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Two additional cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the community in the past week, bringing the total number of cases to seven, though four have recovered. The first was identified on July 2. The individual had developed symptoms and was evaluated by Petersburg Medical Center and tested on site, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The person was directed to isolated at home. The second confirmed case of COVID-19 was identified as part of OBI Seafoods'...
Petersburg Indian Association plans on using $900,000 in grant money to build a duplex for low income native individuals to address overcrowding in local households. The money was awarded to PIA from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, according to a press release from HUD. So far, $15 million of the allocated $100 million to Native American tribes across the nation has been awarded. PIA is one of four Alaska...
The M/V Matanuska arrived in Petersburg late Sunday night during its first voyage of the season out of Bellingham, but that same day a passenger onboard the M/V Kennicott, which left Bellingham on June 27, tested positive for COVID-19. The protocols that the Alaska Marine Highway System has in place to prevent the spread of the virus seem to have limited the infection to the one individual who only had one other close contact, according to a press release issued by the Alaska Department of...
The borough assembly is expected to hold their first regular meeting of July on Wednesday, July 15 to discuss and vote on several action items, including the second reading of ordinance #2020-19, which amends borough code to provide for civil emergency provisions. The civil emergency provisions were first enacted for a limited time to allow the borough to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said at an assembly meeting on June 18 that it's normal for...
A traveler coming into town through the James A. Johnson Airport has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a joint statement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center released on Wednesday afternoon. The individual is a guest at Rocky Point Resort and has been at the lodge since his arrival from out of state earlier this week, according to the press release. The lodge guest did not have symptoms of COVID-19 upon arriving in Alaska. This new case of COVID-19 brings the...
The Petersburg Arts Council and Petersburg Indian Association will be unveiling a mural of Elizabeth Peratrovich on Saturday at 10 A.M. that will hang in front of the Petersburg Courthouse. The unveiling of the mural will coincide with Peratrovich's birthday on July 4 and the release of her 2020 Native American $1 coin. Plans for a mural of Peratrovich first began to form about two years ago when news broke that she would be appearing on a U.S. coin. At the time, Malena Marvin, of the...
Freddy Yip was on vacation with his family in Oakland, California in January when news of the COVID-19 virus spreading out of Wuhan, China began circulating. Yip said his family has historic ties to that region of China and followed the subject closely. When it became clear to him the virus was going to reach pandemic levels, he began working with his parents, Laney and Wamen Yip, owners of Joan Mei Restaurant, on strategies that the business could take. It was the first time that he had ever...
Mindy Lopez has taken on the role of chamber administrator with the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, a position she said allows her to support local businesses at a time when they may be reeling from the financial setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We all go through difficult times in our lives," said Lopez. "Sometimes it feels good to have someone walking with you in those hard times." Before joining the chamber in early June, Lopez had been working with Petersburg Mental Health doing...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors approved the hospital's fiscal year 2021 operating budget last Thursday that has a bottom line of $24,592. "We have come up with a very conservative, break even budget," said PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. PMC is expecting the hospital's total operating revenue to be $18,865,470 in the upcoming fiscal year, though that number will likely change as the year progresses. The budget also recognizes $3.8 million in government relief under operating...
Petersburg Medical Center ended May with 342.9 days cash on hand, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera at the board of directors meeting last Thursday. The total days cash on hand is how many days the hospital is able to operate without incoming revenue. At the start of the 2020 fiscal year, PMC only had 134.7 days cash on hand, which includes operating cash and investments. At the end of May, that number had shot up to 342.9 days cash on hand with operating cash and investments. Tereja said...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave an executive report to the PMC Board of Directors at their meeting last Thursday, and noted that while most services offered by the hospital have decreased by 35 to 50 percent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, home health has seen an increase in patients. In his report to the board, Hofstetter said that service volumes increased slightly in May, but have remained flat in June, but home health was able to increase its number of patients up...
After seeing some lodges drop off their customers at the hardware, grocery store or the liquor store before taking them to the lodge, local residents have been concerned that lodges aren't following interstate travel protocols laid out in state health mandate #10. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said at the COVID-19 community update on Friday that the Emergency Operations Center is aware of concerns regarding visitors to local lodges. When an individual arrives at the Petersburg...
Carter Gueller was found guilty of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree and was sentenced to five years behind bars on Monday by Superior Court Judge Trevor Stephens. Gueller was first arrested in September after authorities served a search warrant at his residence and found distribution quantities of heroin and methamphetamine that had a street value of about $61,670, according to police. He was charged with misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second d...
