Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 417
People driving by the first gravel pit out of town on Frederick Drive are accustomed to seeing small, scattered signs of graffiti. However, the freshly painted markings found by the Petersburg Police Department (PPD) last Friday while on patrol were completely unacceptable. The gravel pit is three to four miles down the twisting dirt road, and offers privacy and quiet scenery. The area is popular for bonfires. People stopping by the location can see a slightly faded "Jimi" on one side of the... Full story
The Petersburg High School baseball team wrapped up the season hosting Regionals last weekend. They dropped their final two games after winning the tournament opener. The team made some defensive mistakes allowing opponents to tack on runs, but all and all, head coach Jim Engell was pleased with the weekend and the team's performance. "I just want to thank all the volunteers that made the tournament possible," he said. "It was a good weekend for us, we played competitive in all three games." Sen...
Hana Newman recently received her Girl Scout Gold Award for her project promoting the Petersburg Medical Center's (PMC) new digital mammography machine. Reaching the level of Gold Award takes many years of dedication, and completing the project took a huge investment of time, during an already busy schedule for Newman. "Getting everything together and getting everything organized while collaborating with the hospital took time," she says. "I actually had to stay in town and miss a volleyball...
Ever since Karen Hofstad was a kid, she possessed a strong desire to preserve history through collections. She often thought of herself as a detective gathering postcards or matchbook covers, sleuthing out treasure for her collections. Around 1965, her passion for collecting salmon labels became a lifestyle, resulting in decades of effort to document the fishing heritage crucial to the story of Alaska and many Alaskan families. When Hofstad moved to Petersburg in 1960, she was in her mid-20s,...
This year's graduating class at Petersburg High School donned their caps and gowns early for a very important walk around campus. The senior class started a tradition called a Senior Walk that will hopefully inspire younger students to set graduation goals early, and stay in school. On Monday, the seniors dressed up and started the event by walking through the middle school while students lined the hallways, cheering the seniors on. Then things got loud when the graduates entered the elementary... Full story
The boys and girls track and field teams both earned second place finishes behind Sitka at the regional meet last weekend in Juneau. Seventeen athletes qualified for events at the state meet in Anchorage, but only 15 will make the trip. However, the total is the most head coach Brad Taylor has qualified during his coaching tenure at PHS, he says. Eight juniors are headed to state, including Alan McCay who is showing great promise in his first season on the team. McCay ended up winning the high... Full story
The Petersburg High School baseball team dropped three games in Sitka last weekend, and will head into the regional tournament this weekend as the No. 5 seed. The Vikings made their share of errors, but the mistakes they made are fixable and they'll be ready for action on Thursday, said head coach Jim Engell. "We kind of ran into a buzz saw," he said. "We let a lot of runners on either by walks or hit batters, stuff we were struggling with earlier in the season." The Vikings lost game one 8-1,...
The annual pedometer challenge took place over the Mayfest weekend, and Katie Yeckley, Tobacco Prevention & Control Grant coordinator for the Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) ran the event this year. "This is my first year doing this," she said. "The children were so excited to get a pedometer, but even if they didn't do the challenge they were so excited." The competition started last Thursday and ended Sunday night, and logs were accepted through Monday. PIA used grant money to put on the...
Kåre R. Aas, the Norwegian ambassador to the United States, is in town for Mayfest, and he cannot wait to meet and speak with locals. "I'm looking to really getting to know the Norwegian-Americans and Norwegian's living here and who have been living here for many, many years," he said. "I've wanted to come here for a very, very long time." Aas is well-aware of Petersburg's history and how influential so many Norwegian families were in creating the small, Southeast fishing town. And people in... Full story
An interisland ferry service startup has stopped again, after reporting trouble with its landing craft. After discovering water in the stern of the Rainforest Islander, operator Rainforest Islands Ferry contacted its customers last week to cancel reservations for the foreseeable future. On May 11, the ferry’s crew discovered water inside the hull. Closer inspection identified stress cracks on welds to the hull plating. Baker explained the engine’s shaft is slightly out of alignment, leading to the vibrations which may have caused the pla... Full story
The Alaska National Guard (ANG) armories in Petersburg and Wrangell are set to be repurposed. Steps are already being taken to achieve the repurposing effort in Wrangell and the process is slated to start next year in Petersburg, according to Kalei Rupp, director of communications for the Alaska Department of Military & Veterans’ Affairs (DMVA). “Repurposing is the transfer of sites the Alaska Army National Guard no longer needs to other qualifying entities, such as municipal governments,” Rupp...
Bob Dolan loves to travel and will go on vacation just about anywhere, but wherever he goes, it's all about the music. He loves going to Mexico, especially Xalapa the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Thirteen years ago, when he visited the city he was in his hotel deciding what musical event he would attend later that day. While looking though the newspaper, he came across a listing for a harp recital. The venue was about the size of the Wright Auditorium, with people packed in...
The weather finally cooperated with sunny conditions for the track and field teams last weekend in Ketchikan. PHS took over 30 athletes and 20 middle schoolers also made the trip to compete. Team scores were not available, but the teams performed well, according to PHS head coach Brad Taylor. "The kids did really well, I was really happy with our performances," he says. "We had lots of first place finishes." Casey Bell had first place finishes in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, he came close...
