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Dave and Sally Riemer were students at Shaker Heights High School in Ohio when they had their first date in 1952. The two had attended a choir picnic together, but looking back, Sally said the most memorable aspect of that day was the 1931 Ford Model A that Dave picked her up in. "He had to crank it up," said Sally. Dave was a junior in high school when the couple had their first date, and Sally was one year behind him. After graduation, they both attended colleges in different states and their...
The Lady Vikings had two wins in the past week against Thorne Bay and Klawock, but while the basketball games didn't count towards the regional seeding, Head Coach Dino Brock said the team will take any opportunity to improve on the court. "They were good games," said Brock. "It's always good to get on the floor and play against good competition." Petersburg played Thorne Bay Tuesday night at home and maintained a high lead throughout the game. Brock said Thorne Bay is only in their second year...
The Deck Out Our Deck organizers just raised $5,374 through a raffle fundraiser on Feb. 14, which brings the project closer to the approximately $112,000 needed to build a covered deck at Mountain View Manor. A thousand tickets were sold to raffle off nine handmade quilts. As each ticket was drawn, each winner was able to take their pick of the quilts that had not yet been chosen. Sally Dwyer, the organizer of the fundraiser, said all the funds will go towards the Deck Out Our Deck project. The...
Rae C. Stedman Elementary School will begin offering special education preschool beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter told the Petersburg School Board at their meeting on Feb. 9. The program will be offered to special education students between three and five years old. Their enrollment in the program will be free, but others can join the program for a fee. Kludt-Painter said the fee would ensure the program isn't competing with established preschools in the...
There are 30 active cases of COVID-19 in Petersburg as of 3 P.M. Tuesday, all of which were reported in the last six days, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The current active cases are predominately symptomatic and were infected through community spread, according to the press release. Public health officials are investigating the active cases, but contact tracing is proving difficult. Cases first started to appear in town Thursday,... Full story
The Emergency Operations Center has increased the local risk of COVID-19 spread to red, following 13 new active cases identified in the last four days, according to a joint press release from Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The EOC is currently reporting 16 active cases in the community. Of the current active cases, 11 are considered to be community spread, according to the press release. Those infected with COVID-19 are both symptomatic and asymptomatic, and two infected... Full story
A motion to terminate the local face masking mandate failed at an assembly meeting on Monday after assembly members declined to second the motion. Assembly Taylor Norheim requested the action item be on Monday's agenda and made the motion to terminate Public Health Mandate #8. The motion failed to gain a second, which prevented a discussion and vote on terminating the mask mandate. The mask mandate was put in place by the Borough Assembly in November and will remain in place until the assembly...
The Petersburg School Board approved the academic calendar for the 2021-2022 school year at their meeting on Tuesday that takes a more traditional approach to the school year. Under the approved calendar, school begins on Aug. 31 for students and ends on June 2. Christmas break will be two weeks long, and spring break will continue to be one week long in the middle of March. The Petersburg School District also scheduled in-service days for teachers near other holidays, like Labor Day, to extend...
A pre-hire employee for the 2021 tanner and golden king crab season at OBI Seafoods has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center on Monday. The individual tested positive during the cannery's asymptomatic testing of all incoming employees, according to a press release from OBI Seafoods. The person is currently asymptomatic and is in isolation. Employees that may have come into contact with the infected individual...
The Lady Vikings racked up two wins against Metlakatla on Feb. 5 and 6 at home in their first games of the basketball season. Right out of the gate, Petersburg scored 22 points in the first quarter. They would go on to score in the double digits for each quarter in the game. By halftime, the Lady Vikings were up 35-22 against the Miss Chiefs. Petersburg continued outscoring Metlakatla through the fourth quarter and ended the game ahead, 61-41. "Friday we started out hotter than heck," said Head...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team split their wins against Metlakatla at home last weekend in the first two seeding games of the season. The games were held on Feb. 5 and 6. The Vikings had a strong showing on Friday, which saw them win the game with a 39 point lead, but the Chiefs were able to secure a narrow win on Saturday. Because of the shortened season, Petersburg will only get to play each team in their division twice in back to back games. The Vikings now have one win and...
The Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that reestablishes user fees at the Parks and Recreation Center and allows anyone under the age of 18 to use the facility for free. Ordinance #2021-03 groups all users into two categories and establishes three types of fees. Those under the age of 18 are free to use the facility without payment, according to the ordinance. Those over the age of 18 either pay $5 per visit, $300 for an annual pass or $48 for a punch pass...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call on Feb. 9 about smoke emitting from a dryer in a home at a location on Scow Bay Loop Rd. A volunteer firefighter who was near the scene was the first to respond to the call and turned off the dryer, said Dave Berg. The smoke immediately began to dissipate. Responding officers with the PVFD called off other responding volunteer firefighters, as there wasn't a threat of fire in the home. The heat was contained within the dryer and didn't...
