Articles written by brian varela


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  • P&R requests input through survey

    Brian Varela|Mar 4, 2021

    To help the Parks and Recreation Department set priorities for the upcoming year, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board voted in support of sending out a public interest survey at their meeting on Feb. 25. The advisory board was in agreement with their support of the survey and directed Parks and Recreation administrative assistant Theresa Craig to distribute the survey online. The survey is available on the Parks and Recreation Center's Facebook page and will be available to the public until...

  • Active COVID-19 cases count at 67

    Brian Varela|Mar 4, 2021

    Petersburg's active COVID-19 case count reached a new high of 67 cases on Wednesday, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Two cases were reported on Wednesday, and an additional two cases were added to Tuesday's overall case count. Two more residents were also deemed recovered by public health officials on Wednesday. Because cases were added to both Tuesday's and Wednesday's case count, Petersburg had an overall active case count of 67 on...

  • March assembly meetings pushed back a week

    Brian Varela|Mar 4, 2021

    The Borough Assembly meetings for March have each been postponed to avoid holding two meetings within one week The first assembly meeting in March will be held on March 8 at 12 P.M. and the second meeting will be on March 22 at 6 P.M. The assembly postponed their February meetings to allow contractors to replace the Assembly Chamber's audio system. As a result, the last meeting in February was held on Feb. 22. The first meeting in March was scheduled just one week later on March 1. "Having a...

  • High patient volumes, but low patient revenue at PMC

    Brian Varela|Mar 4, 2021

    Despite higher patient volumes at Petersburg Medical Center, total gross revenue was down in January and even lower when compared to the same timeframe last year. PMC had budgeted for 150 home health visits in January, but staff conducted 286 home health visits, according to financial documents presented to the Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors at their meeting on Feb. 25. Emergency room visits were also up 14 percent and lab tests were up 3.1 percent. Other services, like rehab...

  • Local active cases of COVID-19 fall to 60

    Brian Varela|Mar 4, 2021

    Petersburg's active case count for COVID-19 has fallen down to 60, the lowest the case count has been since Monday, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Two active cases were confirmed on Thursday. An additional case was added to Wednesday's overall case count, resulting in a new high of 68 active cases in the community on Wednesday, according to the press release. Ten infected residents were no longer required to isolate on Thursday,... Full story

  • Petersburg COVID-19 case count at 35

    Brian Varela|Mar 4, 2021

    Two cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the community on Monday, after three consecutive days of no new cases, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. As of Monday afternoon, Petersburg has 35 active cases of COVID-19. Two cases were confirmed on Monday, and six infected residents were released from isolation. Monday's two positive cases were the first identified in the community since Thursday. The Emergency Operations Center reported zero... Full story

  • Downward trend of COVID-19 cases continues

    Brian Varela|Mar 4, 2021

    Two cases of COVID-19 have been added to Petersburg's COVID-19 active case count on Tuesday, but six residents have been released from isolation, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center. As of Tuesday evening, Petersburg's COVID-19 case count was at 31 cases. Tuesday is the sixth day in a row that the local active case count has seen a steady decline. Since the start of the local outbreak, the cumulative case count had been increasing... Full story

  • Petersburg at red status for COVID-19

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    Seven more residents tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing Petersburg's total active case count to 36, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center issued Wednesday evening. A large number of the current positive cases have been the result of community spread, but Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said the EOC hasn't been able to pinpoint any one business or location that has led to community spread of the virus. In response to the...

  • Report inconclusive on 2019 Guardian flight crash

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    An aviation accident report on the Guardian King Air 200 medical life flight that lost control en route to pick up a patient in Kake in January 2019 could not definitively identify the cause of the accident due to limited information available. The report was conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. Investigators were unable to recover the entire wreckage, and the Cockpit Voice Recorder did not contain recordings from the flight, according to the report. Investigators also...

  • Borough assembly updates health mandates

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    The Borough Assembly updated several local health mandates and an emergency directive at an emergency meeting Tuesday in response to the expiration of the state's emergency declaration. The health mandates had previously contained language that reflected similar health mandates at the state level, but Alaska's health mandates related to COVID-19 expired Feb. 14 along with the emergency declaration. The Assembly updated the language in several of the local health mandates in order to reinstate...

  • Happy 100th Day!

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    Luke Glasow holds his 100th day of school bag of trail mix, which includes gummy bears. Kerri Curtiss' first grade class celebrated the 100th day of school by making special crowns and wearing their pajamas to school. The class also brought 100 things from home and challenged themselves to see how many words they could spell....

  • PMC expects several vaccination clinics in March

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    The Petersburg Medical Center has the potential to vaccinate residents who want but have not yet received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on March 12, but recipients will have to commit to getting the shot, said PMC Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom at the COVID-19 community update on Feb. 19. She asked those who have not put their name on PMC's COVID-19 vaccine waitlist to do so before the vaccine clinic on March 12 where first doses of the vaccine will be...

  • DEC releases report on local water quality

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    Two sample sites in the waters around Petersburg tested above the Alaska Water Quality Standard (WQS) for fecal coliform, according to a preliminary marine water quality report on Alaska's ports and shipping lanes by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Water samples were taken at six locations in the Wrangell Narrows over the course of 30 days during the summer of 2020. While fecal coliform was identified at all six locations, mean concentrations of the bacteria was above the...

