Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1172
Breakthrough COVID-19 cases found in Alaska April 30 Between Feb. 1 and March 31, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services identified 152 positive cases of COVID-19 among people in the state who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report from DHSS. About 74 percent of the vaccine breakthrough cases, or 112 individuals, were among people who had received the Pfizer vaccine, according to the report. Thirty-eight percent of the breakthrough cases had received the Moderna... Full story
Petersburg Indian Association recently completed construction of a 2,190 square foot duplex the organization plans on renting to low and middle income native families this month. "It's small, but it fits the purposes, and it meets the needs that our clientele are looking for right now," said PIA Tribal Administrator Tracy Welch. "We're seeing a huge demand for one and two bedroom [apartments]." The duplex sits at the corner of S. 8th St. and Ira II St. Both units are mirror images of each other...
The day after he got married on Oct. 12, 2016, Jim Edgars was in town running errands before leaving for a Hawaiian honeymoon when the house he had always wanted to live in went on the market. He quickly told his wife, Alisa Edgars, about the house. "He came home through the roof, saying the Olsen house was for sale," said Alisa. "He had always wanted to live there, so we called the realtor and dropped off a check." Jim grew up a couple doors down from the house and played in the surrounding...
Jim and Alisa Edgars may own the log cabin on N. Nordic Dr. just before the street turns into Sandy Beach Rd., but the house was built by Carl Roger nearly 100 years ago. Roger, originally from Sweden, completed construction on the house in the early to mid-1920s, said his granddaughter, Jean Curry. He lived in the house with his wife Elizabeth Roger until his passing in 1958. Curry said some of her favorite childhood memories are from spending time in that house with her grandfather and...
Since 1985, Steve and Desi Burrell have lived in the home that used to belong to Desi's grandparents, Adolph and Bunny Mathisen. The 108-year-old home was comfortable, but it needed repairs that the two were unwilling to spend money on. "I guess when you've been living in an old place, you realize the things you would do to make things really comfortable and easy," said Burrell. The electrical wiring hadn't been touched since the 1960s. The lack of insulation in the home caused Steve and Desi...
Petersburg will be kicking off three days of festivities on Friday in celebration of the Fourth of July. The Parks and Recreation Center, Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Petersburg Lighthouse Church will be hosting over 20 activities in the downtown area and Middle Harbor, similar to years past. Last year's Fourth of July festival was scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year's festival is a return tradition. The fun begins at 6 P.M. on Friday when the Parks and Recreation...
The Emergency Operations Center demobilized and dissolved at 11:59 P.M. on Wednesday, along with the repeal of the local Emergency Disaster Declaration. "Over the past sixteen months, our community has worked together to put processes and infrastructure in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic," the EOC said in a press release issued Wednesday. "Community partners from all corners of our community have come together to collaborate, share resources and reduce the impacts of COVID-19 as much as...
In April and May, Petersburg Medical Center reported a consistent number of patient days, which were higher than what the hospital had seen over the last fiscal year, according to financial statements presented to the PMC Board of Directors on June 24. PMC had 129 inpatient days in April and 130 inpatient days in May. In March, the hospital's inpatient days were 56. Year-to-date, PMC has a total of 963 inpatient days, which have been down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of May...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors approved the hospital's 2022 fiscal year operating budget and capital budget at their meeting on June 24. The operating budget pairs a $19,740,872 in total operating revenue, with $19,930,780 in total expenses for the 2022 fiscal year. Income is facing a loss in operations of $189,908, but with income from investments, PMC has a positive bottom line of $55,439 for the new fiscal year. Cynthia Brandt, a financial consultant for PMC, called the...
The Borough Assembly agreed to engage with Stradling, Yocca, Carlson and Rauth (Stradling) for counsel services regarding a possible bond issuance that would fund upgrades to the Blind Slough Hydroelectric project and purchase additional standby diesel generators at their meeting on June 21. According to Utility Director Karl Hagerman, the cost of Stradling's services are unknown, but he estimates the total cost to be about $25,000. The borough will not be billed for Stradling's services until...
Deck Out Our Deck organizers broke ground on the site of Mountain View Manor's covered deck on Tuesday after two years of planning with help from general contractor Ty Cummins and Reid Brothers Construction. "This has been a long project," said Sally Dwyer, one of the organizers. The group has only raised $78,000 of their goal of $112,000 needed to complete the project. However, with the funds they have now, the group can lay the foundation for the deck, install support beams and build the...
The Race to Alaska, a 750 nautical race from Port Townsend, Washington to Ketchikan, was cancelled for the second year in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, but that didn't stop Hammer brothers Jake, 42, and Jens, 38, from taking advantage of the warm summer weather. When the Northwest Maritime Center (NMC) announced a new 360-mile race through Puget Sound, the two brothers quickly signed up; although, they didn't have a boat. After some quick thinking and phone calls, Jens was able...
