Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
The Alaska Board of Fisheries has approved significant changes to the Wrangell Narrows-Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area Salmon Management Plan, creating new king salmon sportfishing opportunities for resident anglers while working to protect crucial hatchery broodstock. Last year’s controversial closure of freshwater fishing for king salmon in Blind Slough prompted a community driven effort to change the area’s salmon management plan. Proposal 159, developed by the Petersburg Fish and Game Advisory Committee with input from community mem...
Subscribers log in for access to this week's PDF .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Subscribers, click here for the Full PDF of this week's Petersburg Pilot...
This month the Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) was honored at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet with the Community Impact Award — for transforming local transportation infrastructure through decades of partnerships, generosity, and community engagement. Glowing with pride as she presented the award, Petersburg Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne described the partnership between the borough and PIA “in creating and maintaining trails for the community, along with ro...
Six fathers of Mitkof Dance Troupe students will bravely step into the spotlight this Saturday competing to be crowned Mr. MDT in a male pageant fundraiser to raise money for updates to the dance studio’s facilities. The event, taking place at the Elks Ballroom, features dads who answered the call after some persistent recruitment tactics from the dance teachers. “We literally begged them,” said Kelsey Lambe, MDT dance teacher. “We wrote them letters,” said fellow MDT teacher Olivia Reid. A few seemed willing, but mostly the letters went unan...
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday ordered all federal departments and agencies to submit reorganization plans outlining how they would implement large-scale layoffs before March 13. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought and Office of Personnel Management Acting Director Charles Ezell wrote in a seven-page memo the reason for the expected layoffs is that the “federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt.” “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public,” they wrote. “I... Full story
February 20, 1925 – Petersburg is essentially a HOME TOWN. Why? Because of low rentals and property values. Because of excellent school facilities. Because of an absolutely landlocked harbor and ample dock and float accommodations. Because of pleasant surroundings and recreational grounds, including Sandy Beach where summer bathing and picnics are enjoyed. Because of absolutely pure mountain water for household and drinking purposes. Because of fine electric lights and power at low rates from a hydro-electric plant owned by the city. Because o...
Ashley Kawashima - pictured above (right) volunteering alongside Everett Bennett at Humanity in Progress a local nonprofit they both co-founded - was named Young Leader of the year at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce banquet on Feb. 15. James Valentine presented the award and said "I've known Ashley for a long time ... she has always been a person who puts others before herself and works hard to help people in need. I feel it was time she be recognized for what she has done for the community...
Essential Air Service To the Editor: On Wednesday, February 19, I asked Senator Lisa Murkowski during a live and recorded town hall meeting if Essential Air Service would be protected from DOGE cuts. She stated she is “very worried about Essential Air Service.” Essential Air Service is a U.S. Department of Transportation program serving 65 rural communities in Alaska along with over 100 communities in the Lower 48, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The program was put into place to guarantee that communities that were served by certificated air car...
The first cruise ship of the year will arrive April 14 in Juneau. Large cruise ships will soon be calling at communities around the state, bringing more than a million tourists this season. While cruise ships boost Alaska’s economy, they also impose health, environmental, wildlife and subsistence costs on individuals and communities. The growing use of scrubbers on cruise ships is causing multiple unnecessary costs and risks that are currently going unaddressed. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that the toxic poisons from scrubber d... Full story
February 19 - An alarm was activated and the borough’s Water and Wastewater departments (WW) were notified. A disturbance was reported on Excel St. A disturbance was reported on N Nordic Dr. Suspicious activity was reported on Wrangell Ave. A dog was found and turned into the Police Department. An officer responded to a disturbance on S Nordic Dr. Officers responded to a disturbance on N Nordic Dr. Wires near the roadway was reported. Bubba Schill, 47, was arrested for alleged Disorderly Conduct. February 20 - Suspicious activity was r...
Petersburg Police Chief James Kerr presented the department’s annual report to the Petersburg Borough Assembly at last week’s assembly meeting, offering a summary of the department’s past year. Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor thanked Chief Kerr and Fire/EMS Director Aaron Hankins for “for taking the time to put those [reports] together for us.” And Stanton Gregor encouraged to the public to read through the reports which are included in the 2/18/25 meeting packet on the borough’s website. The Petersburg Police Department reported an increa...
WRANGELL — The Alaska district attorney’s office has dropped drug-related charges against Wrangell residents Cooper Seimears, 39, Jacob Marshall, 29, and McKenna Harding, 29. Marshall remained in custody as of Feb. 21 for violating his terms of release on a previous charge, while Seimears was released once the charges were dropped. Harding was the sole defendant to post bail before the charges were dropped on Feb. 13. The initial charges came after police executed dual search warrants on the Seimears residence at 820 Zimovia Ave. and the Hardin...
