Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
Southeast Alaska was covered in a fresh layer of snow last weekend followed by rainfall which caused frozen roads, flooding, and damage to buildings across the region. The NWS issued a winter storm warning in anticipation of last weekend's weather with the expectation of total snow accumulations of 3 to 13 inches and wind gusts up to 45 mph for cities in Southeast including Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. Petersburg recorded 7.5 inches of snowfall on Saturday which brought the total snow de... Full story
An officer at the Petersburg Police Department, who was hired on June 22, 2021 as a Police Officer II in probationary status, is no longer employed by the Petersburg Borough after an internal investigation was conducted following a complaint according to Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson, who is also the borough's human resources director. In an interview with the Pilot, Pickle confirmed that his employment with the borough was terminated on January 3, 2022. First reported by the Juneau Empire on Ja... Full story
Petersburg has reached 27 active cases of COVID-19 according to the Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard which was last updated Tuesday. The Petersburg School District has also begun reporting cases after students returned to school this week. As of Wednesday, Rae C. Stedman Elementary School had three active cases and four on quarantine, Mitkof Middle School had two active cases and one on quarantine, and Petersburg high school had three active cases and four on quarantine. According...
January 13 , 1922 The Petersburg Hospital is now for all intents and purposes the property of the Town of Petersburg; At the council meeting recently an escrow agreement was presented to the Council and signed by that body, as well as by the Board of Directors of the Hospital Association. The agreement was to the effect that the town should take over the hospital, pay the indebtedness, collect outstanding bills, and should operate and maintain the same as a hospital, or maintain some other building as a hospital within the city. As soon as the...
After closing for the day last Friday, the team at the newspaper gathered around two boxes of pizza and celebrated our first week with yours truly as the new publisher. Despite equipment malfunctions due to super cold temperatures, the team had managed to produce a quality on-time edition, and we were feeling pretty good about it. We were polishing off our slices and discussing everyone’s snow shoveling plans for the coming weekend when a text message came in, then an email notification, and l... Full story
Why all purpose vehicles should be legal in Petersburg To The Editor: I’m 74 years old and live on Sandy Beach Road. In recent heavy snow and icy conditions, I found it much easier and safer to get around on my ATV than my car or truck. An ATV is no louder than a typical motorcycle. A 50cc mini scooter is street legal. I feel much safer on my ATV than any of my motorcycles. You have much better situational awareness driving on an ATV than a car because of your wide open 360 degree unobstructed view. You won’t see people texting on a moving mot...
January 5 — An assault was reported on Lumber Street. A citizen was assisted on Fram Street. Ryan Dawson was arrested for Violation Conditions of Release. A moose was struck and killed on Mitkof Highway. Alaska Fish and Wildlife Troopers (AFWT) was notified and responded. January 6 — Police responded to a 911 hang-up call from South 3rd St. All was okay. Officer assisted with keys locked in a vehicle on Mitkof Highway. A citizen was assisted on Odin Street. Fraudulent activity was reported on Nordic Drive. An officer responded. It is a civil is...
Every year, before the Legislature convenes in Juneau, lawmakers submit their “pre-file bills,” a chance to tell the public which important issues they want to work on during the session. Just as cities and boroughs statewide submit their annual wish lists of local projects for legislative funding, the pre-files are a wish list of each lawmaker’s priorities. And just as most local projects will not receive state funding, most pre-file bills will fail to become law. Most will not even get a hearing before a legislative committee, which is OK. L...
The Petersburg School Board held a work session Tuesday night to discuss potential changes to the district's COVID-19 mitigation protocols before its next regular meeting. While no action was taken at the over two-and-a-half-hour work session, it gave the board members an opportunity to prepare for action at the next board meeting and hear from experts about current guidelines and the state of the pandemic. The work session was originally scheduled for January 4 but was postponed due to flight...
