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  • Vikings take fifth in JIVE tournament

    Brian Varela|Oct 17, 2019

    The Petersburg High School volleyball varsity team came in fifth overall at the Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza over the weekend, but Head Coach Jaime Cabral said the team gained plenty of experience. "From the girls' standpoint, we probably could have done better, but we learned a lot, and it's a lot of things to work on, which is great because we don't want to peak so early on," said Cabral. The Vikings played four pool play matches on Friday that consisted of two sets of only 21 p...

  • Town without power for second Sunday

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    Petersburg was without power Sunday after a tree touching a power line at the 4.7 mile mark of Mitkof Highway acted as a conductor, causing Southeast Alaska Power Agency's protective relays on their transmission lines to trip. Before the power went out at approximately 11:30 A.M., the tree that was touching the power line caught on fire, but it eventually put itself out, according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. The responding power and light line crew was able to restore power within the...

  • Local man hits bald eagle mid-air with golf ball

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    Mark Roberts was on the second hole of the Sea Mountain Golf Course in Sitka last month, and the only one on the green, when the golf ball he just swung at hit a bald eagle while it was flying about 10 yards in front of him. The eagle was still alive as Roberts approached it, but it died while he was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher. "I could not believe what just happened," said Roberts. "Did I panic? Did I cry? Did I get shook up? Yes, I did. Very much so." Roberts said the 911 dispatcher...

  • Election results outcome remains unchanged

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    The borough assembly tallied the final votes of the municipal election and certified their results at their regular meeting on Monday. Seven questioned and pending absentee ballots were added to the unofficial results that were released on election night last week, bringing the total amount of ballots cast to 1,134. The seven ballots weren't enough to change any of the outcomes in the election. Mark Jensen received one additional vote and Jeff Meucci received six votes in the mayoral race....

  • PMC foundation raises $11,800 for staff education

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    The numbers from the Petersburg Medical Center Foundation two-month long fundraiser are in and, beginning with the Paddle Battle in July through an Alaska Airlines raffle in September, the foundation raised approximately $11,800 for staff education. About 27 participants signed up for the seventh annual Paddle Battle in the Narrows fundraiser, which began at Papke's Landing and ended at Sandy Beach Park with an opportunity to take a break at Scow Bay. Troy Larson was the first to reach Sandy Bea...

  • Viking seniors take top three spots at swim meet

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    Peter Kowalski placed second in four events at the Ketchikan Invitational Swim Meet over the weekend, and Maria Pfundt came in first place in the women’s 100 yard butterfly. Kowalski took second place in the Men’s 200 yard freestyle, 500 yard freestyle, 200 yard IM and 100 yard freestyle. In addition to her first place victory, Pfundt also came in third place in the Women’s 100 yard butterfly and 50 yard freestyle. Maddy Whitethorn also took third in the women’s 100 yard freestyle. While Kowalski, Pfundt and Whitethorn are all seniors, the you...

  • Volleyball win first tournament of the season

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    The Vikings varsity volleyball team came out victorious at a tournament in Sitka over the weekend, after losing their first two matches of the season the previous week. At the start of the tournament, Petersburg played four matches made up of two sets. The Vikings won a set and lost a set in their matches against Metlakatla, Sitka and Klawock and won their match against Mt. Edgecumbe in the pool play matches. Then in the single elimination bracket, Petersburg beat Metlakatla in the semi-finals...

  • Boys cross country place second, girls place third at State

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    The Petersburg High School boys cross country team secured the number two spot at the state championships in Anchorage on Saturday, with the girls team taking third place. Sophomore Uriah Lucas came in 10th place and was PHS' number one boy at the meet. He was able to shave two minutes off his time, coming in at 18:00, on the same track as last year's state competition. Kole Sperl, who came in 12th place, was 1:30 faster on the track compared to last year's finishing with a time of 18:01. Chase...

  • Assembly accepts grant for new 911 system

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    The borough assembly accepted a grant totaling $295,000 from the fiscal year 2019 State Homeland Security Program to assist with the purchase and installation of a new E911 system and a joint training exercise between local EMS and law enforcement personnel. In a memo to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, Petersburg Police Department Captain Randal Holmgrain said $285,000 from the grant would go specifically towards the new E911 system. Holmgrain said the overall cost of the project is estimated...

