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The newly opened Evergreen Market is looking to offer new options in a changed world as challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic shift the store's thinking. Replacing the old hardware store, the market looks to be a fluid store that can adapt to supply chain issues and stock items that are not easy to find in Petersburg. Half of the market focuses on offering healthier food options for those who want to eat better or have specialized dietary needs. "...the thing we get asked for the most...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team is set to open its season at the Sitka Holland America Tournament this week. Led by Head Coach Rick Brock, who was named as the 2021 2A Boys Coach of the Year, the boys basketball program is starting its season with approximately 20 students, four of whom are seniors. The team is still waiting on a handful of students who are coming back from injury or are still with the wrestling team. After two years of big senior classes, Brock said a lot of...
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team is looking to bounce back from last year’s shortened season going into its first tournament of the year. The team has been practicing for two weeks under Head Coach Dino Brock, who said so far practices are going well and the students are working hard. This year’s team is younger than most. It is made up of three seniors, two sophomores, and seven freshmen who practice on the court who put time on the court every day. “The younger kids are learning quickly, older kids are doing a great job helpi...
The Petersburg Medical Center has spent the last two weeks implementing a new electronic health records system, with the goal of increased security of patient records and improved usability. Cerner—the company which after the hospital board’s request for proposals in December 2020 was awarded a $1.3 million contract which was paid for by a state grant—sent technicians to Petersburg last week to help install the software and train staff on the new system. PMC was drawn to use Cerner as it is one of the two largest healthcare software provi...
Beginning Friday, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, with the help of many organizations in Petersburg, distributed approximately 1,400 pounds of meat from sublegal moose through the burger bank program. 1,960 pounds of meat from seven moose harvested during this year's hunt were put into the Community Cold Storage earlier this year and will be given to people in need according to Sergeant Cody Litster. According to Litster, antler restrictions allow everyone to participate in the hunt as opposed to a...
The Borough Assembly voted to extend an emergency ordinance requiring masking in indoor public buildings during Monday's meeting. The previous emergency ordinance was passed during an emergency meeting on November 5 in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Petersburg which was at one point the highest per capita outbreak in the country. The original ordinance required people to wear masks in indoors settings that are open to the public including businesses with some exceptions such as a medical...
The Borough Assembly held a discussion during Monday's meeting on the continuing issues at the post office and the possibility of home delivery. The assembly has held multiple discussions on the U.S. Postal Service's operations in Petersburg in the past, including at its last meeting, while the community continues to wrestle with limited service window hours, long lines, and the lack of masking enforcement in the building. A draft resolution was included in this week's assembly packet...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht presented the assembly with a list of capital projects to consider for FY23 during Monday's meeting in hopes of obtaining funding through the state and federal sources. The list grouped projects by their associated departments such as Harbor, Parks and Recreation, and Public Works and prioritized them within each grouping. It also included some projects associated with the Petersburg Medical Center and the Petersburg School District. The priority list,...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave a report on the latest COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the hospital during the PMC Hospital Board's December 2 meeting. According to Hofstetter, PMC saw over 230 individual Petersburg residents with COVID-19 in November. It was the largest outbreak Petersburg has seen since the start of the pandemic, caused in part by the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant. Approximately 16% visits to the ER in November were for COVID-19 and...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board discussed how the most recent COVID-19 outbreak has impacted PMC's operations and finances during its December 2 meeting. "When we scale everything up and use all our resources and have to focus 100% for care for COVID, it detracts from our routine care, it detracts from taking care of patients," PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter said. He was concerned that the cost of staffing and resources to take care of COVID-19 patients, people avoiding the ER, and other...
The Petersburg High School and Mitkof Middle School bands are preparing for the Petersburg School District's upcoming winter concert with a new director at the helm. Charlie O'Brien moved from Chicago to Petersburg in November to serve as the school's band director after previous director Matt Lenhard moved to Ketchikan. O'Brien began his musical journey in the fifth grade when he started playing the trumpet before switching to the euphonium in seventh grade. Over the years, he also learned to...
The Petersburg High School wrestling team traveled to Juneau last weekend to compete in the Pilot Invitational tournament after a three-week break. The tournament went smoothly according to Head Coach James Valentine, who said he was excited for the five students who were able to travel but that some were unable to go due to COVID-19 quarantine. Most of the teams in the region attended the tournament, except for those from Prince of Wales Island. Deirdre Toyomura claimed first in her bracket, maintaining her top form from before the break....
The Petersburg Public Library is showcasing a 50-year retrospective of Polly Lee's ceramic art this month. The art was originally scheduled to be shown in November, but since the recent COVID-19 outbreak closed the library, the show was extended. Polly started creating ceramics in 1955, cutting clay from the banks near the big dip with her husband Eldor Lee. "She and my dad would go out and get buckets of clay and try and use that and so there's a few pieces in the show that feature those early...