Three passengers onboard a Boston Whaler skiff that crashed into a Hewescraft in the Wrangell Narrows in front of Trident Seafoods and OBI Seafoods on June 16 were transported to Petersburg Medical Center to receive medical attention, according to EMS Coordinator Josh Rathmann, with the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. The Boston Whaler was headed south through the Wrangell Narrows toward Petersburg Harbor when it crashed into a Hewescraft belonging to Island Point Lodge. Rathmann said he...
A lease the United States Forest Service holds on a plot of land near the 8 mile marker of Mitkof Highway that was once the site of an experimental fur farm will be ending in June 2022, ending a 43-year occupation of the site. District Ranger Ted Sandhofer said the decision to end the lease wasn't the Forest Service's, but the University of Alaska's, who holds the title of the property. The local Forest Service activities haven't been as prominent on the site since the early 1990s when its tree...
Local business owners are pessimistic about Petersburg's economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey conducted by Southeast Conference. Every year, Southeast Conference performs a survey to track the business climate and investments of Southeast Alaska businesses. In Petersburg, 32 business leaders participated in the 19-question survey, which was administered between April 9 and 23. The survey found that 48 percent of local businesses had a decline in revenue a...
Incident Commander Karl Hagerman gave the Borough Assembly possibly the last update of the Emergency Operations Center actions ahead of June 30, the date when all local COVID-19 related mandates and protocols come to an end. The Local Disaster Emergency Declaration will be terminated at 11:59 P.M. on June 30. Additionally, the Emergency Operations Center has been directed by the Borough Assembly to stand by until the end of the month. Petersburg's sole local health mandate, which requires...
The Borough Assembly approved resolution #2021-08 on Monday that awards a 20 foot wide utility easement on a piece of property located on Sandy Beach Rd. to be used by Alaska Power & Telephone for the installation of a submarine landing. AP&T Wireless is using a United States Department of Agriculture grant to interconnect Prince of Wales Island and Juneau with a fiber optic cable, said AP&T Vice President Jason Custer. The project will bring high speed broadband access to those living in...
The results of the Petersburg School District's spring Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment showed growth in language arts and math, but students didn't score as high as anticipated. Bridget Wittstock, special education director with the school district, presented the results of MAP test scores for kindergarten through ninth grade to the Petersburg School Board at their June 8 meeting. The spring results were compared to the test scores from the fall. Wittstock noted that the students...
A local Boston Whaler vessel crashed into a Hewescraft belonging to Island Point Lodge in the Wrangell Narrows in front of Trident Seafoods and OBI Seafoods on Wednesday morning, resulting in at least two injuries, according to two eyewitnesses. Al Domon and Joe Pang, two fishermen from California staying at the Green Rocks Lodge, said between 8:45 and 9:15 A.M. on Wednesday, the Boston Whaler was headed south into the Wrangell Narrows in the direction of Petersburg Harbor. The Boston Whaler was... Full story
A week after the Sandy Beach Playground was installed, organizers said the playground has enhanced the park and gotten nonstop attention from the younger members of the community. The new playground replaced a 25-year-old playground that consisted of some digging equipment, a swing set and a slide. Desi Burrell, one of three organizers of the project, said auditors recommended the replacement of the aging playground several years ago. Because the Petersburg Rotary Club had installed the original...
The Petersburg School Board adopted the fiscal year 2022 operating budget at their meeting on June 8 that has a total revenue that is below the school district's expenditures for the year. According to budget documents presented to the school board, the fiscal year 2022 operating budget is based on a total of $8,043,406 in revenue. Because the school district is anticipating an enrollment of 415 students this fall, the school district will see a drop in state funding of $696,443 over last year...
As the Petersburg Borough prepares to end its Local Disaster Emergency Declaration and disband the Emergency Operations Center at the end of the month, Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said during the COVID-19 community update on June 11 the local COVID-19 Dashboard would continue to be a local resource of all things COVID-19 related. "It's been quite a long haul, very rewarding," said Hagerman. "But I'm ready to get back to my normal job for sure." With the end of the Local Disaster Emergency...
Petersburg Medical Center will keep offering COVID-19 vaccines past the expiration of the Local Disaster Emergency Declaration at the end of the month. PMC Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner said at the COVID-19 community update on June 11 that the hospital's efforts to vaccinate the community against COVID-19 have remained unchanged. While the hospital isn't anticipating large vaccine clinics in the future, like the ones held at the beginning of the year, smaller vaccination clinics are still...
For the kids enrolled in Kinder Skog's summer program, all they wanted to do on Wednesday was go to Sandy Beach Park to play on the new playground. "The kids wanted to come down, so that's where we ended up," said Kinder Skog Mentor Rickki Malone. Katherine Pilcher, 10, Luci Maldonado, 8, Cali Compton, 8, Rebel McGrath, 9, and Kade Norheim, 8, spent their time at Sandy Beach enjoying the new playground equipment, but spent most of their time on a large circular swing that resembles a tire...
The Borough Assembly held a work session with staff from Alaska's federal delegation to discuss Alaska Natives Without Land legislation that will be introduced to the United States Senate in the coming weeks. The meeting is part of a series of work sessions the delegation is hosting throughout the region to gather feedback regarding the latest version of the Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act. Sen. Lisa Murkowski originally introduced the act in...
