Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 205
The USDA Forest Service Petersburg Ranger District announced the final decision for the Thomas Bay Young-Growth Timber Sale on Feb. 22. With the specific goal of the timber industry's transition away from logging old growth to harvesting young-growth timber, the Forest Service weighed the regulations, strategies, public input and environmental considerations and selected a plan that will allow harvest of roughly 561 acres of young-growth forest -amounting to about 12.6 million board feet of...
The Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office (TLO) and State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) met with the Petersburg Borough Assembly Monday night for a work session to discuss platting and plans for a large subdivision project created and proposed by the TLO to the borough last fall. According to the TLO, the South Mitkof Subdivision proposes to subdivide approximately 500 acres of Trust land into 100 lots -each averaging 5-7 acres in size- accessed via public access and utility easements...
Just before the winter storm rolled into Petersburg Saturday night, business owners and members of the community gathered upstairs at Elks Lodge for the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet. During the banquet, the chamber named Rocky's Marine as Petersburg's 2024 Business of the Year. Rocky's Marine is a family owned boat dealership specializing in Yamaha Outboards, serving Southeast since first opening in Petersburg in 1980. Announcing the award from the stage, chamber president Jim...
When the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the landmark property sale of borough-owned tidelands to Wikan Enterprises last year, it was said that decision opened Pandora’s box. For decades, rather than sell its tideland properties, the borough selectively leased them to businesses involved in waterfront commercial/ industrial uses, with a priority placed on supporting the commercial fishing industry. About 12 years ago, the borough started directing the revenues generated by leased tidelands to the harbor department’s enterprise fund. Wit...
Petersburg became the 19th organized borough in Alaska on Jan. 3, 2013 after the town’s borough vote was certified. In the early 2000s, the City of Petersburg tried to annex all of Mitkof Island after receiving public pushback on forming a borough. This caused an upset outside of city limits for residents who did not want to pay the same taxes as residents inside the city limits. Eventually, after years of mediation and piles of paperwork, a compromise was made and the Petersburg Borough, which encompasses 3,829 square miles of land and w...
The second week of blood draw appointments for the upcoming 2024 Community Health and Safety Fair wrapped up today - with a few appointment slots remaining before blood testing draws to a close on March 7. The health fair blood draw tests are discounted tests that PMC offers the community every other year. PMC Community Wellness Manager Julie Walker said health fair blood draws are an opportunity for people to "know your numbers" and discover health risks that may otherwise go unnoticed, and to...
The Associated Teachers of Petersburg (ATP) and Petersburg School District are negotiating the next labor agreement that will take effect in the fall of 2024 and span three school years through spring 2027. Past negotiations between the teachers union and the district, which occur every three years, have largely focused on updating the contract language. This year, however, ATP and PSD are focusing more on when, where and how to allocate what limited money the district has to work with. ATP is...
An ordinance amending Petersburg municipal code to allow borough land to be disposed of for less than assessed or appraised value when deemed for a “public benefit purpose” passed in its first reading Feb. 5 at a Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting. Amending the code will allow the assembly to dispose of borough land at a lower price for projects deemed more valuable to the community than revenues from a sale at full-value. The municipal code currently has a mechanism for disposal of borough real property for less than the assessed value to...
An ordinance amending Petersburg municipal code was passed in its first reading by the Petersburg Borough Assembly last week. At its second reading during the next assembly meeting a public hearing on the ordinance will take place. The ordinance would amend borough code to increase the assessed property value requirement for disposal of borough property from $500 thousand to $2 million. Currently, voters must approve of any sale or trade of borough property with an assessed value $500 thousand or higher. The ordinance seeks to change that requi...
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected the Blind Slough Hydroelectric Project to receive up to $2.9 million in Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentives which will complete funding for the hydro project, support the facility improvements, and enable the borough to shift money to the Scow Bay Generation Project. "The whole energy efficiency grant is set up to help projects that will increase energy efficiency and small hydro," Utility Director Karl Hagerman told the Pilot. Hagerman...
The International Pacific Halibut Commission released the halibut numbers for 2024 on Feb. 5 following their annual meeting. The IPHC oversees management of halibut along the Pacific coast — from California, through British Columbia, and across coastal Alaska. During their annual meeting in January each year, the commission adopts the total mortality limits for halibut distributed across the areas they regulate. The adopted total mortality limits for 2024 amount to a net weight of 35.28 million pounds (Mlb), a decrease from the 36.97 Mlb d...
The Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA) named Hammer and Wikan Grocery - represented by CEO General Manager Jim Floyd, Board President Gainhart Samuelson and Vice President Bruce Westre - 2023 USA Retailers of the Year. Representatives from nine stores were chosen for the honor. Nominations were made by their wholesalers "for providing leadership and excellence in their community," out of a network of 30,000 independent grocers in the U.S, according to a press release sent out by IGA. "It was a...
The seventh annual Project Connect Resource Fair was held in Petersburg on Jan. 30. Organized under the umbrella of nonprofit Humanity In Progress (HIP), the event provided access to free basic necessities and local resources for people in Petersburg who are experiencing housing insecurity - and was an opportunity to survey attendees about their present housing situation for a Point-In-Time count that records the status of homelessness and housing insecurity in Petersburg. When the doors to...