Petersburg’s Emergency Services Director Aaron Hankins presented the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department’s 2024 annual report to the assembly last week. Hankins writes in the report, “2024 gave us a few hurdles to overcome with the resignation of our EMS Coordinator, changes within the officer corps, new regulations and aging equipment. Thankfully, with new leadership and staff in place, new recruits, and with help from the Title 3 USFS receipts we are looking like we are in a little better shape going into 2025.” “Response times remain on...
Budgets are tight for some schools in Alaska again this year, but in Petersburg, the borough budget is also tight. Borough officials are saying it’s going to be tough to get the Petersburg School District the local funding school officials say they desperately need. Last year the Petersburg borough’s budget was nearly $400 thousand dollars in the hole. At an assembly work session with the school board on February 6, Borough Manager Steve Geisbrecht said there will likely be similar problems this year. “I try not to be a downer at every meeting...
The Viking Swim Club continued their strong season, making waves at the 2025 Alaska Age Group Championships, in Anchorage. 22 teams from across Alaska participated in this meet. VSC finished fourth overall. The VSC Club has continued to improve throughout the season. "I've been impressed with the growth both as a team and individually. Across the board, all swimmers are showing improvement whether it be times, sportsmanship, competitiveness and technique," head coach Scott Burtt said. "We've...
The Petersburg Lady Vikings played their final regular season games of the season against their rival, the Wrangell Lady Wolves this past weekend, in Wrangell. In search of faster starts, Petersburg junior guard Rikka Miller provided a spark to the team, scoring 5 of the Lady Vikings' 9 first-quarter points and collecting two offensive rebounds. "She's starting to develop a confidence on the court that she hadn't had earlier in the season. When other teams try to put pressure on the ball – it d...
In their final regular-season games before the playoffs, the Petersburg Vikings battled their rival, at Wrangell's homecoming weekend. In the first quarter on Friday, the Wolves hit three threes to take a 14-9 lead. The Wolves added 14 more points in the second to take a 28-21 halftime lead. "We were in a little bit of foul trouble in that quarter and that's been one of the struggles we've had is if we do get in foul trouble, sometimes we're not completely in sync with the players that are on...
This past weekend, Stedman Elementary School's wrestling club hosted a round-robin tournament against Wrangell's wrestling club. "They did incredible. Last year's Petersburg tournament was basically a lot of the kids' first tournament. It caught them by surprise and they've just done exponentially better each time they compete," Eldon Walker said, head coach for the third, fourth and fifth-grade wrestlers. "This season, overall, was their best performance yet." Sam Caulum is the head coach of...
In a time of healthcare uncertainty and looming federal budget cuts, Petersburg Medical Center's Patient Navigator Brandy Boggs is working to empower community members to take control of what they can – their long-term care planning. This week, Boggs, who has served as PMC's Patient Navigator for four years, is offering a series of workshops focusing on Medicaid-compliant trusts, aimed at helping Petersburg residents protect their assets while planning for future care needs. These sessions are part of a longer series of workshops led by B...
Passenger and vehicle traffic aboard the Alaska Marine Highway System moved slightly higher in 2024 from 2023, but still is less than half its peak from the early 1990s. The state ferries carried just over 185,000 passengers and about 65,000 vehicles last year on its routes stretching from Southeast to Prince William Sound and into several Gulf of Alaska coastal communities. That’s down from more than 400,000 passengers and 110,000 vehicles 1990-1992. And it’s down from more than 325,000 passengers as recently as the early 2010s. Marine Dir...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy says “it’s like Christmas every day now” since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Some other state Republican leaders spent Tuesday talking of a winter blunderland. “It’s Christmas every day if all you expect is coal in your stocking, “ Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, said in response to Dunleavy’s assessment. “It’s a tough, tough time for all of us.” Dunleavy’s holiday-season cheer is based largely on the prospect of uninhibited oil drilling and similar industrial activity that might or might not h...
Darcel Ann (Burrell) Schouweiler was born September 19, 1953, to Warren and Barbara Burrell in Lebanon, Oregon. Darcel grew up in Petersburg, Alaska, where she met her first husband, Terry Carolin. Together they had two children, Amanda and Heather. After their separation, Darcy reconnected with her high school sweetheart Harold "Terry" Schouweiler. They married and had their daughter Katie. Splitting their time between Petersburg and Elma, Washington, Darcel had many adventures - hiking the... Full story
Red king crab commercial permit holders in Southeast Alaska will have a better chance of fishing in the coming seasons. The Alaska Board of Fisheries approved a change in management regulations proposed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) that allows for a conservative commercial fishery when crab stocks aren’t enough for a typical competitive opening. Red king crab is a low-volume, high-value fishery. The crab can bring in over $100 each. But commercial openings have been few and far between — just one in over a decade. Sev...
Petersburg Pilot Classifieds... 
PDF
Petersburg Pilot Legals... PDF
