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A short film by Kelly Bakos documenting the lifespan of the Rainforest Festival's Ephemeral art show has won two awards from the Best Shorts Competition. The prestigious film competition awarded Bakos' film "Ephemeral" the Award of Merit Special Mention in the documentary short category and in the nature/environment/wildlife category. According to the Best Shorts Competition, award winners have gone on to win Oscars, Emmys and other big name awards. Over 15 local artists are featured in the...
Petersburg School District students took a Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment test this fall that gauged reading fluency and math and reading growth among students, which found those skills had developed since last year. Kindergarteners through third graders were given a MAP Reading Fluency test for the first time this fall. The test assessed students on word recognition, listening comprehension, picture vocabulary and phonological awareness. Students in grades three through nine...
For about the last 10 years, Erin Kandoll has hand-made jewelry out of metal, but her Twisted Ginger Trunk Show on Dec. 16 was her last art show for the foreseeable future as she enters the next phase of her life centered around natural healing and self-reflection. About 100 necklaces adorned with crystals and about 75 pairs of earrings made by Kandoll were on display at her show at FireLight Gallery & Framing last week. Although her art is taking her in a different direction, Kandoll said...
Nearly 5,800 birds were counted and 55 species of birds were identified this year during the Christmas Bird Count on Saturday. Brad Hunter, the organizer of Petersburg's bird count, said while the 55 species of birds spotted this year are above the 49 species average, a higher number of species and birds could have been recorded. The rain and wind made it difficult for both the birds and birders to navigate outdoors. About 1,000 gulls and 2,000 long-tailed ducks were counted on Saturday, but on...
Donald Trump Jr. was in Petersburg this month with his son and several friends, according to a video posted to his Facebook page on Dec. 20. In the three and a half minute clip, Trump is seen leaving Petersburg Harbor onboard a fishing vessel loaded with several ATVs. He takes note of the low temperatures, little daylight and "pretty serious" rain and wind in Southeast Alaska. "In December, it is even more rugged than it is normally," said Trump in the video. "It's always a pretty rugged place....
Water from this month's heavy rainfall ripped at deformities in a culvert that runs underneath the Public Works yard, opening up a portion of the pipe and causing a landslide near Hammer Slough. The culvert diverts water from a creek that runs parallel to Kiseno St. to Hammer Slough. When 6.63 inches of rain fell over the town on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, water in the creek became backed up as the culvert struggled under the volume of water, said Public Works Director Chris Cotta. The gushing water...
After an anxious three months, the rocky mountain goat Kaleb Baird shot with a bow and arrow on the Cleveland Peninsula has been certified by Pope and Young, a conservation club, as the largest billy ever taken down with a bow in the world. "It was a killer animal and a great goat," said Baird. "It's neat that he gets to be recognized as number one." The mountain goat had a final score of 53 1/2 inches, according to Pope and Young. Baird said an official scorer took ten different measurements...
Dr. John Hoyt, medical director at Northwest Pathology in Bellingham, explained the science behind PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests and how the molecular diagnostic tests are the gold standard in COVID-19 testing at the COVID-19 community update on Dec. 11. According to Hoyt, the RNA in test samples is converted into DNA and placed into a sample well. It then goes through cycles of heating and cooling to amplify the sample. As it expands, probes that were placed on the sample also begin to...
As of Wednesday, Petersburg Medical Center had collected 6,359 test samples to be tested for COVID-19 onsite and at outside laboratories. Of those test samples collected, 6,268 have returned negative and 55 are still pending. There are currently zero cases of COVID-19 in the community, according to the Petersburg Borough. Incident Commander Karl Hagerman cautioned businesses and the public at the COVID-19 community update on Dec. 11 about Julebukking this year. The Emergency Operations Center...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht has recommended Facilities Supervisor Stephanie Payne to fill the vacant Parks and Recreation director position. The Borough Assembly will vote whether or not to ratify the decision at their meeting on Monday, though Giesbrecht said there's a good chance they'll support his decision. Payne was originally hired by Parks and Rec. as the program director in March 2019 and was later promoted to facility supervisor three months later. Her duties increased when the...
Activities at Petersburg High School are set to resume later this winter and spring with basketball and cheer starting Jan. 11. The decision comes after an Alaska School Activities Association Board of Directors meeting on Dec. 8. Petersburg School District Activities Director Jaime Cabral serves as the president for the region and also attended a conference for activity directors across the nation. "We're still super fortunate," said Cabral. "I got to talk with quite a few [activity directors]...
Photos capturing the beauty of Southeast Alaska and watercolor paintings concealing hidden details were all a part of Hillary Hunter's art show, which opened on Friday, Dec. 11 at FireLight Gallery & Framing. Seven photos were on display, but other photos can be printed out by the gallery. Two of the photos were panoramas that featured the Northern Lights and Devil's Thumb and the surrounding mountain range. When creating a panorama, Hunter said she takes several photos and stitches them...
