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  • It's time for the annual Rainforest Festival

    Jess Field|Sep 3, 2015

    The 8th Annual Rainforest Festival kicks off next week and those attending the festival are going to be offered diverse opportunities, including watching an impactful documentary about a basket weaver, a field trip to listen for bats and wine-making with local ingredients followed by wine tasting. Things get started on Labor Day with the 2nd Annual Rainforest Run Half Marathon. Participants will be faced with the task of completing the 13.1 mile long course. Organizers are hoping to increase... Full story

  • Cross Country season off to a good start

    Jess Field|Sep 3, 2015

    The Cross Country team traveled to Sitka last week for the first meet of the year, and both squads finished about where head coach Tom Thompson expected. The girls finished fourth overall in 1A/2A/3A/4A, but first in the 1A/2A/3A division. The boys finished fifth overall in the larger 1A/2A/3A/4A division, and second in 1A/2A/3A. Each team typically has seven competitors, with the top five individual performances from each team being recorded for overall points. Thompson says the loss of a...

  • Swim and Dive season ready to go

    Jess Field|Sep 3, 2015

    After graduating over half the boys from a very successful 2014 campaign, Swim and Dive coach Andy Carlisle says his team is ready for the challenge of rebuilding. And last year’s accomplishments serve solely as motivation, not undue pressure or expectations. “It’s going well and the kids are stepping up pretty good,” he says. This year, there are six boys on the team and only four girls swimming for the Vikings, which is about average. Carlisle says he wishes more girls participated, but it’s normal to have a small turnout because they face a...

  • Hammer and Wikan has new general manager

    Jess Field|Sep 3, 2015

    Hammer and Wikan is in the process of replacing Larry Martin as general manager after 17 years of service. The transition began in mid-July and will continue through May, allowing Martin to attend trade shows and share his years of experience with new general manager, John Mason. "John's going to do a great job for us," Martin says. "I am really looking forward to it. He is fitting in extremely well." Martin says thoughts about leaving the company started to develop a couple years ago, but he...

  • PMC Board unanimous in decision to replace clinic phone system

    Jess Field|Sep 3, 2015

    Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve spending just under $80,000 to replace the outdated telephone system currently used in the Joy Janssen Clinic after it recently crashed, sending the clinic into crisis mode. PMC lost sixteen extensions on Aug. 17, leaving only a couple active lines throughout the entire clinic. Callers had the ability to leave voice messages on the system, but clinic personnel had no way to access and check the incoming messages. “We were having people call our main switch board w...

  • "Tracing Roots" to be featured at Rainforest Festival

    Jess Field|Sep 3, 2015

    Delores Churchill will turn 86 years old in October, but the memory of her mother and the spirit of a special relative, keep her going. To say she is a very busy lady, is like saying people in Southeast like to fish. "My mother was 95, when she died and she was teaching right up until six months before she died," she says. "I really don't think about age." Churchill has the innate ability to talk about death, but light up the room and warm your heart. She says she always thinks about one...

  • New school year right around the corner

    Jess Field|Aug 27, 2015

    Student registration is well underway for the Petersburg School District, and so far the number of students signing up is encouraging for the Aug. 31 start of classes. "We've registered 18 new kids in the elementary that we weren't necessarily counting on," said Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. "Upwards of 15 or 16 in high school, so that's great, it's great for the schools and the community." For Kludt-Painter, it marks her first year full year as Superintendent, and having 15 years of...

  • Activities director discusses budget cuts, 2A reclassification

    Jess Field|Aug 27, 2015

    For Jaime Cabral, pulling double duty as the Petersburg High School and Middle School activities director means being more involved with students and community. But dealing with budget cuts handed down from the State Legislature can make overseeing 21 activities interesting. “We’re spending smarter, working smarter on how we schedule things due to the reduction in activities funding,” he says. “Right now we are not anticipating adding anything, but we haven’t had to cut anything.” Contributions raised from annual fundraisers like the volleyball...

  • Dodson joins the Police Department

    Jess Field|Aug 27, 2015

    Officer John Dodson, 26, is the newest member of the Petersburg Police Department, having recently moved here from Kansas. He has experience working for the National Parks Service and began his law enforcement career five years ago in Colorado before moving to St. Paul Island, in the Bering Sea. Dodson also worked for the police department in Hoonah, then briefly returned to the lower 48, but he admits he missed living with mountains. "I missed the scenery and the small town atmosphere," he...

