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A Petersburg High School graduate broke two 50-year-old school records at the United States Coast Guard Academy this spring. Ben Zarlengo set a new school record in the discus and hammer, throwing 49.7 meters and 56.4 meters respectively. Zarlengo said the two previous school records were about 50-years-old. Both records were broken in April when Zarlengo was competing at an invitational at Connecticut College. In February, Zarlengo broke a weight throw record with his distance of 18.71 meters....
Voters will decide if they want the borough to take out loans to fund eight utility projects totaling no more than $8 million after the assembly passed ordinance #2019-05 in its third reading last week. The loans will be through the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and will be paid back over a 20-year period at 1.5 percent interest. The responsibility of the repayment of the loans would fall on water and wastewater rate payers. The wastewater department has five projects planned...
The Petersburg School District maintains a higher percentage of students scoring proficient or higher in English language arts (ELA), math and science in statewide testing. The Performance Evaluation for Alaska's Schools test is given to students between 3rd and 10th grade each spring. The ELA and math tests are given to all students from 3rd to 9th grade, and the science test is only given to 4th, 8th and 10th graders. According to PSD Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter, the PEAKS tests are...
An ordinance that would have added language to borough code outlining a procedure for addressing the assembly by written comment was stricken down at an assembly meeting last week. Ordinance #2019-07 would have clearly stated how members of the public could submit written comment to the assembly, but in its first reading, an amendment was made that prevented assembly members from reading written statements by members of the public out loud at assembly meetings. "I think that there needs be a...
Petersburg has found its next magistrate judge and since her arrival earlier this month, she has been getting to know her job and her new home. Debra O'Gara first arrived in Petersburg on Aug. 1 and is replacing the previous magistrate judge, Desi Burrell, who retired in May. O'Gara has been practicing law for over 26 years and was previously serving as presiding judge for the Tlingit & Haida Tribal Court in Juneau. The new position has her tackling a full range of cases, such as civil and...
Phil Hofstetter has begun blogging and holding daily morning safety briefings to improve the communication of Petersburg Medical Center staff. The morning meetings allow department managers to discuss what has happened during the previous 24 hours. They also identify stress within the organization. According Hofstetter stress can lead to errors in care and safety issues for staff and patients. Stress can come from above average emergency room visits, or more inpatients. "If there's a larger than...
Petersburg Medical Center introduced the early findings of its master plan to renovate the current hospital or build a new facility at a public meeting last week. NAC Architecture was awarded the request for proposal by the PMC board of directors at a special meeting in May for a master plan proposal not to exceed $220,000. The firm's project leader, Dan Jardine, gave a presentation updating PMC and the public on their findings so far and what is to come in the future. A seismic analysis of the...
The Diocese of Juneau released a letter and report last Wednesday, Aug. 21, naming seven people with allegations of sexual misconduct against minors and/or vulnerable adults. The letter, signed by Bishop Andrew Bellisario, states that these seven names have been released upon the conclusion of an independent review of the diocese's personnel files from 1951 to the present. The Independent Commission which led this review was established last December, according to the letter, and was staffed by...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — In a story Aug. 15 about Alaska salmon hatcheries, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Alaska salmon hatcheries release 1.8 billion pink salmon fry annually. Total Alaska hatchery releases of all salmon and rainbow trout in 2018 was 1.8 billion fish, with pink salmon accounting for more than 1.05 billion....
