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The Petersburg High School track and field team made it over their first hurdle of the season-the Capital City Invitational-last weekend with many students chalking up personal records over the two-day meet. The competition was the Vikings' first opportunity to race on a real track all season after training in the rocks and dirt of the school yard, and Head Coach James Valentine said they are still getting used to the feel of it. "It was just a good overall first meet to get the jitters out,"...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly chambers were filled during Monday's meeting with members of the community there to request a third-party investigation into the July 4, 2016 van crash that killed Marie Giesbrecht and Molly Parks and to hear a report on the practices and procedures instituted by the borough's HR Department in its aftermath. Along with those who spoke at the meeting, many Petersburg residents wrote letters to the assembly in favor of a third-party investigation into the borough's...
Jim Roberts was appointed to the Petersburg Medical Center Board by Mayor Mark Jensen with the approval of the assembly during Monday's Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting. Roberts previously served on the hospital board from 2018 to 2021 but lost his bid for reelection. "The hospital is a vital part of our community and it needs to grow to provide the services required by our community," Roberts wrote. He also worked for 41 years at the Central Intelligence Agency as a computer scientist and a...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted on Monday to hold a work session to discuss the borough's FY24 draft budget and reschedule its first meeting in May. The work session will give the assembly and the public their first opportunity to review next year's borough budget ahead of its first reading. The work session will be held on Monday, April 24 at 6 p.m. in the assembly chambers. The assembly also voted to move its meeting scheduled for May 1 to Tuesday, May 2 at noon. The rescheduling was...
The Petersburg High School band took the ferry down to Ketchikan last week to perform at Musicfest and cheer on other bands who made the trip from Metlakatla to Skagway. The 28 PHS students spent three days putting on concerts in front of a packed Ketchikan High School auditorium as well as playing solo and ensemble pieces. "We've been working really hard in here and we performed better than we had been performing in class, which is always the goal, so there were lots of smiles from our kids...
The Petersburg High School baseball team held a scrimmage at the ballfield Friday afternoon, giving local fans their first look at the team in action this season. The Vikings were initially scheduled to play a three-game series against Sitka, but the Wolves' flight to Petersburg was canceled after an ash cloud created by the eruption of the Shiveluch Volcano in Russia flew over Southeast. Mother Nature, however, did not stop the Vikings from putting on a show as they took the field for a Blue vs...
While Easter typically conjures up images of egg hunts under the sun and tranquil Sunday services, this year saw high winds blow down trees across Mitkof Island, damaging power lines and prompting a response from Petersburg Municipal Power and Light. "It was a very, very strong, very intense windstorm that came through," Utility Director Karl Hagerman said. "We did not see that in the forecast, so it kind of took us by surprise." One tree hit the distribution line near 8.5 Mile Mitkof Highway,...
Rock-N-Road Construction has spent the last week scooping mud from Middle Harbor as part of the ongoing dredge project. The Middle Harbor dredge project is separate from the dredge project being completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Western Marine, which is on hold for the summer. The Middle Harbor project aims to clear out built-up silt causing damage to the harbor and was included in the borough's latest supplemental budget, which will have its third and final reading at the April...
Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School Principal Ambler Moss's contract will not be renewed and he will leave the district at the end of the school year. Moss was hired last summer and signed a one-year contract with the district, which is the standard length for principal contracts. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter wrote that they mutually agreed that he would not continue in the role after this year. She added, "We wish him all the best in his next adventure and thank him for his...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance that would amend the charter to open participation on local boards to borough employees in its final reading. The amendment, which will have to be approved by voters later this year, would let borough staff run for boards except for those that directly administer their employment. That would mean a Petersburg Medical Center employee could run for the assembly or the school board but not the hospital board. A Petersburg...
The Viking Swim Club rocked the waves at the Southeast Championships in Juneau earlier this month. The Petersburg club took 29 swimmers to the meet, which saw over 200 swimmers from six teams across the region compete, and placed second overall as team, only behind Juneau's Glacier Swim Club. "They did amazingly well," Head Coach Scott Burt said. The VSC girls finished second overall and the VSC boys took fourth. Individually, Petersburg swimmers earned 31 first-place finishes, 15 second-place f...
The Petersburg High School baseball team started their season swinging in Sitka last weekend, playing six games against regional challengers and potential state tournament opponents. The games were limited to 1 hour and 45 minutes each and had a maximum pitch count of 25 per inning to keep players fresh during the invitational. "All in all I'm really pleased with where we're at," Head Coach Jim Engell said. "Defensively we need to work on some things, and we did yesterday in practice, but...
