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Last week, the Petersburg School District distributed 3,946 meals to 310 kids in the district as students continue to attend class remotely. The district's food service department first began delivering meals on March 23. That was the day students were supposed to return from spring break, but they were given an extra week off while staff prepared for distance learning. Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued his first state health mandate on March 13, which required public schools statewide to make school da...
The Petersburg Borough confirmed the second positive result for COVID-19 in the community on Saturday in a joint statement with Petersburg Medical Center. While this is the second case to officially appear in the community, it is the only active case of COVID-19 present at this time. The first individual who tested positive for the virus has since recovered. Another local resident, Delbert (Pete) Erickson, passed away from the virus in Washington last month, but the Alaska Department of Health...
The borough assembly approved an emergency ordinance to amend the fiscal year 2020 budget to appropriate $100,000 from the Economic Development Fund to the Petersburg Economic Development Council to offset financial impacts to the local community caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. "As our state and community work towards opening up our economy and getting businesses back online, this can offer hopefully a small bridge to help some of those small businesses during this time," said Vice Mayor Jeigh...
The borough assembly approved two health mandates at their assembly meeting on Monday regarding the use of the borough's harbor facilities by cruise ships and the submission of essential workers' travel plans in the borough. Public health mandate #5 prevents cruise ships from using the borough's harbor facilities and passengers and crew members from disembarking onto borough docks or floats without prior written approval of Borough Public Health Officer Mark Tuccillo. Approval will be given to...
Petersburg Medical Center is kicking off a healthy community series this week beginning with an Earth Day trash tag challenge and a Circle of Life 5k run with the goal of encouraging the public to stay healthy and active while practicing social distancing. "We want to encourage connectedness among Petersburg residents," said Julie Walker, one of the organizers of the events. "So many of us are feeling disconnected from each other right now." Residents can pick a day between April 22 and 25 to pi...
Petersburg Medical Center has sent out a total of 71 samples to be tested for COVID-19 at state and commercial laboratories as of April 15, said PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter at Wednesday's daily COVID-19 community update. Sixty-three tests have returned negative, seven are still pending and one test has returned positive, but the individual has since recovered. On Wednesday, the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services reported 293 cases of COVID-19 in the state. Of the positive cases, 106...
During a virtual Petersburg School Board meeting on Tuesday, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter recommended that the board postpone talks on the Alaska Reads Act, which is a senate bill being put forth by Alaska legislators to address early childhood education. If passed, Senate Bill 6 would mandate school districts offer a preschool program and ensure students are reading proficiently by third grade. Kludt-Painter recommended further discussions on the topic be postponed because of local and...
On February 13, Petersburg and its law enforcement officers appeared in the season finale of Alaska PD, a new reality show that follows police departments in four Alaskan communities. The episode focused on Officers Carl Tate and Eric Wolf as they patrolled the town, helped an injured eagle and spoke to residents who were under the influence. When the Petersburg Police Department was first approached by Engel Entertainment, the production company that filmed Alaska PD, Tate said he was opposed...
Utility Director Karl Hagerman and Public Works Director Chris Cotta submitted a letter to the borough assembly at their meeting last week recommending the borough postpone discussions on rate increases and bond issuances due to financial uncertainties in the community amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We were attempting to answer a question that hadn't been asked yet and to put the community at ease that rates are still under consideration for projects that need to be completed, but that rate increa...
The Board of Equalization, which is made up of the borough assembly, voted in favor of property valuations made by the borough's contract assessors on two properties that were brought before them at a meeting last Wednesday. Twenty-two appellants made a combined total of 30 appeals on their property valuations, and 28 of the appeals were resolved and withdrawn outside of the BOE meeting. Ivar Enge was set to make an appeal on parcel 01-007-672, but the matter was settled prior to the meeting,...
As of April 7, the Petersburg Medical Center has sent out 62 test samples to be tested for COVID-19 at state and commercial laboratories, according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter at Wednesday's daily COVID-19 update. Fifty-one tests have returned negative, ten are still pending and one test has returned positive. The borough was first made aware of the confirmed case of COVID-19 in the community on Sunday. The borough was notified by the hospital and immediately sent out a press release and a code...
Several hand washing stations have been set up throughout town to provide residents with basic hygiene needs at a time when the public is urged to wash their hands regularly to prevent the transmission and contraction of COVID-19. Ashley Kawashima, of the borough's incident command team, said the stations were set up for the growing local population of individuals who don't have access to running water. They would use the Parks and Recreation Center and Petersburg Public Library, for their...
