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The Petersburg High School volleyball team has begun practicing for its upcoming season and the players are hungry after a year impacted by COVID-19. In a region known for its strength of volleyball teams, the PHS team is comprised of 32 students and eight seniors. They experienced some competition last year according to volleyball coach Jaime Cabral who said last season also left a bitter taste. Their finish as the second-best team in the region would have qualified them for state if it had...
The Petersburg High School cross country team competed in its first meet of the season Saturday in Wrangell. The girls team finished second overall with a score of 73, only behind Ketchikan High School. Sophomore Kinley Lister finished third with a time of 22:06.71 and freshman Kate Thompson finished not far behind in seventh with a time of 22:59.15. The boys team finished fourth with a score of 85, with senior Michael Durkin placing third overall with a time of 18:05.92. Head Coach Tom...
Construction is progressing on the new motor pool shop and is set to be completed by the November 30 deadline despite schedule delays according to Public Works Director Chris Cotta. The new building, which is replacing the facility that suffered a fire in August of 2019, has had its framing put up for rooms such as the crew quarters, and builders are now working on electrical and plumbing for the building. Cotta said the delays are because of issues contractors are having with supply of...
The Annabelle Baker Memorial Art Show was held at the Clausen Museum Friday as part of the Rainforest Festival. The event, honoring artist and former member of the Rainforest Festival Board Annabelle Baker who passed away in 2012, displayed artwork from local artists. "She and I used to hang this show together all the time and so when she passed we just kind of named it after her. She was a wonderful person," Pia Reilly said. The theme of this year's show was Nature and You, which is meant to...
The Muskeg Maleriers hosted a beginners rosemaling class at the Sons of Norway Hall on Saturday in celebration of National Rosemaling Day. About 40 people attended the free event where the club taught the Norwegian folk art of painting floral designs on furniture and objects called rosemaling. Some of the Muskeg Maleriers' work can be seen on storefronts around Petersburg including Lee's Clothing, Rexall Drug, and a 9-by-36 mural at Hammer & Wikan Grocery. "We decided that it would be fun to do...
Naomi Michalsen opened the Rainforest Festival Thursday night with a presentation on the power of indigenous plants and foods at the Wright Auditorium. Michalsen, who grew up in Petersburg but now lives in Ketchikan, runs Kaasei Training & Consulting which aims to educate people on Tlingit culture and practices associated with harvesting berries and other foods in Southeast Alaska. Michalsen opened by giving a land acknowledgement before speaking on her time growing up in Petersburg. “As a young girl I learned to love this place and I grew up a...
The Borough Assembly approved a new collective bargaining agreement with Petersburg Municipal Employees Association during its meeting on September 7. The contract was approved by a 5-0 unanimous vote and will be in effect from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023. Changes to the contract are mostly associated with wage increases and paid time off, and the cost of the three year contract will be $798,747. Effective July 1, 2020, a 2% increase will apply to Step C for all positions on the PMEA Wage Matrix. Employees reach Step C after one year of...
The Petersburg post office has decreased its service hours after feeling the impacts of staffing shortages according to James Boxrud at USPS Strategic Communications. The customer service window is limited to being open from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Shortened hours have resulted in lines wrapping around the building as people wait to pick up their packages or conduct transactions. Boxrud attributed the lack of staffing to hiring...
The Borough Assembly held its first reading of Ordinance #2021-16 during Tuesday's meeting which amended the Municipal Code to allow the borough to place liens on property to secure payments. The ordinance would update the language in chapters 9.16, 14.04, 14.08, 14.12, and 14.16 of the code to be in line with legislation passed by the Alaska Legislature and signed into law. According to the ordinance, it would allow municipalities to create liens to cover the expenses of the Borough in the...
Ordinance #2021-14 which would suspend baler fees for waste delivered to the baler facility failed in its first and only reading during Tuesday's assembly meeting. The emergency ordinance aimed to combat the increase of bear activity in town by providing residents an opportunity to dispose of their garbage at no charge from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. instead of letting it accumulate in trash cans. If adopted, the ordinance would have stopped fees for a period of 60 days unless sooner repealed. In...
The Borough Assembly held a public hearing and had a second reading of Ordinance #2021-13 during Tuesday's meeting which would allow assembly members to be counted for the purposes of a quorum if participating via teleconference. The ordinance passed in its second reading with a 5-1 vote with Mayor Mark Jensen opposed. James Whitethorn was the only person to speak at the public hearing. He voiced his disapproval of the ordinance, citing that he believed assembly members should be present for...
The Petersburg School District held its first week of in person school with COVID-19 guidelines in effect. Approximately 430 students are expected to be attending school this year as some children are still anticipated to arrive in Petersburg. They have already made it one week without issues according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter "The first week was great, and kids were happy to be back, and we were happy to have them here," Kludt-Painter said. "We're off to a pretty good start." The...