  • Body of missing man found

    Brian Varela|Oct 10, 2019

    The body of a hunter who went missing this morning after his skiff capsized in Duncan Canal has been found, according Amanda Norcross, a spokesperson with the United States Coast Guard. The man was confirmed to be Doug Larson, 50, of Petersburg, according to Tim DeSpain, public information office supervisor with the Alaska State Troopers. The body was found 400 yards east of his last known location by an MH-60 Jayhawk dispatched from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka sometime between 11 A.M. and... Full story

  • Batteries at Tyee facility to be replaced

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    The Southeast Alaska Power Agency Board approved $97,750 to replace the backup battery bank at the Tyee Lake hydro facility at a regular board meeting last Thursday. Early last month, Petersburg and Wrangell were providing their own power for about a week while the Tyee Lake Hydro facility was offline for annual maintenance. During the maintenance period, SEAPA conducted a battery capacity discharge test of the hydro project's nickel-cadmium batteries. Three hours into the test, one of the...

  • Unofficial results: Jensen reelected as mayor, Stanton Gregor, Tremblay voted on to assembly

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    Unofficial poll numbers show Mark Jensen returning for another three year term as mayor and incumbent Jeigh Stanton Gregor and Chelsea Tremblay elected to the borough assembly in the municipal election on Tuesday. Jensen had 590 votes and Jeff Meucci, who also sought the mayor’s seat, had 524 votes, according to unofficial results. Stanton Gregor and Tremblay beat Aaron Hankins and Marc Martinsen for the two seats on the assembly. The seats had belonged to Stanton Gregor and Kurt Wohlhueter. W...

  • Town without power for 2.5 hours

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    The borough's diesel generators began providing power to Petersburg Sunday afternoon after a failure in a Southeast Alaska Power Agency transmission line left the community without electricity for two and a half hours. The power outage occurred around 2 p.m., but it took Petersburg Municipal Power & Light some time to bring the power back on. SEAPA had thought they cleared the problem and instructed Petersburg to close its breakers at the substation in anticipation of restoring power, but the...

  • Moose harvest numbers above five-year average

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    This year's moose harvest looks to be above the five- year average with the moose count at 64 just 17 days into the season. Between 2014 and 2018, the average moose count for this time of the season was 58. There was a dip in the moose harvest this time last year, with only 42 being taken. Fish and Game Area Biologist Frank Robbins said the warm weather last fall may have been a factor in the low number of moose being taken. In 2017 and 2016, the moose harvest was 64 about 17 days into the seaso...

  • Medical center recognized for medication assisted treatment

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    The Petersburg Medical Center's Joy Janssen Clinic was awarded the 2019 Golden Stethoscope Award for its medication assisted treatment program for substance abuse by the Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association. "It's just a nice pat on the back," said PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. "It's a nice acknowledgment amongst all the different facilities in the state. I think it's worthwhile." The yearly award was given to PMC at an ASHNHA conference last week. A team of PMC staff wrote up a...

  • Tyee Lake 60' above year-ago water levels

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    The water level at Tyee Lake was at 1,344.9 feet on Monday, which is roughly 60 feet higher than it was this time last year. As part of the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, Tyee Lake dedicates its power to Petersburg and Wrangell, while Swan Lake produces power for Ketchikan. While the 1,345 foot water level is lower than the norm for Tyee Lake, it is still higher than the 1,285 foot water level in September 2018, said Utility Director Karl Hagerman. If water were to stop flowing into Tyee Lake...

  • Petersburg below normal levels of rainfall

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    Despite being the second wettest month out of the year for Petersburg, September was slightly below the normal 13.65 inch rainfall amount at 12.21 inches, according to Dan Hartsock, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service forecast office in Juneau. Petersburg is also below the normal amount of rainfall for the first nine months of the year. There were 59.87 inches of rainfall reported in Petersburg in 2019 so far, but by this time of the year, the city typically has 70.74 inches of...