The borough assembly established a local emergency disaster fund in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at their meeting on Monday and moved funds to the Petersburg Economic development Council to help businesses who have been financially affected by the virus. The local emergency disaster fund was created by an emergency ordinance, which requires only one reading to be passed and lasts for 60 days. Because the borough anticipates the local emergency disaster fund being needed past the 60 days,...
In a 4-3 vote, the borough assembly passed an ordinance in its third reading that would establish a new Parks and Recreation Advisory Board at their meeting on Monday. Ordinance #2020-05 allows the assembly to begin accepting letters of interest from the public and then appoint five members onto the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Those appointed to the board would serve until the borough election in October wherein duly elected members will serve on the board. A sunset clause was added...
As of Wednesday afternoon, Petersburg Medical Center has submitted 39 COVID-19 testing samples to state and commercial laboratories, 26 of which have come back negative and the remaining 13 tests are still pending, according to PMC's Laurie Miller at Wednesday's daily COVID-19 community update. "We're relieved everyday that we don't have a positive test, but we know they are coming," said PMC Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Bryner. On Wednesday evening, the Alaska Department of Health and Social...
The Local Emergency Planning Committee held its third meeting last Friday as a weekly effort to update local businesses and borough officials on how the community is reacting to and taking precautions against COVID-19. Since the previous week's LEPC meeting, Petersburg Public Health Nurse Erin Michael said she has begun conducting contact investigations for people in the state who have been exposed to COVID-19. Some of her investigations have also included local residents who have potentially...
The United States Census Bureau has suspended all field operations until April 15 amid the growing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement made by the Census Bureau on Saturday. While some Petersburg residents may have already found a questionnaire left on their doorstep with instructions on how to complete the 2020 census, others have not. According to Desi Burrell, a local enumerator with the Census Bureau, residents who received a questionnaire were also given a 12-digit census ID that...
Activities at the Petersburg School District and other school districts across the state have been cancelled for the rest of the academic year as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. PSD Activities Director Jaime Cabral said the decision to cancel activities came from the state. On March 20, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a health mandate that closed public and private schools through May 1 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Following the announcement, the Alaska School Activities Association...
For the month of February, Petersburg Medical Center saw its net operating revenue and total operating expenses come in over what was budgeted, according to PMC financial statements presented at the PMC Board of Directors meeting last Thursday. The net operating revenue was at $1,571,660 at the end of February, which was 12 percent above the budgeted $1,391,250 for the month. While the total operating expenses also came in over budget, February's revenue was able to offset the difference. PMC...
It took Maura Sullivan about a week to return to Petersburg when the United States Peace Corps began pulling its volunteers out of Zambia on March 16 as COVID-19 was spreading around the world. In the weeks leading up to her forced departure, Sullivan and the other Peace Corps volunteers in Zambia were keeping up with the news on COVID-19, but they weren't aware of how serious the virus was getting. "When you're living abroad, it's kind of hard to grasp the severity of the situation when you're...
Incident Commander Karl Hagerman signed public health mandate #3 Friday afternoon to temporarily suspend in-person participation during borough assembly meetings or any other public meeting of a borough board and commission effective immediately. “Due to the ongoing public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 crisis, it is in the best interest of public safety and health that public gatherings be avoided,” wrote Hagerman in the health mandate. Hagerman notes in the mandate that the con... Full story
The borough assembly unanimously passed public health mandate #1 at a special meeting on Wednesday that orders residents to shelter in place amid the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. The mandate goes into effect at 11:59 P.M. on Thursday, March 26. The health mandate comes three days after the assembly passed a public health alert at another special meeting on Sunday that urged the public to shelter in place. Following an outpour of community support for a mandate...
As the first cruise ships are expected to arrive in town on May 12, it is still too early to tell how COVID-19 will affect the cruise ship industry in Southeast Alaska, according to Dave Berg, co-founder of Viking Travel. One issue affecting large, foreign cruise ships is the closure of the Vancouver cruise ship port, said Berg. The closure was a result of COVID-19, and the cruise ship port isn't expected to reopen until June 30. While most of the ships that port in Petersburg are small,...
Local canneries are in the beginning stages of developing a plan to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 brought into town by cannery workers that will be hired for the upcoming fishing season. “We have a tremendous responsibility to the communities that we bring workers into,” said a representative from Icicle Seafoods who asked not to be named. The representative said Icicle Seafoods has been screening workers in the past, but the company has stepped up their procedures in light of the COV...
As of Wednesday afternoon, four of the 13 local test specimens that have been sent to state and commercial laboratories have returned negative for COVID-19, according to Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter. The results of the remaining nine tests are still undetermined. "You would know a lot sooner if there were any positives," said Hofstetter, at a daily COVID-19 community update on Wednesday. Statewide, 59 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday evening, with 13...