The Petersburg High School cross country team traveled to Wrangell Friday to run in its first competitive race of the season. The team faced off against runners from Wrangell High School in a time trial in preparation for their upcoming meet this weekend. The team was supposed to travel to Metlakatla for a meet, but quarantine rules prevented them from attending. Though there was some light rain, the condition of the old Wrangell course and the atmosphere of the race was good according to PHS...
The Petersburg High School swim team traveled to Ketchikan Friday to compete in its first meet of the season. Students from PHS were given their first taste of competition as they raced against teams from Juneau, Ketchikan, Craig, and Wrangell. "I thought our kids did very well," PHS Head Coach Andy Carlisle said. "Our shorter races were better as it is so early in the season, but we had many best times." Allie Morgan shined for the Vikings, having two of the highest finishes among Petersburg...
This year's Rainforest Festival begins September 9 and will run through September 12 featuring new in person and virtual events. The festival celebrates nature and encourages people to explore the world around them according to Sunny Rice, a member of the Rainforest Festival's committee. Last year the festival was limited to Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year some events will return to being hosted physically. "We're definitely keeping to the spirit of what the Rainforest...
Sebastian O'Kelly, the Borough Assembly's federal lobbyist with Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh gave an update during Tuesday's meeting. O'Kelly spoke on a number of topics pertinent to the borough that are being discussed in Washington D.C. during his report including new Coast Guard vessels, funding for a new hospital and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan. According to O'Kelly, the Coast Guard has begun upgrading its vessel fleet and will be replacing the USCGC Anacapa which is base...
The Petersburg Public Works Department is encouraging people to prevent tempting bears to town by securing their trash cans. Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins said the reason bears come to town is because during the end of summer and beginning of fall, bears begin to seek out easy sources of food such as garbage to store up weight in preparation for hibernation. Last fall , Petersburg had more trouble with bears close to town because of a general berry failure and fewer fish. With less...
The Petersburg Borough's collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had its signature pages distributed Tuesday after the agreement was finalized. The CBA was approved by the assembly during its July 19 meeting and lasts from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024. Changes were made to the wage rates for most positions which will see increases become effective on an annual basis. According to the agreement, effective July 1, 2021, Journeymen Linemen would se...
The Petersburg Medical Center board discussed their efforts to engage with the community regarding the construction of a new hospital during Thursday's meeting. The board's newly created Community Engagement Committee aims to improve communication of information about the new hospital to the public. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter said that a common response to the hospital's recent community needs assessment was increased dialogue from PMC about the new facility and more opportunities for the...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter spoke to the PMC Board about staff turnover and vaccinations during Thursday's meeting. The healthcare industry has seen turnover across the country according to Hofstetter's report and PMC is seeing its own ups and downs with staffing. Hofstetter said some departments in the hospital have faced challenges whenever departures occur, but PMC has been fortunate in retaining staff compared to national data. According to Hofstetter, in the past seven...
The Petersburg Medical Center discussed the delta variant's impact on Petersburg and the future of COVID-19 testing and vaccinations during Thursday's board meeting. According to Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom, all of the positive cases in Petersburg in August were travel related and there have not been any cases linked to community spread. Bacom said that an outbreak is not a matter of if, but when, and the earlier cases are identified through asymptomatic testing, the...
The Petersburg High School cross-country team is preparing for its first race of the season this weekend. Head Coach Tom Thompson said that the meet was originally going to happen in Metlakatla, but because of COVID-19 protocols, they are hoping that it will be moved to Prince of Wales Island. If moved, the race would happen in Klawock, but the team is still waiting on Athletic Director Jaime Cabral to see if it is going to happen. "There's a big outbreak of COVID in Craig and so we're just on...
The Petersburg Borough released its updated website Monday, designed for easier access and a modern look. The website now greets users with a selection of accessible tabs including community information, borough departments, and other services. The clean style and colorful images contrast with the outdated design of the old website. Borough Librarian Tara Alcock was tasked with creating the new website after she saw the need for an update while she acted as the public information officer for...
The Petersburg School District started its new school year on Tuesday amid regulations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. On that foggy morning, many parents chose to come in person to drop off their children on the first day of school. As the kids gathered around the school, they played on swing sets and shot hoops on the basketball court before being grouped up by their classes. Though this may have resembled an ordinary start to the school year, the impacts and challenges brought on by the...
The candidate filings for the 2021 Municipal Election to be held on October 5 have been released. Two three-year seats on the Borough Assembly will be on the ballot. There are eight candidates running including incumbent Bob Lynn, Paul Anderson, Lars Christensen, Thomas Fine-Walsh, Marc Martinsen, Brandi Thynes, Dana Thynes, and Jim Vick. Assembly Member Taylor Norheim has previously stated that he will not seek reelection. The School Board has two available seats, each for a three-year term....
