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Last Thursday evening, two back-to-back productions of Alice in Wonderland were presented on the Wright Auditorium's stage by participants in the Petersburg Medical Center Wellness Program's ORCA Theater Camp. Director Brad Younts, who pioneered the first ORCA Theater Camp last summer, had twenty-three kids sign up this summer, so many that he divided the kids into two camps, ages 6 – 9 and 9 – 15, and brought a colleague with him to help, co-director Amaya Hudson. Welcoming the audience, You... Full story
Last Tuesday twelve Petersburg youth, ages 12-15, paddled away from Blaquiere Point, the southeast tip of Mitkof Island, on a four day, three night ORCA Kayak Expedition with Onward and Upward. Three Onward and Upward instructors traveled to Petersburg to lead the trip along with Katie Holmlund, Youth Program Coordinator for Petersburg Medical Center and the co-founder of Kinderskog. "Amanda Mantovani was our lead instructor. She used to work for Alaska Crossings down in Wrangell and has led...
After twenty three years working for the Petersburg School District, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter will retire on June 30. In early 2001, Kludt-Painter's dad told her there was a job opening for a principal in Petersburg, Alaska, and said he thought she'd like Petersburg, a town about the same size as her hometown of Orofino in rural northern Idaho. She jumped at the opportunity. Barb Marifern, who was on the hiring committee, said that after a series of phone interviews with each...
Last weekend art students and teachers from nine Southeast Alaska high schools arrived in Petersburg by floatplane, Alaska Airlines, and jet boat to participate in the 28th Annual Region V Art Fest. This is the third time Petersburg High School has hosted the event. PHS art teacher Lisa Shramek, an Art Fest alumna, spearheaded the three-day event that brought sixty-eight students and sixteen instructors together for thirty hours of intensive art instruction and a lot of creative fun. The first...
In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the Petersburg Humane Association (PHA) has filled the window of Petersburg Rexall Drug with all kinds of donations for an on-line silent auction – from a full-day fishing trip for four to handmade crochet dog sweaters. The Clausen Museum, in recognition of all the wonderful things PHA has done to help Petersburg's animal population throughout the years, went through their archives and created an exhibit: Petersburg's Pets of the Past: A photographic journ...
Last Friday morning Stedman Elementary school students, their teachers, family and friends gathered in the Wright Auditorium for the final round of the school's annual spelling bee. Each classroom in grades two through five sent their top two spellers to the stage. Sue Paulsen, who performed the role of "The Pronouncer," led the students through elimination rounds. At the beginning of each round, Paulsen asked the competitors to stand. Starting with simple, single-syllable words like four and...
Tonight at the Sid and Vera Wright Auditorium, Petersburg High School's theater program will debut its production of "Peter and the Starcatcher," directed by Elsa Wintersteen. She described the play as "an exciting show full of heart, humor and a sprinkle of whimsy." The Tony Award winning play is based on the 2004 novel "Peter and the Starcatchers" by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, the play serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie's classic tale, "Peter and Wendy...
Rosal Concepcion is eagerly awaiting her exit clearance for travel from Manila, Philippines, to Petersburg, Alaska, where she's looking forward to starting an adventurous new chapter of her life working as a middle school and high school special education teacher. Rosal grew up knowing a girl who was born profoundly deaf and unable to communicate. "Because of her, that's how it started. I said, Okay, I really would like to be an instrument, so that the community will understand people like...
Ashley Lohr's newest art show opens at the Clausen Museum this Friday, November 3, with a reception from 5 - 7 p.m. Her digital paintings, works on canvas and enamel earrings will be on display through November 14. This is Lohr's 14th solo exhibit at the museum since moving to Petersburg in 2008 to work as Petersburg High School's art teacher. Like getting married, earning a masters degree, and having two children - Rosie, 8, and Finn, 5 - her solo exhibits serve as mile markers in her life....
After a series of setbacks, Kari Petersen recently returned to Petersburg from Fort Collins, Colorado, where she accomplished the long-time personal goal of becoming a licensed massage therapist. In January of 2020 Petersen made what was, for her, a "massive investment" when she enrolled in the United States Career Institute's Massage Therapy training, a hybrid program designed for working students like Petersen, a single mother with a full-time job. Divided into two parts, the program required...
When Dasha Contag moved from Juneau to Petersburg in July of 2022 she moved an indoor jungle with her. She and her husband, Ben, bought a house on Baranof Street with floor to ceiling living room windows that are perfect grow lights for many of her houseplants. Dasha started creating her collection while living at Port Armstrong, a remote salmon hatchery on Baranof Island where they raised their two daughters, Lavon and Ayla, and where Ben continues to work, commuting as salmon rearing and...
At the end of July Megan Smith loaded her car, a U-Haul truck, her nine and twelve year old daughters, and Charles Puddles Kittenworth, a.k.a. Charlie the cat, onto the ferry in Metlakatla for the move to Petersburg where she'll be teaching Pre-algebra, Algebra I, Geometry and Statistics at Petersburg High School. Smith earned her bachelor's degree from Montana State University, Bozeman, in English, with a teaching emphasis. She took her first job on the Kenai Peninsula in Nanwalek, Alaska, in...
