Sorted by date Results 476 - 500 of 701
The Petersburg Public Library is hosting its annual winter reading challenge, encouraging people to read and participate in activities around town through the month of January. According to Kari Peterson, the library’s program coordinator, the Build a Better World Challenge will also help support local nonprofits through a drawing for $500 donated by the Friends of the Library. “This year is a little bit different in that the winnings will not be going to an individual, they’ll be going to a local nonprofit of the individual’s choice who win...
6 brought with it a new record snowfall on New Year's Day which has the National Weather Service in Juneau and Petersburg Borough staff worried as rain and warmer temperatures are predicted for this weekend. Saturday saw the most snowfall and highest depth ever recorded in Petersburg on January 1 of any year with 17.5 inches of new snow for a depth of 40 inches according to data collected by the NWS. It was just short of the most snowfall ever recorded on a single day in the month of January...
The emergency ordinance requiring masking inside public indoor spaces ended Monday night after the Petersburg Borough Assembly did not make a motion to extend it during Monday's meeting. It was first passed in a 6-0 vote with Mayor Mark Jensen excused at a special meeting on November 5 near the beginning of Petersburg's highest spike in COVID-19 cases. At the time of the meeting, the Petersburg Medical Center reported 63 active cases and later peaked at 97 active cases-the highest seen by...
Driving all-purpose vehicles on roads in Alaska became legal Saturday after regulation changes signed by Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James E. Cockrell and the Office of Alaska Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer last year came into effect. According to a release from the DPS, all-purpose vehicles, not including snowmachines and hovercrafts, can now be driven on roads with speed limits up to and including 45 mph unless a municipality bans their use via by ordinance. Drivers need...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed Resolution #2022-01 during Monday’s meeting which requested a formal discussion with the U.S. Postal Service about providing additional services at Petersburg’s post office. The resolution cited ongoing staffing issues at the post office, irregular hours, and long lines and asked the USPS to explore the possibilities of adding self-help kiosks in the post office and mail collection boxes downtown. The assembly failed to approve a similar resolution tha...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board heard an update from PMC leadership on how COVID-19 continues to affect hospital operations and PMC's expectation for future outbreaks during its meeting on December 30. Petersburg saw its highest number of active COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic in November, peaking with 97. There were also two COVID-19 related medevacs in the past two months according to Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom who said the hospital is much b...
The Petersburg Indian Association held its annual election Monday which saw four incumbents reelected and one former PIA Tribal Council member return according to the unofficial results. Cris Morrison was reelected to a one-year term as council president, winning the race unopposed with 15 votes. Five people ran for the three two-year seats up for election on the PIA Tribal Council. Incumbents Mary Ann Rainey, who has served on the council for over 10 years, and Heather Conn, who has served for three years, received the most votes with 16...
A Petersburg School Board work session set for Tuesday was pushed to January 6 at 6 p.m. because of flight delays and snow conditions according to an announcement from the Petersburg School District. The meeting’s purpose is to hold a discussion on the district’s COVID-19 Mitigation Plan before the board’s next meeting on January 11. Topics of discussion will include masking, the trialing of the test to stay protocol, and potential changes to the plan. Though there will be no public comments, board members can invite people to speak durin...
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team competed in the Clarke Cochran Tournament in Ketchikan last week to play a few more games before going up against conference teams. Only seven students traveled to the tournament, three of whom were freshmen, because of sickness and travel, but Head Coach Dino Brock said he could see the team's development on the court in each game. The Lady Vikings opened the tournament with a 41-36 loss to Valdez after going behind early and kicking it into gear...
1 members of the Petersburg High School boys basketball team traveled to Ketchikan last week to battle some of the toughest non-conference opponents in and out of the state in the Clarke Cochran Tournament. Though the teams that the Vikings went up against were not all at their level, Head Coach Rick Brock said it gave them an opportunity to get some on-court experience and get comfortable playing as a team before facing local competition. “At the beginning of the tournament, I could tell we had improved from the week before in Sitka and t...
January The assembly approved of a COVID-19 dashboard which tracked cases in the community. Local businesses received a total of $15.08 million in aid in the first round of COVID-19 aid released through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. PMC vaccinated approximately 350 residents aged 65 or older at a vaccine drive in the community gym. PMC was given permission by the borough to apply for a second PPP loan totaling $1.8 million. PMC applied and received a loan of...
The US Forest Service announced on December 8 that it has authorized silvicultural treatments on 105,224 acres of land in the Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger Districts to improve the ecosystems of young-growth stands. The goal of the treatments is to improve habitats and timber production in young-growth stands which face issues caused by overstay trees blocking light as forests regenerate after being clear-cut according to Petersburg Ranger District Silviculturist Ben Case. Problems include...
The Salvation Army's signature red kettles raised $13,911.30 for its social services budget during the holiday season according to Major Loni Upshaw. Though it was about $6,000 less than last year's total, Upshaw was still surprised with how high the final tally was and said that it was only $90 dollars short of the goal given to the local branch by the Salvation Army's headquarters. The Petersburg Vessel Owners Association, which had volunteers ringing the bells on Christmas Eve, topped the...
