Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
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...
An unused U.S. Forest Service building near Kake may soon be a healing center for the community to move forward from generations of trauma after a boarding school harmed members of the Alaska Native population. When Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, saw the building on an access road between Kake and Petersburg, he said he was surprised. "A cultural healing center has been on my mind for decades," he said. "I said to myself, 'Hey, there's our cultural healing center.'"... Full story
January 18, 1924 – An overheated stove caused a fire early Wednesday forenoon which practically destroyed the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William Stedman. The house was occupied by Miss Grissinger, teacher in the local school, who lost many of her clothes and personal belongings. The fire was caused by the heating stove in the front room and started in the partition back of the stove and quickly burned its way through the ceiling and roof. The alarm was sounded by M.S. Perkins who discovered the flames shortly after they started. The fire d...
To Whom It May Concern: On Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at a meeting of the Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) Tribal Council, a new council president was sworn in, as were three new council members. At the point in the meeting when the floor was opened for comments from visitors, I addressed the council as a private citizen. Since snippets from that address may be entering the wider public domain, I have decided to share my comments in their entirety. “I would like to take this opportunity to address the four newly-seated council members a...
Dear Friends and Neighbors: It was an eventful first week of session. Using every parliamentary tool available to us, the House Coalition was able to compel the House to invite the Senate into a joint session. This is the first step in the process to consider a veto override of the governor’s cut to half of last year’s one time education funding. I was honored to make the motion to call for a joint session. I believe the Legislature was correct in responding to the needs of our public schools since the vetoed funds are sitting in an account an...
A Ketchikan woman faces a felony charge of first-degree arson after allegedly setting several small fires in her apartment before leaving the multi-unit building located on the 100 block of Inman Street on Saturday afternoon. Firefighters responded quickly to a report of smoke coming from the eaves of the building and were able to contain the fire to the one apartment, according to Ketchikan Fire Department information. There were no injuries. Belinda Nelson, 42, was taken into custody later in...
January 17 – An officer spoke with neighbors on Mitkof Highway who were arguing over snow removal and they agreed to be neighborly. An officer assisted a citizen on South 2nd Street. Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a disabled vehicle at Eagles Roost Park. An officer conducted a welfare check on Nordic Drive. PPD received a report of items left at the post office. PPD received a report of suspicious activity on Excel Street. Extra patrols were conducted on Haugen Drive. January 18 – An officer conducted a welfare che...
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...
Unless the Legislature decides otherwise by mid-March, Gov. Mike Dunleavy will take over appointment of the entire nine-member Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board. State law reserves four of the seats for appointment by legislative leaders, but Dunleavy on the first day of the legislative session Jan. 16 introduced an executive order that changes the law so that the governor would control all of the appointments. The change will take effect 60 days after the order was issued — unless a majority of the 60 legislators vote in a joint s...
Western Marine's dredging operations in South Harbor are expected to reach completion this week. Access for harbor users has been partially blocked as crews push through the winter weather to dig the final shoreline areas. The next step will be a survey of the most recently dredged areas, and if all looks good Petersburg Harbormaster Glo Wollen can sign off on the work and the US Army Corps of Engineers can close out the administrative details of the project. The dredge work began in early...
The Alaska Legislature’s big education funding bill will reach the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives by next week, a leading Republican lawmaker said Monday. “We’re going to get it out. It’s not going to sit anywhere,” said Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage and chair of the House Rules Committee. On Saturday, members of Johnson’s committee heard more than seven hours of public testimony, mostly in favor of a large increase in Alaska’s funding for public schools. The committee declined to fulfill that request before advancing Sen... Full story
Petersburg High School’s varsity boys basketball team traveled up north to Anchorage last weekend for an eight-team, three-day tournament. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to pick up a win against their 4A competition, but coach Rick Brock reported that the weekend of tough games wasn’t without its merits. “We went up knowing that when you’re the only small school in a 4A tournament, you’re up against it anyway,” he said. “We knew that going in and our goal was to finish the tournament playing better than we started it, and I really felt tha...
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor Course in Petersburg, Alaska, on February 10, 2024, 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., in the Petersburg Parks and Recreation Activity Room. The cost for the class is $125.00 for commercial fishermen and $225.00 for all others. Interested mariners may register online at www.amsea.org or call (907) 747-3287. The class will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, signal flares, and mayday calls; man-overboard recovery; firefighting; flooding and damage c...
The Pilot would like to congratulate those Petersburg High School students who earned a spot on the First Semester Honor Rolls. Students with a 4.0 grade point are named to the Highest Honor Roll: Alisa Tolkachova, Natalee Bertagnoli, Hendrik Cumps, Waylon Jones, Eleanor Kandoll, Ali Kittams, Kinley Lister, Martha Midkiff, Rebecca Midkiff, Mette Miller, Anya Pawuk, Joseph Tagaban, Maria Toth, and Elias Ward. Students with a grade point average of 3.5 to 3.99 are named to the High Honor Roll: Elias Anderson, Kristina Barkfelt, Ethan Bertagnoli,...
Julian Cumps, son of Alice and Thomas Cumps, was named to the Fall 2023 Dean’s List, a scholarly award for students who demonstrate academic excellence. Julian is studying Mathematics and Computer Science at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota....
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...