  • Assembly awards bid to repair Motor Pool Shop

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    The Borough Assembly awarded a bid to Rainforest Contracting for the repairs to the Motor Pool Shop for an amount not to exceed $1,130,450 at their meeting on Monday. The borough's insurance company will only be covering repairs to the Motor Pool Shop that are related to the Aug. 2019 fire, which comes out to $1,074,800. The remaining $55,650 of the project will be funded by the borough's Property Development Fund and will be used to make repairs to the building that were identified prior to...

  • Airport testing extended to June 30

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    Greeting, screening and testing services at James A. Johnson Airport will remain in place until June 30 for intrastate, interstate and international visitors under two health mandates passed by the Borough Assembly at a special meeting on Tuesday. "It's a good way to protect the community, and it gives people a free source for the testing most of them want," said Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor. Public health mandate #9 had been in effect prior to Tuesday's meeting, but needed to be updated to...

  • Assembly awards RFP for hydroproject repairs

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    The Borough Assembly awarded an equipment procurement contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric project to Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon, Ltd. for a total of $2,002,396 at their meeting Monday. Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon, Ltd., which is based out of the United Kingdom, was one of five companies that responded to Petersburg Municipal Power & Light's Request for Proposals. The company has agreed to defer the start of any work on the equipment until funding has been secured by the Borough. Utility...

  • Active cases reach 52 Thursday afternoon

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    The total active COVID-19 case count for Petersburg has reached 52 as of Thursday afternoon, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Six new cases were reported on Thursday, but additional positive cases have been added to the overall case count for Petersburg dating back to Sunday, Feb. 21. Petersburg has now reported 52 positive cases of COVID-19, up from the 46 active cases last reported by the EOC in a press release Wednesday evening.... Full story

  • Petersburg to stay in red for another week

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    The Emergency Operations Center is maintaining Petersburg's high risk level for COVID-19 transmission for at least another seven days, as positive cases of the virus continue to be identified and residents begin to recover. The EOC will assess the status of the recent COVID-19 outbreak on March 8 to determine whether or not to extend the community's red status, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Two more cases were confirmed on Monday,... Full story

  • Active case count jumps up to 65

    Brian Varela|Feb 25, 2021

    Eleven more active cases of COVID-19 were reported in Petersburg on Tuesday, bringing the local case count up to 65, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. In addition to the 11 cases reported on Tuesday, the Petersburg Emergency Operations Center identified one more positive case of COVID-19 for Monday's case count. One infected resident was also admitted into PMC Tuesday for treatment and monitoring, according to the press release. Three... Full story

  • Home goes up in flames early Tuesday

    Brian Varela|Feb 18, 2021

    The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a house fire on Tuesday in the early morning hours, which likely left the building a total loss, said PVFD Assistant Fire Chief Dave Berg. A family of three awoke just before 4:45 A.M. on Feb. 16 when the smoke detectors in their home at Scow Bay Loop Rd. began going off, said Berg. They could also see flames through their living room window. None of the occupants were harmed in the fire, said Berg. The home is built on top of a garage,...

  • Petersburg expects over 80 port calls this summer

    Brian Varela|Feb 18, 2021

    The Canadian government issued an order on Feb. 4 to prohibit cruise ships in all Canadian waters until Feb. 28, 2022, but Dave Berg, cofounder of Viking Travel, said the restriction would only affect one cruise line expected to port in Petersburg this summer. Victory Cruise Lines' foreign-flagged ship Ocean Victory is scheduled to port in Petersburg eight times this season, with the first stop expected on July 17. According to the Jones Act, which regulates maritime commerce in the United...

  • One new case of COVID-19 reported

    Brian Varela|Feb 18, 2021

    A local resident who has recently traveled has tested positive for COVID-19, which is the first case reported in at least the last seven days, according to a joint press release issued Wednesday between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual has been quarantining since their arrival in town while waiting for the results of their COVID-19 test. The individual is currently in isolation, and the Public Health Office has been contacted. The community risk level...

  • Few local health mandates stay intact

    Brian Varela|Feb 18, 2021

    Alaska's disaster declaration, which was used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, expired on Sunday after the state legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy failed to extend the declaration. Petersburg's Emergency Operations Center Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said some local health mandates are unaffected, but other local mandates are suspended until the Borough Assembly can update them on Monday. With the absence of a disaster declaration, Dunleavy issued four health advisories on Feb. 14...

  • Over 1/3 of local population has received at least one vaccine dose

    Brian Varela|Feb 18, 2021

    Petersburg Medical Center administered a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Feb. 11 to residents who received their first dose on Jan. 14, said PMC Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner at the COVID-19 community update on Feb. 12. About 350 residents received their second dose of the vaccine on Feb. 11. An additional 50 doses were also administered to first time receivers during the vaccine clinic, said Bryner. Those that received their first dose on Feb. 11 will get their second shot on...

  • Following the leader

    Brian Varela|Feb 18, 2021

    A group of surf scoters play "follow the leader" in the Wrangell Narrows Feb. 9 afternoon....

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