Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 121
The state still hasn’t decided on a budget, but the Petersburg School District has. The school board approved the district’s 2016 budget during its monthly meeting Tuesday evening in assembly chambers. Finance Director Karen Quitslund said Petersburg schools’ are looking at an $8.4 million general fund next year. “Well this has certainly been a very interesting budget year,” she said, adding she may not have survived it if it had been her first year in the job. While there are still uncertainties, the district’s budget is due to the state b... Full story
With less than an inch of rain, May of 2015 is officially the driest on record. Meteorologist Richard Lam, with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Juneau, said Petersburg only recorded 0.26 inches of rain last month. The former record was set in 1996, when there was 1.15 inches of precipitation, according to NWS data. This May set a second record in the longest stretch of consecutive days without measurable precipitation at 22, Lam added, beating the 20 day record set in 1958. The reason was a broad high pressure system that kept storm... Full story
At least a portion of the Hungry Point Trail extension will be elevated boardwalk, similar to that of Blind River Rapids Trailhead. The Petersburg Indian Association board decided on June 1 to construct the boardwalk trail from 14th Street up to the ball field section of the trail. The decision was a combination of economics, zoning and environmental regulation concerns, Transportation Director Susan Harai said. The Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission will likely discuss the lower route at its August meeting. It’s in an unplatted s...
Locals Al and Sally Dwyer not only got to meet the king of Norway, but invited him to come check out Petersburg. The couple met King Harald V on May 27 during an Alaska World Affairs Council luncheon. They, and others, also joined him for an evening event. Al was the first to receive an email from the Anchorage Sons of Norway lodge about the opportunity, and then Sally as the cultural director for the district. They had to get credentials and Sally was selected to join just a handful of people...
The Summer Reading Challenge and its companion, the Read to Me Challenge, are underway at the Petersburg Public Library. The goal is for each child to read 120 minutes per week, even if they're traveling, Librarian Director Tara Alcock said. "I think it's a great way to just keep kids reading over the summer," said Jennifer Dickson, who has both of her children participating. She's always encouraged her kids to read, reading to them when they were younger, and said they usually enjoy it. But...
The Petersburg Aquatic Center is back up and running after an electrical fire knocked out its two boilers. Parks and Recreation Director Donn Hayes said a fire in the boilers' wiring on May 27 left them inoperable, forcing closure of the pool. It reopened on Wednesday as one boiler is again running and water temperatures have risen to mandated levels. Hayes said a technician from the manufacturers of the boilers came in to examine both. He was able to rebuild one and get it back online. "It's...
The Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) is upgrading to a digital mammography unit, meaning better service, but a higher cost for patients. During a special meeting Thursday, June 4, Laboratory and Imaging Director Liz Bacom said they received an opportunity to purchase the machine shortly after the Board of Directors approved a software and hardware upgrade that would help PMC convert film images into digital ones. A sales representative from Philips contacted Bacom about a unit in Sitka two weeks after the board approved that $14,000 upgrade to...
Two men were rescued south of Petersburg in Sumner Strait last week after the boat they were in capsized. Alaska Wildlife Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters said police received the call at 3:29 p.m. on Thursday, June 4. Joseph Hedlund, 57, of Petersburg, and Richard Shepson, 61, of Tacoma, Wash., were pulled from the water by troopers in the patrol vessel Moen, U.S. Forest Service and National Marine Fisheries Service personnel. Peters said the men were fishing when their boat capsized and they signaled for help. Neither were wearing their...
You're free to make your own choices now; don't be afraid to head out into the open ocean. That was the advice 2015 Petersburg High School Valedictorian Kyle Hagerman gave his peers during his graduation speech Wednesday evening at the high school gym. Thirty-two seniors graduated this year, "a group honestly, of both boys and girls, that got things done and did them at a high, high level," Principal Rick Dormer said. Dormer shared a story about surviving a flood during his college years at... Full story
Stedman Elementary School will be welcoming three new teachers into its ranks this fall. Principal Teri Toland announced last month that the school had selected new hires from a large, experienced candidate pool. She said the number of applicants was unprecedented and may in part be due to Alaskan layoffs. Education is facing big cuts with state proposed budgets. "As we went through the process, it became very clear there was a key group," Toland said. Coming in to teach fourth grade is Heather...
State Department of Environmental Conservation results are in, and there don’t appear to be any issues with water quality after an accidental spill of waste at the borough’s landfill in late March. The borough’s Wastewater Utility transports and buries piles of solid waste at the landfill about once a week. While digging a hole with an excavator, Public Works Director Karl Hagerman said, sludge sitting to the side to be buried slid down a hill to a stream that runs to the Sandy Beach Park area. Mike Solter with DEC’s Division of Water said th...
Little ones will get the chance to see what track and field athletes do firsthand this weekend with the Petersburg High School team holding its first-ever Track Camp. “I don’t think kids understand what track and field involves” as meets are elsewhere, Coach Amanda Thomas said. “This will give the elementary kids an idea for what track is.” She added that the Track Camp, for elementary-aged children, is also a fundraiser for the PHS track and field team. Camp will be held Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the track field behind St...