Eighteen Petersburg youth ages 7 to 12 have been spending their afternoons at Sandy Beach Park participating in Petersburg Medical Center's ORCA (Outdoor Recreation Creation Adventure) Theatre Camp, an eight-day experience that uses nature as a backdrop to educate and inspire children with their local environment while practicing life skills through theater with Camp Director Brad Younts. Younts, who earned his BFA in theater at Boston's Emerson College, has been involved with theater for more...
Before becoming one of Petersburg's favorite school bus drivers Hoopie Davidson started making a chess set, but she put that project on hold for thirty-seven years to better focus on her new job and on raising her family. After retiring in 2020 she turned her attention back to the project that sparked her imagination so many years ago and now she's glowing with the satisfaction of finally completing her passion project. "This is my masterpiece," Davidson says, gesturing to the thirty-four inch... Full story
The day after Petersburg Middle School let out for summer, 7th grader Ari Warmack boarded a plane bound for New York City to perform with his guitar at the invitation of Kids Rock For Kids (KRFK), a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that raises money for kid-related charities by producing rock benefit shows featuring outstanding teen musicians from around the world. In March, Ari received a direct message on Instagram from KRFK inviting him to a zoom interview. He discussed it with his parents, Eliza...
Metlakatla Indian Community Mayor Albert Smith wants everyone to spread the word-the invasive European green crab has arrived on the shores of Annette Island and their arrival spells trouble. Southeast Alaska's abundant estuaries and tidal salt marshes are ideal for the predatory and destructive little crabs to become established, as they have along much of the Pacific Northwest's coast. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the number of green crabs caught in the Pug...
A press release this week announced that Petersburg Medical Center Youth Programs will offer expanded summer programming to better meet the community's needs by providing additional options for childcare. Kinder Skog, the popular outdoor forest school, will expand to include a "Forest Kindy" program designed specifically for five and six year olds. Following a recommendation from the State of Alaska Childcare Program, Kinder Skog will transition from a licensed childcare program to a recreationa...
With its comprehensive slate of services and robust programming, the Petersburg Public Library is a shining example of this year's National Library Week theme, "There's More to the Story." From April 23rd through the 29th Americans are encouraged to support libraries, library workers' contributions, and the fact that today's libraries offer much more than books. The things available for check-out from the Petersburg Public Library may surprise even frequent library patrons. Game lovers can...
Students in the Petersburg High School drama program are practicing their lines in anticipation of performing "The Birds," a comedy written in 414 B.C. by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, at the Sid and Vera Wright Auditorium on April 19 and 20. "The Birds" is the story of two aging Athenians, Pithetaerus and Euelpides, who set out in search of a better life. Tired of the crowded, noisy city full of annoying poets, lawyers, philosophers, and tax collectors, the two men decide they'd pr...
On September first Dr. Jennifer (Jen) Hyer will begin an eighteen month sabbatical from the Petersburg Medical Center to sail from San Diego to New Zealand with her family. When she and her husband, Chris Hyer, first started dating twenty-seven years ago, Chris gave Jen the book "Dove," about a boy who sailed around the world, and told her it was a dream of his. She was immediately on board and boats have been a constant in their lives ever since. Their first home together was a 30' Sundowner...
After putting their dinner theater fundraiser on hold three years ago, the Clausen Museum is looking forward to hosting a song and dance production with a cast of twenty eight local thespians this Friday and Saturday at the Sons of Norway Hall. The Boardwalk, written by Sue Paulsen and Cathy Cronlund, will take diners back to the Roaring Twenties, when the streets of Petersburg were made of wood. "The show highlights the booming economic times that spurred the growth of Petersburg and drove...
Mary Clemens and Bill Moulton have teamed up for the fourth time to share their love of country swing dance and the two-step by teaching a recent class at the Mitkof Dance Troupe's studio. Clemens explains, "Two-step is slow and swing is fast. It's different steps. Bill makes it look easy because he's a good lead. It really makes a difference if the guy knows how to get you to do what they want you to do." Moulton says, "There are five basic moves to learn, then you build on those to learn the...
Ketchikan artist and master basket weaver Kathryn Rousso is coming to the Petersburg Public Library to present a slide show, "A Sense of Place: Exploring Mexico to Colombia & the Plant Material Textiles Within," Thursday night, March 23, followed by a three-day basket weaving class. Several of her works are on display at the library through March 31. In her presentation Rousso will share her fascination with traditional textiles, some of the historical and cultural context through which woven...
Petersburg Elks Lodge hosted a dinner and awards ceremony last Thursday to honor the kids who participated in their annual Hoop Shoot. Andy Worhatch, the Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot director, explained that at the competition each child shoots twenty-five free throws, then the local lodge winners' stats are sent to State Hoop Shoot Director Dena Sessler in Eagle River to determine the winners at the state level. Worhatch estimates the local competition goes back to 1978 or so, "Somewhere around...
Petersburg's Sons of Norway Hall was bustling on Sunday afternoon as members readied the hall and prepared the featured courses for the annual Lutefisk and Lefse Dinner - a tradition so old no one can say for certain when it started. The dinner is both a celebration of lutefisk and homemade lefse and an opportunity for members to pass down ancient recipes and skills. Lutefisk is fish (fisk) preserved in lye (lut). This year, for the first time, Wendell Gilbert of Tonka Seafoods took sole...