Birders canvassed Mitkof Island on December 18 as part of the National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count as they looked to collect data on local bird populations. It was a smaller group of people than usual according to Brad Hunter, the coordinator of Petersburg's bird count. Of the 23 people who participated, 10 people watched bird feeders while 13 split up to cover the group's regular routes near Hungry Point, Sandy Beach, the Beachcomber Lodge, and Blind River Rapids. "It's a lot...
Petersburg residents took up shovels, flashlights, and rain boots Tuesday in a day that saw freshly fallen snow followed by a power outage and a broken water main flooding the streets of town. 8.5 inches of snow fell Tuesday, setting a new record for most snowfall on December 21 of any year. So far, Petersburg has accumulated a total of 74.3 inches of snow this winter according to the National Weather Service, well above the average for this point in the season of 21.3 inches. While people outsi... Full story
The Borough Assembly passed Ordinance #2021-18 in its third and final reading which will increase electric utility rates to account for an increase in Southeast Alaska Power Agency rates and the cost of debt service for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric Refurbishment and the Scow Bay Standby Diesel Generation projects. The ordinance was proposed following the results of a rate study conducted by D. Hittle & Associated and passed unanimously in its first two readings. Utility Director Karl Hagerman...
The new cabin at the end of the Raven's Roost Trail was opened for reservations on December 16 and has already seen use according to Cabin and Trails Program Manager Paul Olsen with the U.S. Forest Service. Built by Rainforest Contracting, it is larger than the previous cabin and about 1.2 miles closer to the trailhead which was also reconstructed to make it more accessible to hikers. The new cabin is more family-oriented than the previous one, which was showing signs of decay. It also features...
During Monday's assembly meeting the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted against Resolution #2021-17 which would have requested the option of home mail delivery by the United States Postal Service. The resolution was presented as a possible solution to ongoing issues at the short-staffed post office which has seen long wait times for package pickup and decreased window hours. Assembly Member Dave Kensinger said he brought forward the resolution because of the time people and businesses are having...
The Petersburg High School girls’ basketball team kicked off its season in Sitka last weekend in the Holland America Tournament, winning two of its three games against non-conference opponents. Nine students traveled to the competition. Head Coach Dino Brock said they battled through their games in their first outing of the year. The Lady Vikings’ first opponent was 2A Glennallen on Thursday whom they were able to beat 45-38 after breaking away in the fourth quarter. Brock said the first quarter was shaky for both teams as they tried to work ou...
The Petersburg High School boys' basketball team opened its season in Sitka last weekend in the Sitka Holland America Tournament. Though the full squad did not travel because of the holidays and the wrestling state tournament, Head Coach Rick Brock believes the three matches showed the young team what they can work on and was happy with their progress. "We were able to compete against very good teams and different styles, so we got everything out of the tournament that we wanted to going in,"...
The Viking Swim Club traveled to Ketchikan on December 10 for its first meet in over two years. It was Scott Burt's first opportunity to travel to a meet as head coach of the team which he said was an overwhelmingly positive experience. "I know for the kids that went as well, it was so nice to finally be able to travel and have head-to-head competition with swimmers across the state of Alaska," Burt said. The team has not been able to travel in the last two years because of the COVID-19...
The Petersburg High School wrestling team capped off its season with a trip to Anchorage last weekend to compete in the state championship tournament. Eight PHS students took part in the tournament which saw hundreds of students go head-to-head in the Alaska Airlines Center to crown the best in the state. “All of our wrestlers, I think, peaked this trip,” Valentine said. “I’ve never seen them wrestle better to be honest.” DD Toyomura, who won the regional championship this season, claimed fifth at state. She lost to the number two seed in t...
Plows and shovels became commonplace in Petersburg last week after record-breaking snowfall covered the town while Public Works, the Alaska Department of Transportation, businesses, homeowners, and everyone in between cleared roads and paths to keep the snow at bay. Last year only a total of 9.1 inches of accumulated snowfall had been seen by this time-a drastic contrast to this winter which, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau, has seen the third-highest snowfall on record in Pe...
The Petersburg High School wrestling team traveled to Wrangell last weekend to compete in the Region V Championship Tournament which gave students a chance to qualify for the state championships in Anchorage. Head Coach James Valentine said he was proud of the confidence the team had going into the tournament which was the culmination of all the hard work the students had put into the season. "This weekend, I thought that everybody showed up and left 110% on that mat, which is fantastic to see a...
The Petersburg School Board held a discussion on the district's current COVID-19 protocols during Tuesday's meeting and agreed to hold a work session on potential changes in January. The district has required universal masking for the majority of the year due to continued COVID-19 outbreaks both in the district and in the community. The district began the school year with two weeks of universal masking as part of its reopening plan and the board later amended the plan during its September...