  • Boys cross country team and Melanie Chase win at regionals

    Brian Varela|Oct 3, 2019

    Both the boys and girls Petersburg cross country teams will be competing in the state meet this weekend, after the boys team came in first place and the girls team came in second at Regionals. Melanie Chase took first place at the regional meet in Sitka, setting a new personal record at 20:38. Uriah Lucas placed second in the boys race and also set a new personal record with a time of 17:18. Behind Lucas was Kole Sperl in third place with a time of 17:48, tying his personal best. "When the kids...

  • Voters to decide on long term-indebtedness

    Brian Varela|Sep 26, 2019

    The Petersburg municipal election is next week, and only one proposition, which would authorize long-term indebtedness for utility capital projects, will be on the ballot. The loans will be through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and will be paid back over a 20-year period at 1.5 percent interest. The responsibility of the repayment of the loans would fall on water and wastewater rate payers. The wastewater department has five projects planned for a total of $2.6 million,...

  • No recycle pickup for at least six weeks

    Brian Varela|Sep 26, 2019

    Beginning this week, Public Works will not be picking up commingled recyclables for a minimum of six weeks, while the borough's new baler is being installed. The current baler has already been removed from the baler facility, and staff is prepping the floor for the new baler that is set to arrive next week. Commingled recyclables need to be dry and baled before being shipping to the recycling facility, so the borough can't store the material in the baler facility while construction is ongoing;...

  • Construction completed on school cafeterias

    Brian Varela|Sep 26, 2019

    Food service staff can now work with ease in full-size commercial kitchens now that construction on the new elementary school and high school cafeterias has been completed. Work on the elementary school cafeteria was finished on Sept. 16. Previously, food was prepared in a corner of the cafeteria that wasn't separated from the rest of the room, but the classroom next to the cafeteria became a kitchen area after the remodel. The Viking Cafe at the high school only had a salad bar and food was...

  • Hospital board candidates answer questions at forum

    Brian Varela|Sep 26, 2019

    Six candidates running for the three seats up for election on the Petersburg Medical Center's Board of Directors answered questions from representatives from KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot during a forum on Tuesday. Incumbent George Doyle, Incumbent Cindi Lagoudakis, Lisa Nilsen, Joe Stratman, Stacey Thorsen and Jackie Tyson each had two minutes to answer each question. Each candidate was asked the same question, and the order of the candidates changed with each question. The candidates each...

  • Viking cross country prepares for Regionals

    Brian Varela|Sep 26, 2019

    The Petersburg High School cross country team will be traveling to Sitka this weekend to compete in Regionals. The top seven boys, Uriah Lucas, Kole Sperl, Chase Lister, Michael Durkin, Reed Anderson, Noah Sullivan and Julian Kumps, and the top seven girls, Maia Cowan, Melanie Chase, Kendra Coonrad, Deirdre Toyomura, Lydia Martin, Saphire Weathers and Alexus Sakamoto Quezon, will all be competing in Regionals. Anderson said that the entire team pushed themselves as hard as they could at the...

  • Landslide blocks highway early Saturday morning

    Brian Varela|Sep 26, 2019

    The Department of Transportation responded to a landslide near the 18 mile marker of Mitkof Highway on Saturday. The landslide was first reported to DOT at 2:30 A.M. Saturday morning by the Petersburg Police Department, according to Meadow Bailey, a spokesperson with DOT. Staff was able to reach the landslide, which had blocked the entire street, with equipment by 4:30 A.M. Mud and debris covered the road for about 300 feet and was approximately three feet deep. "[The landslide] was extensive...

  • Mayoral candidates answer questions at forum

    Brian Varela|Sep 19, 2019

    A forum was held on Thursday to give representatives from KFSK, the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and the Petersburg Pilot the chance to ask the two mayoral candidates questions on local issues. Mayor Mark Jensen and Assembly Member Jeff Meucci were given two minutes to answer each question. Both candidates were asked the same question and the order of the candidates changed with each question. After giving their opening statements, each candidate began answering questions. Some of the...

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