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Rachel Newport is taking over as clerk of the trial court office in Petersburg. "It's a big job," said Desiree Burrell, the magistrate judge in Petersburg. "It's very important." Newport is a Petersburg native, and now she'll be manager of its court system. She'll handle all of the filing and be the in-court clerk as well. "She's really the face of the court system in Petersburg," said Clayton Jones, who's been filling in from Ketchikan. Newport was one of the clinic receptionists at the...
A Petersburg man is facing controlled substance charges after police intercepted a package shipped to him that contained about an ounce of heroin. Kelsey McCay, 25, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, according to the Petersburg Police Department. McCay was the subject of an investigation after police developed information that heroin was being shipped to him. A search warrant of the package was granted and police discovered just... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors decided last week it would invite the finalists for the CEO position to town likely in mid-April. After an executive session to discuss which of the four finalists — one is from Petersburg — to bring to town, the board decided to invite all three. Philip Hofstetter is the vice president of hospital services at the Norton Sound Health Corporation in Nome. Hofstetter, a clinical audiologist, has 25 years of experience as a healthcare professional, 19 of which are in rural Alaska at a Level 4 Cri...
Baseball is back, despite a thick layer of ice covering the diamonds in Petersburg. The Viking high school tteam has practiced in the gym for about a month and is scheduled to host Ketchikan in less time. “That’s the toughest part,” Coach Jim Engell said practicing inside. “I hate the fact that it’s out of my control.” This year’s group is young, much like last year’s winless team, and could see leadership from one junior and a few sophomores, Engell said. Some dozen kids are out right now, practicing indoors on pitching, hitting, fieldi...
The outlook for tourism in Petersburg this summer is showing an increase in cruise ship passengers, while the rate of independent travelers is still unclear. Dave Berg, co-founder of Viking Travel Inc., says cruise ships are scheduled to make 133 stops in Petersburg this summer, which is up from 110 last year. "More stops, more passengers," Berg said. That could mean more dollars spent in downtown businesses. "More sales tax," Berg said. "Which basically trickles down to the economy and it's...
The sweeping remodel of the power and light building in Petersburg is on schedule to finish at the start of May, but there were several changes to the plan for the old building with “good bones.” Karl Hagerman, the utility director, says the complete remodel of the Petersburg Municipal Power and Light building, which hasn’t had a dramatic change in at least 30 years, will be done by May 1. The remodel includes full insulation, an entrance that removed the blind spot at the North Nordic and Haugen drive intersection, a reception desk on the f...
A Petersburg man is slated to be named national president of a storied fraternal organization that has about 780,000 members. Mike Luhr is scheduled this July to be installed as national president, or grand exalted ruler, of The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America. Luhr got his start with the Elks in 1977 at 21 years old. He worked through the ranks, and by 2001 became the president in Petersburg. He moved to the state level in 2004 when he was elected as a...
About a dozen people recently spent a day learning about Tlingit culture at Sandy Beach Park, as part of a Girl Scout Gold Award project. Nine students, including Avery Herrman-Sakamoto, who culminated her Gold Award project at the Tlingit Culture Camp on March 15. Herrman-Sakamoto has been a scout since the second grade. She decided in the fifth grade to work toward the Gold Award, the highest honor in the Girl Scouts. And now, a junior, she has worked on this capstone project since September....
The union that represents most borough employees voted Tuesday to reject a three-year contract with the borough, upending the agreement and scrambling both negotiating sides to decide what to do next. After the assembly ratified the three-year bargaining agreement in early March, it was up to the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association to decide whether to do the same. The association majority rejected it Tuesday evening. Some association members still feel a distaste for the last contract agreement, said Justin Haley, president of the...
The school board on Tuesday approved a three-year contract agreement with teachers, moved forward with a cafeteria kitchen remodel and celebrated the arrival of the district's new activity bus. The labor agreement between the Petersburg School District and Associated Teachers of Petersburg was finalized for the years 2019 through 2021. In it there's a 2 percent raise stretched over three years for the base salary of teachers. There will be a half percent raise in the first year, one percent rais...
In her final semester, Elisa Larson had one more chance to compete in high school, and since her left knee is torn and volleyball is over, she became a state champion in poetry. Larson won the Poetry Out Loud State Finals earlier this month, beating 10 others and scored more along the way. In the fall, Larson tore her ACL and lateral meniscus during the volleyball state tournament, ending her sports career in high school. The team would go on to win that tournament but might not have gotten ther...
The library in Petersburg is about a month away from unveiling its 20-foot storyteller totem pole. The Petersburg Public Library is adding a roughly $40,000 red cedar totem pole called the "Storytellers Pole," carved by Tommy Joseph, a Tlingit carver from Sitka. Joseph had an idea about 11 years ago to build a totem pole that caters to children and the storytellers they grow up with. He pitched the idea to the Petersburg library about four years ago, and it stuck, but the library had to wait...
The PHS jazz band is hosting a fundraiser this weekend to help defray high costs of having to fly to Juneau unexpectedly for the music festival. The Petersburg jazz band, and a few songs from the concert band, will play at the Sons of Norway Hall on Saturday evening from 7 p.m. to 9. The event comes as ferry scheduling in Petersburg has been unpredictable and lately non-existent. The ferry won’t be able to take roughly 60 band, jazz and choir members to the music festival in mid-April, making flight tickets about $250 each. The goal is to c...