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska authorities say two middle school students have been arrested after another student overheard their plans to carry out a school shooting, officials said. The Juneau Police Department arrested two 13-year-old students Thursday at Floyd Dryden Middle School after receiving a phone call from a parent of the classmate who overheard plans, the Juneau Empire reported Thursday. Police officers located the implicated students and held them in custody before school Thursday, authorities said. Following an investigation, t...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s governor has vetoed additional funding for the state’s ferry service that was placed in the budget by the Legislature, a report said. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed $5 million Monday that was added to the Alaska Marine Highway System budget by the Legislature, CoastAlaska reported Monday. The Legislature previously cut $43 million from the ferry system’s budget. A fiscal note attached by the governor’s office called the budget item “premature” ahead of a $250,000 study commissioned to reshape the ferry sys...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska health insurance officials have announced the state’s plan to weaken air ambulance membership plan regulations, officials said. The Alaska Division of Insurance will no longer review and pre-approve consumer membership plans, CoastAlaska reported Thursday. Health insurance does not cover the full cost of a flight, so there are three air ambulance companies that offer membership agreements, department officials said. Households pay a flat rate fee between $49 and $125, depending on the carrier, to ensure they are...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state says a second company will offer health insurance plans on Alaska’s individual marketplace next year. Division of Insurance Director Lori Wing-Heier says Moda Assurance Co. will join Premera in offering plans through the federally-facilitated marketplace. Moda was suspended briefly in 2016 from offering health insurance policies in Alaska over concerns with its financial condition. Moda left the Alaska individual marketplace beginning in 2017. Wing-Heier says an agreement between Moda and Delta Dental of Cal...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Add salmon to the list of species affected by Alaska’s blistering summer temperatures, including the hottest July on record. Dead salmon have shown up in river systems throughout Alaska, and the mortalities are probably connected to warm water or low river water levels, said Sam Rabung, director of commercial fisheries for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The department has not quantified past heat-related fish deaths because they tended to be sporadic and inconsistent, Rabung said. But department scientists thi...
For the second consecutive year, Angele (McDonald) Jones had one of her works accepted for the Alaska Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition. This year she was awarded First Honorable Mention for her painting, "Cycle of Death and Rebirth," which is featured above. The exhibition runs through Sept. 4 at 2 Friends Gallery, located at 341 E. Benson Blvd. in Anchorage. Angele graduated from Petersburg High School in 2008 and now makes her home in Anchorage....
Monday, August 26... Full story
The public should be given the maximum opportunities to make public comments at any gathering of the borough assembly. Written comments can be read by the city clerk, when requested, and the writer cannot be present. This has happened often in the 43 years we have observed gatherings of both the city council and now the assembly. Members of the assembly and other administration staff have read comments when the clerk needed a break. What's wrong with that? Given that assembly meetings rotate...
Thank you To the Editor: St. Andrews Episcopal Church would like thank all who helped with the "Walk to Remember, Children Gone Too Soon: " Diamantes: for sponsoring our ad in the Pilot; Hammer and Wikan for our helium balloons; Deb and Craig at the Flower Farm for our beautiful dahlias; for the lovely high tide that carried our flowers and for those who were there to walk with us. Joyce Bergmann...
August 21 — Individuals at a location on Harbor Way were made aware of open container laws. Authorities responded to a disturbance at Buschmann Park. Extra patrols were requested on 2nd St. August 22 — Brian Kandoll was issued a speeding citation. An individual was removed from harbor property for discharging seal bombs near other vessels at the drive down dock. August 23 — Extra patrols were requested on S. Nordic Dr. A suspected individual driving under the influence on Haugen Dr. was reported to authorities. August 24 — A sex offende...
Sheep Horn Spoons The Tlingit fashion spoons for utilitarian uses, such as the ones pictured here, as well as ornate and intricately carved spoons and ladles that are used for ceremonial purposes. Both utilitarian and ceremonial spoons require a high level of skill and intimate knowledge of the medium being manipulated. These spoons are made from the horns of sheep harvested in the Stikine River area. Towards the end of the 19th century steamships began to bring more outsiders to Alaska. This...
Sunday, August 25th... Full story
After a two hour hike to the first lookout on Raven's Roost Trail, low-lying clouds cleared for about 15 minutes....
Underwater and out of sight are the makings of a major Alaska industry with two anchor crops that clean the planet while pumping out lots of cash: shellfish and seaweed. Alaskans have now applied for over 2,000 acres of new or expanding undersea farms, double the footprint from two years ago, ranging in size from .02 acres at Halibut Cove to nearly 300 acres at Craig. Nearly 60 percent of the newest applicants plan to grow kelp with the remainder growing a mix of kelp and/or Pacific oysters, said Cynthia Pring-Ham, aquatic farming coordinator a...
LeConte Bay as viewed from along a ridge on the north side of the bay. LeConte Glacier is seen at the left of the photo and snow capped peaks and snowfields in the background that extend into British Columbia....
