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Standing in front of nine fourth graders and a lettuce patch, Christina Sargent began her instructions: "They are tools, not toys," she said, signaling to a pair of garden scissors. "May I please use the big, fat scissors?" asked one fourth grader, who took a black pair and began snipping lettuce from the elementary school garden in Petersburg. It was close to noon on Wednesday, the middle of National School Lunch Week, and K-5th graders were about to participate in "Harvest Soup Day." They had...
An Alaskan campaign to protect fish from harmful mine runoff is not anti mining, it just wants a seat at the table, and the Petersburg Assembly agreed last week. The assembly approved a resolution in support of the enforcement of the Boundary Waters Treaty in the Southeast Alaska and British Columbia transboundary region. Salmon Beyond Borders has been touring Southeast Alaska, coaxing local governments to support a resolution to protect against pollution from mines, said Melanie Brown, a coordinator with the group. Brown said the organization...
Mark Jensen, who resigned in May over a distaste for borough decisions, was unofficially re-elected as mayor on Tuesday, beating his opponent by 135 votes. Jensen received 631 votes, and his opponent, Cindi Lagoudakis, received 496. After Jensen resigned in May, then vice mayor Lagoudakis filled the role. They both were hesitant to run. Jensen spent about four years as mayor when Petersburg was a city and when it became a borough. A disagreement with the proposed restructuring of Power & Light...
Fluoride will remain in the Petersburg water supply and ATVs will remain prohibited to drive on borough streets, two of the many decisions made after 1,159 ballots were cast in the election on Tuesday. Propositions #6 and #7 were struck down handily by voters in Petersburg. The question that asked whether to keep fluoride was voted against 692 times, with 430 in favor. Phil Beardslee, a retired dentist in Petersburg who is pro fluoride, was wary of the voter turnout before the election, until he noticed about 43 percent of the population...
Jeff Meucci and Brandi Marohl were added to the borough assembly Tuesday night, unofficially deciding the six-person race for two vacant seats. Meucci, who was appointed to the assembly in June, regained his seat and led in votes with 528. “I want to thank Cindi [Lagoudakis] and Bob [Lynn] for their time and efforts as our mayor and assembly member,” Meucci said after the election. “I want to thank the people who voted for me. I am humbled by their confidence in me.” Meucci said he will focus on developing Scow Bay, finishing an evaluat...
The waitlist to get into the only state licensed children’s center in Petersburg is decreasing in some places and remaining high in others, despite a second expansion in two years, said Heidi Cabral, the director. “I don’t know if I’ve improved it,” Cabral said, after which a board member interrupted to praise her for managing another prolonged licensing agreement. “I’ve kept it running,” Cabral commented. Heidi Cabral has directed the Petersburg Children’s Center for nearly three months. She is the third director in a year, and she was met w...
The five propositions that didn’t ask about fluoride or ATVs all passed except one, and 15 board members were added to Petersburg leadership after the uncertified municipal election brought out 43 percent of the voters. The school board had a contested race between two write-in candidates, which was too close to call Tuesday night. Janine Gibbons took the seat with 211 votes and Meredith Evens 180. Gibbons will serve a three-year term. Sarah Pawuk Holmgrain ran uncontested to fill a two-year term and received 925 votes. Meanwhile, voters decide...
The Norwegian ambassador visited Petersburg last weekend to give presentations on the arctic and global warming, Glo Wollen thought, until the underlying agenda was revealed: presenting her a medal from the King of Norway. Wollen, the Sons of Norway president in Petersburg, organized a visit from Ambassador Kare Aas. Without telling her, Aas flew to town on Thursday and presented her the Saint Olav's Medal that evening at a dinner party. "I am still in shock," Wollen said. "This was a complete...
Volunteer firefighters in Petersburg received stipend hikes this week amounting to $240 each a year, a decision made unanimously by the assembly in a meeting this week. “Without these leaders in this department, we wouldn’t have a functioning unit,” said Eric Castro, an assembly member. “They should be better compensated for everything that they put forward.” The raise will apply to all volunteers besides the fire chief. There are 13 volunteers who will receive $20 more a month. This will cost...
The Petersburg Girls Cross Country Team started its postseason with a perfect finish at regionals on Saturday, claiming the top five places and a complete bid to State this weekend. The high school Cross Country team on Saturday traveled to Ketchikan for regionals where heavy rainfall hit the track, making it slick with mud. There was a gradual but lengthy incline at the beginning, which complemented hills that Petersburg had trained on in practice. They were pacing through ideal conditions, sai...
The CEO of the Petersburg Medical Center is asking the Borough to change how all city board members can attend meetings, making legal and official business easier to conduct. Liz Woodyard, the Petersburg Medical Center CEO, wants to amend an ordinance that would allow board and assembly members to attend meetings electronically, and their attendance would still count toward a quorum. Woodyard reported last week that she is working with Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson to present the proposal to...
The scheduled swim meet in Petersburg this weekend was cancelled after a germ from human fecal matter was suspected to be in the community center pool. "There are concerns regarding Cryptosporidium and the possibility that the pool could be infected," Elementary Principal Teri Toland said in an email addressed to families. "While there is no evidence to 100% confirm that, we are not sending students to swim for the rest of the week." Cryptosporidium is a germ found in the fecal matter of a...
The 39th annual harbor conference is scheduled to begin next week at the Sons of Norway Hall in Petersburg. The Alaska Association of Harbormasters and Port Administrators will start events on Monday, October 3 and continue through Friday. Check-in will be 2:00 p.m. on Monday and a welcome reception at the Elks Club will be at 5:00. After that, the week will feature nearly 30 events sprawled across the five days. Petersburg last hosted the conference in 2003....