Police seized items from a residence in Petersburg last week that are consistent with the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, according to a release from the department. Last Thursday and Friday, Petersburg officers served multiple search warrants at a residence on Cornelius Road, and “another location,” according to the release. Officers seized glassware, listed chemicals, materials used to package controlled substances for distribution and other suspicious substances, which will be submitted for official identification. The sus...
Two Petersburg residents are facing controlled substance charges after they allegedly coordinated the shipment of methamphetamine from Mexico to Mitkof Island. Carlos Sandoval, 53, and Helen Olson, 49, appeared before Petersburg Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for a felony first hearing on Wednesday afternoon. They were each charged with one count of second degree Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance. According to court filings, police were told Sandoval had traveled to Mexico to obtain...
The boys' basketball team finished its season fourth in the state after the 2018 ASAA March Madness Alaska 2A Tournament this past weekend. Slow starts and hurried comebacks, which often burn the players out, plagued the Vikings for most of the regular season. In the state tourney it seemed comparable. In the first round last Thursday, Petersburg fell behind Tok 22-10 at the end of the first half. Coach Rick Brock called a press and Petersburg came out firing in the second half, surging on a...
The cheer team in Petersburg placed first last weekend at the regional tournament in Ketchikan, securing its fourth straight title and prompting area coaches to say the Vikings should compete against bigger schools. In the Petersburg boys basketball game against Metlakatla last Thursday, two people weren't watching the game. They were judges, tasked with observing the Petersburg cheer team. For about 20 minutes during warmups, through the second quarter and then a two-and-a-half-minute halftime...
The Petersburg boys basketball team got a bid to the state tournament after it took second place at the 2A region championship last week. After a 5-13 regular season, Petersburg, which leaned heavily on its underclassmen and dealt with off-the-court issues all year, is going to the state tournament. "Especially with all the tough losses that we had, which could have been disappointments," said head coach Rick Brock, "and a revolving door in a sense of who was playing on what weekend, shows a...
The Petersburg assembly last week ratified a collective bargaining agreement with a union that represents most borough employees. The assembly approved a three year deal with the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association last week. The deal has to be voted on by the association as well, which occurs March 20. Among the changes in the agreement, according to the borough, is a 2 percent wage increase to the Step C salary classification. Those receiving the increase have had to be represented by...
The Petersburg Medical Center has narrowed its search for a new CEO down to three applicants from Alaska and one from Missouri. CEO Liz Woodyard is closing-in on retirement after 44 years in the medical field. Her possible successors include Jennifer Bryner, of Petersburg; Philip Hofstetter, of Nome; Patrick Williams, of Sitka; and Jeff Jones, of West Plains, Missouri. There are scheduled Skype interviews in the coming days, and it’s hoped a decision could be made next week on which finalists will be invited to Petersburg, said Doran H...
A Petersburg teen was named most outstanding female wrestler at a Fairbanks middle school tournament earlier this month that hosted about 500 athletes. Amanda Worhatch, a Mitkof Middle School seventh grader, was the only Petersburg wrestler to compete in the Tanana Invitational on Feb. 2. After she went undefeated in her weight class, without allowing a single offensive point, she was named the most outstanding female wrestler among the 500 athletes there. Timber Patten, another southeast...
The new exhibit at the museum in Petersburg showcases homemade skis and sleds, footage of the original ski hill and a string of literature, vintage gear and photography over a 60-year period. The exhibit, Winters Past, at the Clausen Memorial Museum celebrates the sense of fun and adventure in a Petersburg community that's often sunken in hard work, said Anne Lee, the curator. "It's a good time to do this in the winter time when people are not so busy," Lee said. "And also when people are out...
The PHS girls basketball team finished its season at Regionals last week in Ketchikan, winning just one game of its three-game road trip. Seeded fourth, Petersburg, with a 7-11 regular season record, beat Haines, 33-23, in the first round of the Region V 2A Basketball Tournament. The Lady Vikings then lost to Metlakatla (20-2) in the second round, 49-20, and then again to Craig, 62-32. Metlakatla would go on to win the tournament and grab the number one seed in the state tournament. Wrangell...
The Petersburg Swim Club competed in Juneau recently, where two members had multiple top-five finishes in their age group. Hosted by the Glacier Swim Club, six Petersburg members raced in the 2018 Alaska Swimming Age Group Championships for three days, starting Feb. 16. The swimmers were Natalie Bertagnoli, 9, Brooklyn Whitethorn, 9, Lexi Tow, 8, Logan Tow, 10, Abby Worhatch, 9, and Allie Morgan, 13. Morgan was top-10 in every event she raced, including a second place finish in the 200 meter...
About five weeks ago a 16-year-old South African stepped onto a tarmac in Alaska wearing flip-flops, ready to spend 11 months in Petersburg. It was the first time Clarisa Boshoff had experienced snow, and she was hooked. "I literally arrived and I'm like 'I'm not going back,'" said Boshoff, whose home city is populated with about eight million people. "I'm staying here." Boshoff, now equipped with Xtratuf boots, will stay in Petersburg through Christmas as part of the Petersburg Rotary Club...