The Borough Assembly held a discussion during Monday's meeting to figure out how the borough should spend funds received through the American Rescue Plan and considered a future work session on the topic. The borough received $634,000 in funds, $20,000 of which has already been spent on finishing the deck out the deck project at Mountain View Manor. Representatives from childcare programs in Petersburg wrote letters to the assembly requesting ARPA funds to recoup losses caused by the COVID-19...
Petersburg is planning how potential funds from the $1 trillion infrastructure deal could be used and has some projects in mind according to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. President Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure bill earlier this month which passed in the House of Representatives in a 228-206 vote with the support of 13 Republicans and a majority of Democrats and in the Senate with a 69-30 vote. According to the Department of Transportation, it is the largest long-term...
The 2021-2022 Southeast Alaska sea cucumber season is expected to surpass the current three-year rotation's harvest record according to Whitney Crittenden, an assistant area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Ketchikan. As of November 24, 1,677,032 pounds of sea cucumber have been harvested, while the guideline harvest level (GHL) for the region stands at a record 1,872,800 pounds. This season has the highest region-wide GHL ever seen for the current rotation, de...
An unexpected, strong weather system sent high winds tearing through Wrangell, snapping three Southeast Alaska Power Agency poles which blocked the highway at City Park and knocked out power to most of Wrangell for much of Tuesday and Wednesday. Petersburg buildings, businesses, and homes also went dark Tuesday afternoon from approximately 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. At 2:19 p.m., Utility Director Karl Hagerman reported that Petersburg was running on diesel generators while awaiting a report from...
Though the call for adventure never ceases, even the crew of the Endeavour needs to take time to rest and take stock of the year's expeditions. Captain Bill Urschel, his wife Patsy, and their dog Bella live aboard the ship in North Harbor and are wintering in Petersburg for their second year in a row. The Endeavour, named for the ship Captain James Cook commanded on his first voyage of discovery, is a 72-foot U.S. Army T-Boat built in 1954 that has seen many names and many places over her...
Petersburg generally saw average temperatures and precipitation over the summer compared to historical data according to records collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). From June through August of 2021, the average temperature was 56.37 degrees, one degree higher than the average from 1991-2020 of 55.37 degrees. The summer temperature peaked at 77 degrees but failed to reach 80 degrees for the third year in a row. According to NOAA, June recorded an average...
The United States Forest Service announced plans Monday to improve three sites within the Tongass National Forest's Petersburg Ranger District. According to decision memos released by the USFS and signed by Petersburg District Ranger Ted Sandhofer earlier this month, the three sites include the Blind River Rapids, Crane Lake Trail, and Ohmer Creek. The first memo authorized the construction of a replacement shelter at Blind River Rapids and the addition of a picnic table. According to the memo,...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking to repeal the 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule which could restore protections to roadless areas within the Tongass National Forest according to an announcement from November 23. The 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule, approved under the Trump administration on October 29, 2020, allowed for road construction and timber harvesting in the Tongass which was previously protected by the 2001 Roadless Rule according to the USDA. The repeal comes as the department...
The Petersburg School District updated its testing protocols Friday, Nov. 26 to allow students identified as close contacts at the school to continue attending in-person classes, according to an announcement from Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. Changes were made to the COVID-19 guidelines after a firmware update from the CUE molecular test manufacturer caused performance irregularities. According to the announcement, the district will be suspend the use of CUE tests and introduce new...
Long-term and short-term parking at Petersburg James A. Johnson Airport will require payment beginning December 1. DMC Enterprises LLC, composed of equal partners Derek Lopez, Michelle Lopez, and Chadam Lopez, applied for and received a land use permit from the state of Alaska for the airport parking lot and will begin charging customers depending on how long their vehicles are parked. Their idea began in March when they purchased the former Pacific Wings building where Alaska Seaplanes is now...
Petersburg's annual Parade of Light and Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place on Friday. The parade portion of the event was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Administrator Mindy Lopez, but it returns this year and will feature beloved characters spreading holiday cheer. The parade will start at 5:30 p.m. near Trading Union and will head south along Nordic Drive towards the municipal building. 15 minutes before the parade,...
The Borough Assembly voted to approve the first reading of Ordinance #2021-18 which aims to cover the utility revenue requirements and update language in the borough code during its November 17 meeting. The increase to electric rates is based on the results of a rate study conducted by D. Hittle & Associates. The rate study concluded that an increase in revenues is required to make up for the debt services associated with the Blind Slough Hydroelectric Refurbishment and the Scow Bay Standby...