A mock car crash staged in the parking lot behind the community gym kept local emergency crews and students busy for a good part of the morning last Thursday. Students from the eighth grade up to seniors in high school witnessed a drunk driver, played by Kyle Clayton, getting arrested after causing an accident. Clayton's fictional disregard for the law and safety of others injured two occupants of the vehicle he hit, and killed one. The carnage required the top of the car he hit to be removed...
One of the red doors at Sons of Norway Hall was cracked open on Monday morning to make sure anyone wanting to see and hear the singing group known as Sacred Harp could enter. The voices and spirit of the traveling A Cappella gospel group was noticeable from the boardwalk. The event was open to the public, and a few locals even joined the group to sing. The group sings traditional four-part hymns and anthems while sitting in a square. Group members took turns leading songs, and the song leader...
Cooke Aquaculture announced the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase Icicle Seafoods earlier this week. The purchase will mean new ownership for one of the largest seafood processors operating in Alaska now owned by Paine and Partners, a California-based investment group. Paine acquired Icicle in 2007. The announcement came through a Cooke Seafood news release and means one of the largest Atlantic salmon farming companies on the Canadian east coast will now become a player in the... Full story
The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce board of directors knew exactly what to do when faced with finding a new administrative manager. They contacted Mara Lutomski. She had shown prior interest in the position and the board thought of her as a qualified replacement for John Havrilek, who recently retired from the position. "We had about three days together," she says laughing of training with Havrilek. "He showed me the ropes. It is basically a self-starter position." Lutomski is currently in her... Full story
The Petersburg High School baseball team notched its first wins of the season against Thunder Mountain High School last weekend. The Vikings hosted the Falcons for a three-game series that included senior appreciation ceremonies between game one and two of a Saturday doubleheader. “We made some mistakes, but I felt we started to put some things together,” said head coach Jim Engell. “We played really well, considering the circumstances we were playing in were less than ideal.” The weather was rainy with some wind thrown in, but a lot of loca...
Thirteen track and field athletes competed at a Thunder Mountain High School meet in Juneau last weekend, and a couple accomplished new personal and school records despite bad weather. “It was miserable,” says head coach Brad Taylor. “It was rainy, windy, yeah, it was not very nice.” Taylor says the team took a small crew to the meet because the majority of the athletes stayed home for AP and SAT exams. The girls still managed to take fourth place and the boys tied for sixth place with Thorne Bay High School. The girls would have been in the...
When the Mitkof Middle School started a robotics class nearly 10 years ago only a couple students took the course. This quarter, there are 14 sixth-graders taking part and learning problem solving skills through hands-on experience. Rick Brock is responsible for bringing the program to Petersburg after seeing how well it worked at another school. Brock researched the program and thought it would be a good addition to the middle school's Exploratory Program, and asked the school to invest in sett...
The Petersburg Borough Planning and Zoning Commission held three public hearings at their meeting Tuesday morning, and declined to approve a rezoning application for Pat Magill-Stevens. The application sought to rezone Lot 14, Skylark Addition from public use to mobile home park. The proposed mobile home park would be between Vesta St. and Skylark Way. Multiple residents living in the area spoke against the rezoning effort, some attended the meeting and others sent letters to be read into the record. The residents all live in the area, and...
The Petersburg Marine Mammal Center will host their annual meeting on Thursday night in the high school library, the meeting will be brief, lasting around 15 minutes. The Petersburg Science Series presentation on Alaska's Marine Mammal Stranding Network will follow the meeting. Sadie Wright, wildlife biologist for NOAA Fisheries, will lead the presentation detailing what the stranding network does and why it exists nationally and in Alaska. Part of the network's mandate is dealing with dead or...
The Petersburg High School baseball team hosted the Ketchikan Kings last Wednesday and Thursday, and played close games during the first day of the series. Game one started with a hit batter, a walk and an error allowing the Kings to put three runs on the board to start the game, but the home team was able to keep their composure. The Vikings lost 4-1, but the effort pleased head coach Jim Engell. "After we got out of that first inning, we just settled down and played really good baseball,"...
The Petersburg Arts Council is bringing the Dustbowl Revival to town next week, and the roomy Wright Auditorium stage should allow for a fun, family-friendly performance, according to bandleader Zach Lupetin. The Dustbowl Revival is an eight-piece band, based out of Los Angeles, combining many aspects of string and brass bands. The band plays music rich with folk music elements, including 30s and 40s swing music, with blues and bluegrass thrown in, Lupetin says. "We've been sort of mixing it...
Petersburg Parks and Rec is finally getting to upgrade portions of the City Creek Trail and Hungry Point Trail, thanks to a local partnership with the Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) and grant funds. Parks and Rec director Donnie Hayes says this has been in the works for nearly 10 years, well before borough formation and Hayes coming to town. "Before my time there had already been discussions between the Petersburg Indian Association and Petersburg Parks and Recreation, about ways that we... Full story