A short-lived farm property tax exemption proposal died during an assembly meeting Monday afternoon. Assembly member Jeigh Stanton Gregor had been contacted by residents on the possibility of the exemption earlier this year and asked in January if he could work with staff to develop an ordinance for future consideration. On Monday he said he liked “the idea of promoting agriculture in Southeast” because it’s challenging, but added that he could no longer support the ordinance knowing the exemption would also apply to marijuana grow opera...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors is taking a closer look at future needs for the community’s hospital. The board approved a facility condition survey in the amount of $26,575 during its regular meeting on May 28. PMC CEO Liz Woodyard said Joann Lott from the Jensen Yorba Lott architectural firm came to look at long term care a few months ago, and that an assessment of the hospital’s condition was brought up at a following board meeting. That got put on hold, but during strategic planning, there was discussion about forming a c...
Following in his older brother Joe's footsteps, Petersburg High School graduate Ben Zarlengo has accepted an appointment into the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Academy Scholars Program. Joe, dressed in his uniform, presented Ben with that appointment, along with a scholarship totaling more than $400,000, at graduation on Wednesday. "I couldn't be prouder," their dad, Dan, said. Like his brother, Ben will first be going to a military prep college in Alabama for a year. Then, if he meets all the require...
He was alone on his boat, and it was a bit of a battle. Scott Stafford, of Petersburg, caught his Salmon Derby winning 50.9 pound fish on Saturday. Fishing from his 22-foot-long Alice Marie, just outside of the North Arm with fishermen from a dozen vessels watching nearby, Stafford said it took about 30 to 40 minutes to reel in the fish. The fisherman brought the king salmon up to his boat about seven times. It went under the boat, around the boat. Finally he got it to where the head was... Full story
Despite a mild winter, LeConte Glacier really hasn't receded or advanced much. Six Petersburg High School (PHS) students traveled by skiff and helicopter to survey the glacier on May 12 and mapped the data on May 18. "What we discovered this year, is the same as it's been the last four or five years," PHS science teacher Vic Trautman said. But the ice pack is thinning, according to University of Alaska Fairbanks studies. Trautman said they've seen a reduction in the serac, a block of glacial...
This year, 32 graduating seniors will be walking across the stage to collect their diplomas. Petersburg High School is holding its graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 3, at 7 p.m. in the high school gym. Senior Adviser Ashley Lohr said this year’s valedictorian is Kyle Hagerman. Aaron Murph is the class of 2015’s salutatorian. Beau Ward, who teaches English in the high school and language arts in Mitkof Middle School, will be this year’s speaker. Petersburg High School Principal Rick Dormer said this year’s graduating class is one of achi...
The possibility of a borough-run marijuana store was once again broached during the Local Marijuana Regulation Advisory Committee’s second meeting as a whole group Wednesday evening. Dr. James Baker, a retired chiropractic physician with medical marijuana grow operations in Washington, presented a plan to the seven members in attendance at assembly chambers. “Think bold, not old,” he said. “There’s a lot of stigmas and misconceptions about marijuana.” Petersburg is looking at about $1 million in state budget cuts. Baker said a borough owned mar... Full story
Petersburg has moved from its wettest April on record to what’s looking to be its driest May. Despite rain Wednesday and more precipitation forecasted for today (Thursday), this May is “definitely still looking like it’ll be the driest,” said meteorologist Geri Swanson with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Juneau. Petersburg still had less than 0.3 inches of rain Wednesday afternoon, and was expecting less than a 10th of an inch with the day and Thursday’s forecast — the area’s “best chances” for rain before moving back into a high pressur...
One of Petersburg's biggest construction projects is nearing its end as the other's just beginning. Work on the $8.6 million Haugen-Nordic road project started last week while nearly $3 million worth of runway resurfacing at the Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport is expected to wrap up by the end of next month, Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said. Utility work at the end of Sing Lee Alley, on the south side of Rasmus Enge Bridge, got Phase One... Full story
The Petersburg School District’s financial future is still unknown, but it was looking bleak Monday evening. Governor Bill Walker announced Monday afternoon that he had vetoed parts of the budget packet that were unfunded, leaving Alaska’s schools funded at only 28 percent. The district’s budget for 2016 is at a “stopping point” until legislators finish the budget, Finance Director Karen Quitslund said, but fiscal year 2015 has already been impacted. The school board approved 2015 budget revisions during a special meeting Monday evening at the... Full story
Things should be getting back to normal at the Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport fairly soon. A nearly $3 million rehabilitation project of the taxi and runway is expected to be finished by the end of June, said Jeremy Woodrow, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Airport Manager Dave Booker said they were told planes could start being parked in their usual spots today (Thursday). “We’ve just been pushing, pulling, towing airplanes,” he said. Workers from Knik Construction, of Bethel, have been repav...
Not common for the area, a short-lived thunderstorm caused a minor disturbance in Petersburg on Tuesday. At about 3:10 p.m., a lightning strike hit a tree, transformer line and transformer, putting "the whole island in the dark," Petersburg Municipal Power and Light Superintendent Joe Nelson said. "The tree was kind of hurt bad, the transformer line is OK, the transformer was destroyed and had to be replaced," he added. That work took about an hour and a half before power was back on. The transf...
Facing a Class B felony charge of burglary, 22-year-old Brittany Martin’s trial is set to begin July 21. Martin, of Juneau, was indicted on the felony charge of burglary in the first degree on April 24. According to the indictment document, she allegedly entered a residence in mid-February with the intent to commit theft. Martin, who is still in custody, attended an omnibus hearing Monday afternoon via phone from the jail. Assistant District Attorney Nick Polasky told Judge William Carey over the phone that the trial would likely last two to th...