The Petersburg School District has requested the borough increase its local contribution to the district as it grapples with decreased funding, rising costs, and challenges attracting new teachers. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter and PSD Director of Finance Karen Morrison made their case to the assembly during Monday's meeting, giving a review of the district's financial standing going into FY24 and detailing how school funding has been left behind. Inflation paired with the rising costs of...
The U.S. Forest Service is seeing a nationwide push for new employees as they expand their operations, driven by an increase in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. "So all this additional funding gave us additional work and we need additional people to do that," Petersburg District Ranger Ray Born said. The Petersburg Ranger District is hiring mostly for technician positions including biological technicians to conduct surveys and recreation...
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 31, a truck collided with a parked vehicle on South Nordic Drive, which resulted in damage to the memorial park dedicated to Marie Giesbrecht and Molly Parks. According to witnesses, a black pick-up truck hit an unoccupied silver truck that was parked next to the memorial. The crash pushed the parked silver truck off of the road and into the park, causing damage to the benches and railing. The silver truck dropped into the ditch next to the park while the...
During Monday's Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting, Mayor Mark Jensen and Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave a report on the borough's trip to Washington D.C. last week. Jensen, Giesbrecht, and Assembly Members Thomas Fine-Walsh and Scott Newman visited the capital to meet with Petersburg's federal delegation, lobbyists, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and other agencies about major local projects. "We had a pretty busy schedule. Overall, I felt, a good trip,"...
Former Petersburg Medical Center Board Member Kathi Riemer, who was last reelected in 2021, resigned from the hospital board last month. PMC Board President Jerod Cook wrote that he accepted Riemer's resignation on March 17. In his email notifying the borough, Cook expressed his gratitude for her contributions to the hospital and her service to the community. The borough is now seeking letters of interest from residents to fill the seat until the October 2023 municipal election. The Pilot...
Over 200 people from across Alaska, the Lower 48, and Canada converged on Thunder Mountain High School last weekend to compete in the 2023 Traditional Games where Petersburg's team took first place overall in the middle school division. The Traditional Games, also referred to as the Native Youth Olympics, is an annual competition put on by Coach Kyle Kaayák'w Worl and Sealaska Heritage Institute composed of events based on hunting and survival skills of the Indigenous peoples of Alaska and the...
Petersburg High School students are spending their afternoons running, jumping, and throwing in the build up to their first track and field meet of the season. The team has been in practice for two weeks as students hone their skills in the cold, wet weather of early spring. "With running it's not about just super intensity all the time, it's about building a base and that's what we're doing currently," Head Coach James Valentine said. Over 20 students have joined the team including seniors...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team racked up two more individual accolades following the conclusion of their season at the state championships last month. Jack Engell was named to the 2A boys all-state second team and Kyle Biggers was named to the 2A boys all-state third team as voted on by the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches. "I am so happy that both Kyle and Jack were recognized by the coaches around the state for the excellent season that they had this year," Head Coach...
In a 2-1 decision, the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the Estate of Molly Parks' wrongful death claim against the Petersburg Borough and William "Chris" Allen last month. The estate had appealed the case to the Alaska Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on Feb. 8, 2022, in an effort to overturn the Petersburg Superior Court's decision to dismiss the case and to reopen the lawsuit against the borough and Allen. On July 4, 2016, Molly Parks and Marie Giesbrecht were killed...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that would adjust the FY23 budget in its first reading during its meeting on March 20. The sizable supplemental budget includes 12 changes that cover a range of items including harbor dredging, attorney fees, vehicles, and more. The ordinance looks to increase the South Harbor dredge project budget by $635,000. The FY23 budget for the project was initially $1.1 million so the addition will bring the borough's budgeted cont...
The Petersburg post of the American Legion held its first formal meeting on Tuesday in the Petersburg Public Library, which saw about 20 veterans gather to engage in official business and discuss what they want the future of the post to be. Petersburg's American Legion post is called the Edward Locken Post 14-named for the former mayor and owner of the Bank of Petersburg. The American Legion is a nonprofit veterans organization that has been a driving force for disability and education benefits...
The borough’s FY22 Audit Report was presented to the Petersburg Borough Assembly at its meeting on March 6. According to Bikki Shrestha, an engagement partner with BDO USA, LLP, the borough received an unmodified opinion on its financial statements, federal single audit, and state single audit. Shrestha provided a review of the audit and financials in which he commended borough management’s cooperation throughout the audit process. The audit found no significant deficiencies and no material wea...
The Tongass National Forest has approved the Organized Village of Kake's request to use a U.S. Forest Service facility at Portage Bay as a cultural healing center according to an announcement from the department last week. The OVK plans to establish a program centered on cultural healing that would provide counseling to people struggling with alcohol, substance abuse, and other issues and reconnect them with their cultural identity. The program would be based out of the Forest Service's...