Glo, left, and Sigrid Wollen dance along to a performance of Winter Wonderland by Nicole and Alec McMurren on Saturday. See more photos of this event on page16....
The Borough Assembly failed to pass a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the borough and Petersburg Medical Center to provide COVID-19 asymptomatic testing at Mountain View Manor Assisted Living at their meeting on Monday. On Nov. 18, PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter sent an email to the borough and the Petersburg School District, suggesting the asymptomatic testing of employees at MVM AL and at PSD by the hospital. Hofstetter cited rising COVID-19 case numbers in congregate settings across the state...
With bright and colorful lights strung up around town and Christmas music playing inside businesses, there is no doubt that the date is approaching Dec. 25. Before it gets any closer to Christmas, the United States Postal Service is urging residents to mail their packages and presents to loved ones as early as possible. "This would be the right year to mail early," said James Boxrud, a spokesperson with the USPS. Post offices around the country are already seeing an increase in mail traveling...
Petersburg's Emergency Operations Center has released the draft of its risk communication plan and COVID-19 dashboard, which will monitor the status of the virus in the community and offer mitigation strategies based on the current risk level. The dashboard utilizes four risk levels ranging from green to red to gauge the local COVID-19 status. It also monitors the risk levels at Petersburg Medical Center and Petersburg School District. Data on the dashboard shows COVID-19 tests numbers and any...
The Borough Assembly passed an ordinance in its second reading on Monday that adjusts the fiscal year 2021 budget for known changes, which allocates unused funds from the borough's utility subsidy program to pay first responders and Emergency Operations Center staff with Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Support Act funds through December. The Borough Assembly previously budgeted $500,000 for a one-time $500 utility credit to households that were struggling financially as a result of the...
For six days, 25 of Pia Reilly's most recent oil paintings, which were beaming with color, were on display at FireLight Gallery & Framing. Reilly said watching the colors pop out of the canvass in her paintings has been a sort of therapy for her this past year. When she is working on a watercolor piece, she will take the time to visualize an idea and sketch it out. With her recent oil paintings, Reilly said she just let her creativity flow and watched what her art turned into. "I just start in...
Cecilia Tavoliero, with Alaska Natives Without Land, addressed the Borough Assembly at their meeting on Monday to answer questions brought up by the community about recent legislation that would transfer local lands to an Urban Corporation. The Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) to allow native residents in Haines, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg and Tenakee to form Urban...
Total expenses exceeded total operating revenue at Petersburg Medical Center for the month of October by $582,842, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. The hospital had expected total operating revenue to reach $1,620,228 in October, but it only brought in $1,384,880. Expenses on the other hand saw an increase of 22.9 percent. PMC spent $1,967,772 in October but had budgeted for $1,600,937. Tejera said the reason for the discrepancy between expenses and total operating income comes from the...
In the 48 hours prior to 11 A.M. on Wednesday, 6.63 inches of rain fell over Petersburg, according to Meteorologist Caleb Cravens with the Juneau Weather Service. An atmospheric river, powered by moisture from the Pacific Ocean, moved in over Southeast Alaska and dumped rain over the region, said Cravens. In Petersburg, the bulk of that rain fell on Dec. 1. A record breaking 4.38 inches of rain came down on Tuesday, according to Cravens. The previous rainfall record for Dec. 1 was set in 2011...
Two more positive cases of COVID-19 were identified in Petersburg on Friday, Nov. 27, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center. The first individual was a Petersburg resident who became symptomatic for COVID-19 while out of state, according to the joint press release. Before returning to town, the infected individual followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for isolation. The individual tested positive for the virus...
In February 1946, the S.S. Yukon ran aground near Seward. The passengers on board were thrown into cold, oily water as they waited to be rescued. One of those passengers was Art Hammer, this year's Christmas tree lighter. Hammer, 99, was born on July 7, 1921. He attended school in Petersburg and graduated from Petersburg High School in 1939. Three years later in 1942, he enlisted with the United States Army and served until 1946. He had just been discharged when the S.S. Yukon went down. Hammer...
Two Petersburg residents are facing charges after accusing a Petersburg Police Department officer of sexual misconduct. James R. Vick and Julie C. Ruhle claimed that Officer Louis Waechter allegedly touched Ruhle inappropriately while arresting her on charges of driving under the influence on Sept. 28, but body cam footage of the interaction does not support the claim, according to the court complaint. Vick and Ruhle now face a misdemeanor class A charge for knowingly giving false information to...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht will be narrowing down the list of finalists for the Parks and Recreation Department director position from five candidates to two or three candidates this week, with help from borough staff and members from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Twelve candidates applied for the director's position, which was left vacant when the previous Parks and Rec. director, Chandra Thornburg, resigned in January. Since then, Giesbrecht has been the acting director. The...
