Craig council member says Prince of Wales radio and 911 gaps need state, federal help

Emergency radios are losing contact with Craig dispatch on parts of Prince of Wales Island, and some 911 calls are ending up at trooper centers far from the island, a member of the Craig City Council said at the council's Oct. 1 meeting.

The council member called it a question of state money. "This is definitely a state issue," the council member said.

A portable radio in Thorne Bay can reach the dispatch center. South of Thorne Bay, even a radio in a truck cannot reach anyone unless the user stays on the south-side repeater, a relay antenna. Coverage there once reached as far as Kasaan, the council member said.

Repeaters run by Alaska Power & Telephone (AP&T) on Kasaan and at a second site already let radio users talk across the island, according to the council member. "I could sit in my driveway and talk to somebody in Copper Harbor," the council member said.

The council member said 911 calls that are supposed to go to Soldotna do not always arrive there. When Soldotna is busy, the member said, calls can be sent automatically to another trooper dispatch center. "Now you're going to call AT&T and you're going to get somebody in Tok," the council member said. "So it's just whoever's available next to pick up the phone."

The Alaska Department of Public Safety lists Soldotna as the dispatch contact for the Kenai Peninsula and Southeast Alaska, one of three regional trooper dispatch lines. The City of Craig runs its own center. Six dispatchers there provide 24-hour 911 service for Craig and Klawock and handle calls for Alaska State Troopers and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement. Its budget expects $100,000 from Klawock and $6,500 from the state for dispatch.

The council member suggested taking the issue to a regional body to seek federal support. Fewer calls to state centers would save the state money that could be spent on the island, the member said. The council took no action.