Concert pianist Tony Lu, 26, arrived in Petersburg on Tuesday for a week of piano performances and inspiring the community to think about music differently. He will perform live at the Lutheran Church on Sunday, Feb. 11. Originally from Wuhan, China, Tony moved to the United States when he was 16 years old, completing high school in St. Louis, Missouri. "It was a really good experience ... getting to know the culture, getting to know the language," he said. He first started teaching piano to...
Hours before the annual lefse and lutefisk dinner took place at Sons of Norway Hall on Feb. 4, Sally Dwyer instructs Joe Hofstetter on how to roll out balls of dough that would soon become lefse, a Norwegian treat: Coat the cloth-covered pastry board with flour, as well as the ball of potato-based dough, start in the center and push in each direction with a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a circular shape. Once thin enough, the dough is pried from the board with a lefse stick and...
At a joint work session last week, the Hospital Board and Petersburg Borough Assembly discussed the estimated time, cost and progress of the Petersburg Medical Center replacement project. Much of the information was echoed the following day at the PMC Open House event where the public attended presentations about the new hospital project by Roy Roundtree with Bettisworth North Architects, Ben Coon with Dawson Construction, and PMC CFO Jason McCormick in the Assembly Chambers. With sizable...
The Medicare reimbursement program for Critical Access Hospitals was a key topic at the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board and Petersburg Borough Assembly annual work session on Jan. 30. PMC is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) - the designation was created by Congress in the late 1990s to reduce the financial vulnerability of smaller hospitals in isolated rural communities. Facilities that are recognized as critical access hospitals must meet certain qualifying criteria, and they get to... Full story
In January, a newly-installed barbershop pole light turned on outside of Spruce Frisør, a walk-in barbershop that opened for business in downtown Petersburg. Carrie Martinsen, the owner and sole barber at Spruce Frisør, intends to keep her barbering business simple for both herself and clients in the community. "I've been doing this long enough that ... I just want simple and fun," she said. Martinsen has worked with hair "in some capacity or another" for nearly 30 years. "When I went to hair s...
In 2015, a deadly landslide occurred in Sitka. Anxiety swept the community as a result, and the frequent heavy rainfall typical for Southeast Alaska became a source of fear for many Sitkans left questioning when the next disaster would strike - and wondering what they could do to keep the citizens of the city safe. In response to the concerns, the Sitka Sound Science Center organized a volunteer team of geologic and climate experts from across the country. For over a year, the group met...
The Petersburg Indian Association is seeking to hire a tribal administrator after Chad Wright stepped down from the role last week. Wright submitted his resignation on Jan. 10, the date when the PIA annual tribal council election was canvassed, electing four challengers running on a united ticket. During the election campaign, policy decisions made by Wright became a subject of criticism. The four challengers campaigned to improve communication and transparency in the tribal government and won...
The U.S. Forest Service approved six new recreational cabin sites in the Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger Districts for development in a final decision notice signed on Jan. 17, 2024. Out of eight potential sites proposed in the October 2023 draft decision, the final decision approved all three sites in the Petersburg district -Keex' Kwáan, Blind Slough and Woodpecker Cove Road- and three of five sites in Wrangell district - Fools Pass, Little Lakes and Mustang Lake. The USFS has already...
The Medicare reimbursement program for Critical Access Hospitals was a key topic at the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board and Petersburg Borough Assembly annual work session on Jan. 30. PMC is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) — the designation was created by Congress in the late 1990s to reduce the financial vulnerability of smaller hospitals in isolated rural communities. Facilities that are recognized as critical access hospitals must meet certain qualifying criteria, and they get to participate in a beneficial Medicare r...
Robyn Taylor spent the first six years of her career in the Alaska education system teaching in Petersburg, and the next 18 years elsewhere in the state as an administrator. Currently on year 24, Taylor is excited to return to the Petersburg School District as the next superintendent, in place of Erica Klut-Painter who will depart from the role at the end of this school year. "I'm just so appreciative of the opportunity," Taylor said. "Right timing, right place." Originally from Idaho, Taylor...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved to send a letter to Gov. Dunleavy asking that a fisheries disaster be declared for four fisheries in Southeast Alaska, citing low abundance and financial hardship. If a disaster is declared, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission would distribute funds to applicants to provide relief. For fishing seasons from 2018 through 2022, disaster declarations were issued for 14 fisheries off the interior coast for salmon, red king crab, Tanner crab and cod, according to the letter. Now, the...
The Petersburg Police Department released its annual report for 2023, reflecting a continued trend of low crime in Petersburg. Compared to 2022, last year resulted in increased jail time and bookings, dispatch calls for service, charged offenses, arrests, and total calls for service. However, most of those 2023 totals are still lower when compared to 2018 through 2021. In the overall picture, the low crime rate in Petersburg continued in 2023 after the five-year-low seen in 2022. PPD Chief Jim Kerr attributes this outcome to invested police...