The Borough Assembly supported a letter to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities that requests the state install street lights on Papke's Landing Rd. at all locations that serve as a bus stop. Assembly Member Jeff Meuci requested the agenda after residents on Papke's Landing Rd. sought his help in drafting a letter to the state. Meucci said he didn't help write the letter, which is signed by Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, but showed his support for street lights on...
Petersburg Incident Commander Karl Hagerman apologized at the COVID-19 community update on Friday for the borough's use of the CodeRED system on Jan. 29 that encouraged residents to put their names on Petersburg Medical Center's waitlist to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. "There was some concern that the system shouldn't have been used for that," said Hagerman. "We're listening to that. A lot of that had to do with the text of the message. We wanted people to sit up and take notice, but I think...
A new audio system is being installed in the Assembly Chambers this week, which Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson said will improve remote assembly meetings and open the door to in-person meetings on a limited basis. The Borough Assembly approved resolution #2020-18 at their Oct. 20 meeting that was a sole source contract to Chariot Group for the design and installation of a new multimedia audio system. The new system cost $39,970 and was paid for with the borough's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and...
About 100 residents gathered in front of the Trading Union on Jan. 24 for the second annual local March for Life event, according to organizers Tim Wilkinson and Kurt Wohlhueter. As the group marched towards the Municipal Building, they held and waved signs in support of their belief that life begins at conception. At two intersections the crowd came to a stop and prayed. Wilkinson led the prayer at the intersection of N. Nordic Dr. and Excel St., while Don Bieber gathered the group together...
Two active cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in town this week, according to the Emergency Operations Center. The first case was identified on Monday after an incoming traveler had a tested sample collected at the Petersburg Airport, which later came back positive for the virus, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual had been in quarantine since arriving in Petersburg, and the EOC had determined the case presented a...
Excavation has begun for an affordable housing complex that is to be built on Excel St., which will make one-bedroom apartments available to residents making 30 percent or less of the local median income. Glenn Gellert of Swell, LLC, the real estate development company building the complex, said the COVID-19 pandemic and a shake up of its contractors has postponed the project. He said he hopes to begin renting units by Jan. 1, 2022. "Once we had all our ducks in a row, we were ready to go,"...
A special Borough Assembly meeting to transfer employment of Petersburg Airport greeters and screeners to Petersburg Medical Center was cancelled on Jan. 29 following input from borough staff. The Petersburg Municipal Employees Association allows the borough to hire temporary employees for up to six months, but some of the temporary borough employees greeting and screening incoming passengers at the airport passed that six month mark in early December, said Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson. At the...
Petersburg Medical Center continues to see lower than expected inpatient, outpatient and long term care resident income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but $2.2 million in grants is making up for the loss, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera at the PMC Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 28. Halfway through the 2021 fiscal year on Dec. 31, PMC had a total gross patient revenue of $1,370,614, which was 4.4 percent lower than budgeted, according to PMC financial statements. Year to...
Petersburg Medical Center hired a total of 58 employees in 2020 but lost 29 staff members in the same time frame, according to Human Resources Director Cynthia Newman at the PMC Board of Director meeting on Jan. 28. "It appears there has been a lot of movement coming in and out of the hospital personnel wise," said PMC Board President Jerod Cook. Of the 58 employees hired, 26 were emergency hires to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight hospital screeners, six airport screeners and eight...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team traveled to Wrangell on Jan. 29 to play the Wolves for their homecoming weekend in the first two games of the season, and came back with one win and one loss. The first game was held Friday evening and was filled with excitement as the Vikings were back on the court to play an opposing team for the first time since early March 2020. Head Coach Rick Brock said both teams fought hard, but the Vikings made quite a bit of mistakes and missed makeable...
A 2020 audit of the Alaska Region timber sales program by the Forest Service Financial Compliance & Oversight Branch of the United States Department of Agriculture concluded that two timber contracts in the Tongass National Forest had been mismanaged. According to the audit, the timber sale cruising, appraisal, sale preparation and contracting program for the Big Thorne Stewardship Contract (BTSC) and the Kosciusko Good Neighbor Authority Agreement (KGNAA) weren’t always managed in accordance w...
Cruise ships are expected to make 85 port calls in Petersburg between May 11 and Sept. 18, according to the current 2021 Petersburg cruise ship schedule. Following the cancelled ports of call in Petersburg and Alaska last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave Berg said tourists are eager to make their way back up to America's Last Frontier. "We're getting lots of calls from people who want to visit Alaska on ferries or with tours," said Berg, who cofounded Viking Travel. "The number...
