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A hospital administrator from Nome is slated to become CEO of the Petersburg Medical Center. Philip Hofstetter, who's been vice president of hospital services at the Norton Sound Health Corporation in Nome for about six and a half years, was offered the CEO position at the Petersburg Medical Center. He signed a four-year contract, and his salary will be $185,000 annually. Hofstetter has 25 years of healthcare experience, 20 of which in Nome, with the last five in administration, overseeing a...
A Petersburg Samaritan was clipped by an oncoming car on Sunday as he was tending to a distressed man in the middle of the road, who had just swum halfway across the Wrangell Narrows, police say. Sgt. Jim Kerr with the Petersburg Police Department said Jeremy Johnson was floating halfway -- “or a little more” -- across the Wrangell Narrows on Sunday when the dingy he was in sank. Kerr said Johnson swam back to Mitkof Island, crawled up the bank and went into the roadway to seek help. The good Samaritan, Colin Perry, noticed Johnson on Mit...
This week we distribute the Petersburg Pilot to all post office boxholders. If you’re not a regular reader of this publication, it’s your opportunity to look it over and consider purchasing a discounted subscription as a new subscriber. We do this on a regular basis, as it has proven successful in attracting new readers. We increased our single copy price this month, and a subscription is one way to save several dollars annually as opposed to paying the higher newsstand rate. In addition to local news stories, we also publish special sec...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — Thousands of small earthquakes have been recorded in the Kodiak area since a magnitude 7.9 temblor in January hit about 175 miles (281 kilometers) southeast of the city. Nearly 3,000 aftershock quakes of 2.5 or above have hit since the major earthquake on Jan. 23. The vast majority have hit southeast of the island in the same area as the major quake, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Thursday. Only 20 were recorded last year over the same time period. Natalia Ruppert, a seismologist at the University of Alaska, said a...
KENAI, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska public health nurse says the state’s recent outbreak of chlamydia and gonorrhea is likely to place it in the top tier of national rankings for the two sexually transmitted diseases. The Peninsula Clarion reports that Susan Jones, manager of the state HIV/STD program, said Alaska will likely place in the first- or second-place spot for both of the diseases, which continues the state’s trend of leading the nation in outbreaks. Jones said that in 2017, preliminary numbers show that there were more than 2,000 cases...
April 19, 1918 The Marathon Fishing and Packing Company, of Seattle, has arranged with the Citizens’ Wharf Company to locate their floating cannery barge Amelia at Petersburg this season. The barge will be moored at the south end of the Citizens’ Wharf, and preparations are made to put up a pack of from 30,000 to 40,000 cases. The company will operate their own seine-boats and also buy from independent fishermen. April 16, 1943 The showing of moving picture films from Camp Little Norway, sponsored by Petersburg branch of Camp Little Norway Ass...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Karl Ward is long dead, but some say the once-revered school superintendent in a small Alaska fishing town was not the benevolent educator worthy of having the high school gym named in his honor. A cellphone video made by a man before he died by suicide last month has given voice to at least five other men, all of whom say they were sexually abused decades ago by Ward, confirming publicly whispers that had long quietly existed. Rick Martin graphically explained on the video what he said Ward had done to him, and now his w...
I’ll keep this brief since a reporter shouldn’t be near an op-ed page. I wrote a few stories for the Pilot over an 11-month period and now I’m leaving, back to my home state, Michigan, where I will be editor of a newspaper. My departure is not because I don’t like the Pilot or the town. This newspaper is full of people with character and grit and love. Petersburg is lucky to have it. I’d like to stay, but this opportunity presented itself. Thank you to those who read the newspaper. You fight the good fight just by glancing at it. Also, to...
Great emergency services team To the Editor: Years ago I was a member of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. I remember some big fires downtown where everyone in the department was on the fireline for days. Here the community jumped out to help move hoses when asked and then stepped back from the scene until their help was asked for again. (The new police chief from down south was shocked that there was no need for crowd control.) I remember stopping at the fire hall during those events to change out of my soaked bunker gear into...
WRANGELL — Wrangell’s annual birding festival is gearing up for a week of activities late next week. This year’s Stikine River Birding Festival will be the 21st, put on cooperatively each year by Wrangell’s Convention and Visitor Bureau and the United States Forest Service. Highlighting birding opportunities on the Stikine River, the event also encourages wildlife conservation and is an opportunity to hone new skills. “This year we’ve brought back more of the art and photo aspects of the festival,” said Corree Delabrue, an interpreter w...