  • Cannery workers reflect on season in Petersburg

    Jess Field|Aug 27, 2015

    Steven Missouri, 28, has worked in Alaska for a couple seasons. This was his first year with PFI and he leaves Thursday to return to a job doing freezer plates on a Dutch Harbor vessel. He got in trouble in Phoenix where he lost his driver's license, so working on boats suits his current lifestyle. His family lives in Reno, Nev., but he has lived in 11 different states. Missouri aims to make friends wherever he goes while drifting from place to place and job to job. "I just like to be friendly,...

  • Early morning fire damages Frederick Drive property

    Jess Field|Aug 27, 2015

    Early Saturday morning, police dispatch received a call from a home owner reporting a garage on fire at a private residence south of Sandy Beach on Frederick Drive. The Fire Department responded immediately, sending two engines and a work truck. Fire hydrants near the home allowed fire fighters to minimize damage to the property. “The garage structure was pretty much destroyed, and the wind was blowing toward the house and vehicles,” said Fire spokesperson Dave Berg. “The vehicles weren’t fully engulfed, but they were smoking and we ended u...

  • DMV service transfer extends weekly hours

    Jess Field|Aug 20, 2015

    After this week, the Police Department will no longer provide DMV services for the Borough, a move that will allow dispatchers to focus on their primary responsibility. DMV services will transition to Petersburg Vehicle Title and Registration (PVTR), which means extended hours of availability for people needing to take driving exams or looking for an ID card. The privately-owned business already issues titles and registrations, and Doc Lopez says the move makes sense for both parties. “It'll be... Full story

  • Researchers let lighthouse visitors listen underwater

    Jess Field|Aug 20, 2015

    Humpback whales swimming the northeast region of Fredrick Sound during summer months do their best to attract spectators, but a recent grant is helping researchers add streaming whale songs to the tourism experience. Thanks to a Scenic Byway grant allotted to the Juneau Lighthouse Association, whale-watchers visiting the Five Finger Lighthouse now have the option to listen live underwater. A hydrophone connected to a swinging mooring is outfitted with a converted whitewater kayak, which...

  • Columbarium extends life of cemetery

    Jess Field|Aug 20, 2015

    Petersburg Veteran's Community Columbarium, took shape last week as four columbariums were installed. The sleek looking structures were purchased through state grant money, and are constructed with precast cement and black granite. There are 320 niches, but every niche can safely fit two urns so that potentially provides 640 burial units for the cemetery. "This will literally extend the life of our cemetery anywhere between 20 to 30 years," says Donn Hayes, Parks and Recreation Director. The...

  • Columbia docked for repairs until Aug. 31

    Jess Field|Aug 20, 2015

    Alaska Marine Highway Systems (AMHS) announced on Wednesday that repairs to the Columbia will take longer than expected. The vessel was delayed in Ketchikan earlier in the week due to mechanical issues with its exhaust system and propellers. Further inspection of the vessel revealed damage to the starboard propeller caused by striking a log. The Columbia is scheduled to return to passenger service August 31, according to the AMHS official notice. The Malaspina has been rerouted to replace the vessel until necessary repairs have been completed....

  • Bad weather halts weekly fast ferry

    Jess Field|Aug 20, 2015

    The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) canceled the service of the ferry Chenega from Juneau to Petersburg on Tuesday, due to severe weather including high winds. DOT spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said the conditions hitting Stephens Passage resembled that of fall storms. AMHS released official notice after the decision to cancel Tuesday’s service was made on Monday. Customers with reservations received phone calls alerting them of the cancellation. Schedule revisions can be found at ferryalaska.com, or by calling your local terminal. Customers c...

  • City of Kupreanof celebrates 40 years

    Jess Field|Aug 20, 2015

    Earlier this month, the small incorporated city of Kupreanof, across the Wrangell Narrows from Petersburg celebrated its 40th Anniversary. The official celebration will take place in May, giving the City Council time to prepare a proper celebration, and take advantage of active tourism during warm weather. Kupreanof pride will be on full display, and they hope to have teeshirts, hats and hoodies, printed with the city logo available for purchase during the celebration. The city’s rich history of community includes 13 mayors. Nine of those m...