On June 18, a positive case of COVID-19 was detected among Trident Seafoods employees, according to a press release from the EOC, and as of Wednesday, the case is still active. All Trident Seafoods employees that travel to Petersburg are tested for COVID-19 prior to arriving in town and are quarantined in a bunkhouse upon arrival, according to the press release. The workers are then tested again on the tenth day of a 14 day quarantine. It was on the individual's 10th day in quarantine when the...
The borough assembly held a special meeting on Friday to enter into a contract with the state of Alaska to receive payment for the borough's greeting, screening and testing services currently in place at the Petersburg Airport. As per the updated state health mandate #10, those coming into the state will either have to show proof that they received a negative COVID-19 test result three days before arriving in Alaska, receive a negative test result upon entering Alaska or quarantine for 14 days...
The COVID-19 pandemic was able to cancel this year's Little Norway Festival, but the community is still going to host the Fourth of July Festival, though it will look different from past years. This year's theme will be Stay Strong Together to remind families they can persevere through the pandemic together. The games and events that usually take place on July 3 on main st. will now be held virtually from the Lighthouse Assembly of God parking lot. The harbor games have been cancelled, but the f...
Twenty-one paddlers competed in Petersburg Medical Center's Paddle Battle on Saturday as a way to exercise while social distancing and raise money for PMC staff education. Participants began leaving Papke's Landing in groups on Saturday afternoon and continued on a 7.3 mile trip north to Scow Bay. Previous year's Paddle Battles ended at Sandy Beach, but this year PMC Public Relations Coordinator Kelsey Lambe said the hospital wanted to try something different. By traveling in groups, the safety...
Joan Mei has created a modern representation of the dragon logo that the restaurant had at its original location in downtown Petersburg after 27 years of no official logo. Joan Mei was founded in 1987 by Jennifer and Chris Yuen. It was located in what is now Coastal Cold Storage's parking lot. At that time, the restaurant was more of a food stand. While serving customers downtown, a hand painted sign stood on top of the business that displayed basic information about the restaurant and featured...
Public health mandate #3, which suspends in person participation of public meetings, was amended by the borough assembly at their meeting Monday to allow assembly, board and commission members the opportunity to hold a quorum in person. The health mandate was issued on April 3 and was extended on June 1 and will be in effect until terminated. While assembly, board and commission members would be allowed to meet in person during meetings, the public and department heads would not be allowed to...
Jake Hammer wanted to wait until he was a little older and better prepared to have kids. He first left Petersburg to join the United States Marine Corps, and then spent some time in California with his wife, Kasey Hammer, camping, surfing and enjoying the state. It wasn't until he was 32 and had bought a house in Bellingham that he had his first child, Isabelle. "You couldn't imagine something so good happening to you," said Jake. During the pregnancy, Jake had already begun his fishing career....
On Tuesday, Petersburg Medical Center staff were ready to start collecting test samples from passengers flying into town as of the afternoon jet to be tested for COVID-19, said PMC Director of Patient Care Services Angela Menish. As passengers get off the plane and exit the tarmac, they are greeted by borough employees. If an individual is arriving from another part of Alaska, then they can enter the community. If the individual is arriving from outside of the state or country, then they are dir...
The borough assembly approved resolution #2020-10 at their meeting on Monday, which approves the purchase of two handicap accessible restroom trailers for a total of $92,870. The purchase of the trailers from Comforts of Home Services, Inc. will be covered by the funding the borough received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, according to the resolution. The borough is able to purchase the restrooms with CARES Act funding because they have hand washing capabilities...
The Petersburg School Board reviewed a guidance document released by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development at their school board meeting last week that lays out a framework on planning and strategies for reopening schools in the fall. The Alaska Smart Start 2020 document uses a three tiered risk/color system to allow each school district to react to the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in their municipality. The framework provided by the Alaska Smart Start 2020 document is not m...
The borough assembly revised and extended public health mandate #5 at an assembly meeting on Monday, which now requires all vessels arriving in Petersburg harbor to meet requirements for out of state passengers as laid forth in state health mandate #10. On May 18, the assembly extended the deadline of public health mandate #5 through June 30, but on Monday it was extended through Aug. 31 to correspond with state health mandate #10. The state health mandate affects intrastate and interstate...
About 160 residents showed up for a vigil on Sunday outside of the Petersburg Courthouse for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who allegedly died during encounters with police, to show their solidarity with protests and movements across the country. Both Floyd and Taylor are African-American. Chelsea Tremblay, one of the organizers of the vigil, said she wanted to create a safe space for people to come and reflect on their thoughts. During the vigil, those in attendance stood in a circle around...