The radio station in Petersburg received more than $100,000 of individual donations in fiscal year 2017, which has reinforced the nearly 50 percent of state funding that has been slashed the last two years. From June 2016 to July 2017, Station Manager Tom Abbott said KFSK received $105,180 in donations almost exclusively from Petersburg residents. "KFSK is in the top 10 for per capita giving among all radio stations in the nation," Abbott said, "which is something that Petersburg should be...
Voters in Petersburg will be asked if the Borough should spend up to $500,000 on developing a small vessel haul out and work yard at Scow Bay. The Borough assembly in July approved a resolution to be placed on the October 3 ballot that would ask whether $500,000 should be spent on developing Scow Bay. The project had been estimated to cost $7 million. The $500,000 would identify to grant foundations that Petersburg is committed to spending its own money on the project, said Glo Wollen, the harbormaster. “Therefore spending this money [would s...
The first proposition listed on the election ballot will ask voters if the City of Kupreanof should own the dock connected to its shores. As it stands, the State of Alaska owns the Kupreanof dock, but it has not maintained it in decades, Mayor Tom Reinarts said. “We have been studying that dock for a long time,” Reinarts said. “We have only done bits and pieces to keep it in reasonable shape so it is useable. It is to the point it needs a whole lot more help.” In order for the state to transfer ownership to Kupreanof, the Borough charter...
There are three tax-based ballot questions in this year’s election, with two having an impact on shopping in the Petersburg Borough and a third affecting local businesses. Proposition #2 asks if the borough should increase the sales tax exemption on high dollar purchases. Currently, sale taxes are capped if a person spends $1,200 on a single purchase. The borough is asking if it should increase that cap to $1,500, a move that would generate revenue, said Debbie Thompson, the borough clerk. “For...
The North End Ferry Authority in Prince of Wales, dogged by years of what executives call mismanagement and ill-advised spending, has restarted plans for another try at a ferry that connects Coffman Cove, Petersburg and Wrangell. The most recent ferry was called the Rainforest Islander. The Authority's inception was in 2012, and it closed indefinitely in May of last year. Before 2012 there was the Inter-Island Ferry Authority's MV Stikine with the same route. Now, Don Nicholson, a North End...
Registered voters in Petersburg will be asked if the city should keep fluoride in its city water supply, and citizens are ratcheting up their stance on the issue from both sides. Sandy Volk, a dental hygienist, regrets not giving her kids more fluoride vitamins when they were young. Living near Papke’s Landing, Volk’s household didn’t receive city water, which had then and does now have a dose of fluoride in it. So she gave her kids fluoride compacted into a pill. She said the schools and recreation facilities all ran on city water, which...
The Petersburg Assembly approved a “groundbreaking” request from the harbormaster on Monday that gave thumbs up to start blueprinting the south harbor dredge project. Glo Wollen said boats in the south harbor are running aground and getting stuck at waterfront entrances and stalls. “Our fishing fleet is going aground on higher portions of the low tide in the south harbor,” she said. “There are boats getting stuck coming in and out.” As a result, Wollen coordinated an agreement between the Boroug...
The United State Ambassador to Norway will be in Petersburg at the end of the month to talk about priorities in the Arctic, Jeigh Stanton Gregor reported at an Assembly meeting on Monday. The Sons of Norway will host a reception for Ambassador Kare Aas on Saturday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the SONS hall. Aas is scheduled to give a presentation titled “Norway’s Priorities in the Arctic.” “It’s a pretty neat topic especially since the U.S. has a vested interest in the Arctic through Alaska,” said Glo Wollen, who helped coordinate the visit....
Voters in Petersburg are going to decide on October 3 whether off-highway vehicles should be allowed on most streets in town, prompting the question of how law enforcement responds to ATVs on streets now, and how they might if the Borough code is changed. The proposed ordinance change would allow for any off-highway vehicles -- side-by-sides, golf carts -- to be driven on every Petersburg street besides Haugen Drive, South Nordic Drive, Mitkof Highway and Scow Bay Loop. This does not include snow machines or snowmobiles. When asked about the AT...
A man who pled guilty this week to illegally shooting two bears on Admiralty Island in 2015 was sentenced to $13,000 in fines guaranteed, one-year probation and loss of hunting privileges for five years. Griffen Fales, 20 years old from California, appeared via phone before Judge Desiree Burrell in the Petersburg District Court on Tuesday. Fales pled guilty of two counts of taking a brown bear in closed season, two counts of fail to salvage, and one count of fail to possess a non-resident locking tag. An investigation from Alaska Wildlife...
The Viking harriers continued their strong season in Sitka and in their final race before regions finished second overall for the girls and fifth for the boys. Against their own division opponents (1A/2A/3A) the boys were third, and the girls first. The girls have not lost a regular season or regional meet to a division opponent for three years. Freshman Maia Cowan continues to impress as she finished second overall only behind the 4A Alaska champion Sadie Tuckwood in a personal best time of...
The Petersburg School District wants to be clear to the public why it switched to a single phone system, and how a toll-free number will increase accessibility and better facilitate workflow for educators and administrators. Jon Kludt-Painter, the technology director of the Petersburg High School, headed the integration of a one number system. He said recent reports on school bulletins have advertised the new phone as a “District Office” number. It is not an office, rather an operator with nine call options, including a line to every sch...