April 11 — There was a wildlife complaint on Mitkof Highway. The animal was disposed of. There was a reckless driving report on N. Nordic Drive. An officer stopped a person who was not impaired. A verbal warning on their headlight was given. April 12 — There was a report of suspicious activity on Mill Road. April 13 — There was a traffic stop on Sandy Beach Road. There was a report of a suspicious individual on Mitkof Bridge. No criminal activity was found. An officer gave a speeding warning at a traffic stop at 2.7 Mitkof Highway. An offic...
March 29 — Judge Magistrate Burrell heard the bail review hearing for Matthew Boseman who was charged with vehicle theft. He was released on $500 Bond with instructions not to contact victims and not leave Petersburg. April 6 — Anthony Curtiss appeared before Judge Carey on a petition to revoke probation. The defendant admitted to the allegation and was sentenced to 3 days in jail and a no alcohol provision was added to his condition of probation. April 11 — Kelsey James McCay appeared before Judge Carey in a Felony 1st Degree appea...
WRANGELL - Wrangell's emergency services were the recipients of the first-ever grant from the Walker Foundation, a benevolent fund established after the acquisition of Alaska Island Community Services last year by Southeast Alaska Rural Health Consortium. Governed by an appointed board, the Foundation supports activities that promote health and the welfare of the Wrangell community. "It's on a project by project basis. We currently have about $3.75M," explained Mark Walker, formerly CEO for...
For now, the Petersburg Borough won’t choose any state land it’s entitled to, coming after a string of emails that suggest a stunning miscommunication with the DNR. Gov. Bill Walker signed Senate Bill 28 in Petersburg in November, which entitles the borough to 14,666 acres of land. The apparent miscommunication started when Cabrera sent an email in March to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, saying various maps and legal descriptions that were provided to facilitate the land selection process might have been incorrect. She said cer...
A 23-year-old artist from Wrangell had her first solo show in Petersburg on Friday, where she was stunned by the turn out and support. The artist, Jaynee Fritzinger, was nervous for her first show at Firelight Gallery and Framing in Petersburg. For two weeks before, she had been waking up before 5 a.m., painting about 10 hours a day. "I was nervous that I wouldn't have enough pieces," Fritzinger said, "or nervous that people wouldn't show up, or nervous that maybe my art wasn't good enough."...
Alaska halibut is facing strong headwinds that have dampened the value of the catch shares needed to go fishing. Increasing imports of Atlantic halibut from eastern Canada, reports of several million pounds of halibut holdovers in freezers, speculation of reduced catches again next year, and dock prices down by $2 or more have caused a “major readjustment” in the market for individual fishing quotas (IFQ), according to Alaska brokers. “That definitely dims enthusiasm for buying quota, and prices have come down quite a bit from last year,” said...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — This season’s salmon harvest in Bristol Bay is looking to be a sizable one. Alaska officials project the sockeye salmon run to be 51.3 million fish, not far off from last season’s return of 56.5 million. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game expects 37.6 million fish to be potentially available for commercial harvest when the bay’s salmon season begins on June 1, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Thursday. The bay’s harvest of sockeye salmon last season was 37.7 million. In 2016, the catch was lower with 37.3 million and r...
KENAI, Alaska (AP) — Attorneys presented arguments in Alaska Superior Court on the legality of a Kenai Peninsula Borough policy that allows only members of established religious groups to pray at the beginning of assembly meetings. Attorneys for the borough defended the policy before Judge Andrew Peterson in Anchorage on Wednesday, saying the invocations are open to any religion as long as it’s an association with a local presence, the Peninsula Clarion reported. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska filed a lawsuit in late 2016 after th...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska House has passed legislation restricting access to records showing past convictions for simple marijuana possession. The measure is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Harriet Drummond. She says Alaskans should not be passed up for jobs or promotions for possessing something that is now legal. Alaska voters in 2014 approved recreational use of marijuana by those 21 and older. The bill pertains to convictions for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, committed when an individual was at least 21. Defendants w...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Legislature won’t finish its work by Sunday, but legislative leaders don’t think they will be in Juneau much longer – at least compared to the last several years. Sunday marks the end of the voter-approved 90-day session. Lawmakers have blown past that limit in recent years amid debate over how to address the state’s budget deficit. Even the constitutional regular session limit, of up to 121 days, hasn’t always been enough. But Senate President Pete Kelly and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said Friday that this s...
