the year.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.

ACOA/CODA Meeting, Wed. & Fri., Noon-1pm, Northern Lights United Church, 400 11th St; Sun. 11am-Noon, Assembly Chambers.