Leaving his warm house and family behind at 2:30 a.m., during winter months in order to plow snow can be downright taxing for Martin Odegaard. The Public Works (PW) foreman lives out on Cabin Creek, and he's no stranger to putting chains on his pickup just to make it to work. Recently, it took him a half hour to complete the three-mile drive, no joke. "I know the road pretty well, know what to look for, and I've always got it figured out how I'm gonna make it in," Odegaard says. "Always made... Full story
Applications are now open for apartments within the Vakker Sted affordable housing complex according to Glenn Gellert of Swell, LLC. The building on Excel Street across from the Petersburg Medical Center is still set to open to residents in March as the project nears completion. It will house 15 apartments, including two one-bedroom units and 13 two-bedroom units, that will be mostly leased to residents making 60% or less of the local median income Though construction is progressing, exterior...
The installation of permanent lights at the ice skate pond will not be completed this winter after early freezing conditions and shipping delays hindered progress on the project according to Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne. The project aimed to make the ice skate pond safer and generate more use by the community during the winter by putting up lights on two poles next to the pond. Payne said that Rock-N-Road Construction donated time to dig a trench and install an underground conduit to run cables between the poles, but after the...
Petersburg High School boys and girls varsity basketball games were canceled this weekend after Craig was unable to travel due to COVID-19 cases in their community according to Activities Director Jaime Cabral. The matchups would have been the first home games of the season for the Vikings and Lady Vikings. In their place, Petersburg will host a mini-tournament where the PHS boys junior varsity team will split into two teams and play against the junior varsity teams from Sitka and Juneau-Douglas. The teams will not be playing full games in...
Wow, there is a lot of fishing going on across Alaska! Salmon is the heart of Alaska’s seafood industry but winter is when the fishing action really begins. Hundreds of boats are out on the water on the first day of each new year, beginning a predictable rhythm for the seafood industry as millions of pounds of fish begin to cross the docks around the clock at Alaska’s working waterfronts. Here’s a sampler: Starting January 1 boats drop pots and baited lines for cod, rockfish and other whitefish in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. Alask...
Ralin Douglas Ware 5.3 lbs born January 6th, 2022 at 8:56 pm (left) and Finley Vincent Ware 5.3 lbs born January 6th, 2022 at 9:00 pm (right). Born to Drew and Tami Ware, in Vancouver, Washington at Peacehealth Medical Center....
Fur buyer Andy Anderson traveled to trapping camps on buying trips around Southeast. In 1921, he wrote an article about the future of the blue fox industry, predicting it would soon become Petersburg's largest. At that time the U.S. Forest Service facilitated fox farming to make use of "useless" islands. In 1938, while setting traps on frigid Sunset Island, Andy fell from an icy cliff. His companions managed a heroic rescue to get him to their boat for the 8 hr. trip back to Petersburg, braving...
Myles (Mike) Harai was born January 27, 1933, in Kealakekua in the Territory of Hawaii to Minoru and Fusano Harai. The Harai family farmed Kona coffee on the rich slopes above Kealakekua Bay. Mike, along with his three brothers and parents, worked on their farm as a close-knit family. He loved to go fishing in Kealakekua Bay with his family and run barefoot through the coffee fields. Mike graduated from Konawaena High School in the Territory of Hawaii in 1951. He was the first of his generation... Full story
The Petersburg Public Library is hosting its annual winter reading challenge, encouraging people to read and participate in activities around town through the month of January. According to Kari Peterson, the library’s program coordinator, the Build a Better World Challenge will also help support local nonprofits through a drawing for $500 donated by the Friends of the Library. “This year is a little bit different in that the winnings will not be going to an individual, they’ll be going to a local nonprofit of the individual’s choice who win...
Alex Rodriguez-Smith works on building an igloo constructed with an estimated 225 blocks which Vance and Flora Smith later played in and around. The igloo features ice-covered candles giving off a soft winter glow and enough room inside for a spacious getaway from the cold....
