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Petersburg held its 2021 Municipal Election Tuesday and the unofficial results have incumbent Bob Lynn retaining his seat on the Petersburg Borough Assembly and Thomas Fine-Walsh winning his first term on the assembly, succeeding Taylor Norheim after he decided not to run for reelection. Both seats on the Borough Assembly were for three-year terms. Lynn garnered the most most votes out of all assembly candidates with 703 and Fine-Walsh recorded 589. Brandi Thynes received the third most votes wi...
The Borough Assembly held its first reading of Ordinance #2021-15 during Monday's meeting, which would move chapter 9.04 of the former city code into the Petersburg Municipal Code. The ordinance updates old language and removes duties that the local health officer has not historically performed. Duties being removed include inspections of foodstuffs, power to compel vaccinations, the investigation and removal of allocated persons, and disinfection of premises. It also states that the health...
Orin Pierson will assume general manager duties at the Petersburg Pilot effective October 1, according to co-publishers Ron and Anne Loesch. He will oversee all business, advertising, production, writing and office supply operations at the newspaper. Loesch will continue writing opinion pieces while his wife Anne will train Pierson to perform business office duties such as billing and accounts payable. Pierson worked for the newspaper between August 2006 and June 2016 when he left to work for KF...
October 7, 1921 Adjt. W. Kerr, Financial Representative of the Salvation Army in Alaska, has just arrived from the north where he has been conducting Campaigns for funds to carry on the great work the Army is called on to do. Everywhere the people have responded most literally, feeling that the money is a good investment and goes to the place where it does the most good. Petersburg has not been slow in the past to go over the top in any charity collection made here, and we do not think the people will hesitate this time. October 4, 1946 The...
Students and staff at Petersburg High School and Mitkof Middle School returned to the school Tuesday after moving online last week according to an update from the school district. The Petersburg School District Health Advisory Team met Friday to assess the level of community spread of COVID-19 and the impacts on positive cases within the school and close contacts. Though staffing levels were tight, the school believed in-person learning could continue at Stedman Elementary School and resume at...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 31 active cases of COVID-19 amid community spread, impacting all sectors of the Petersburg Borough. According to a PMC press release from October 1, none of the then observed 38 cases were travel related. Three of the cases were between 0-9 years old, 10 were between 10-19 years old, five were between 20-29 years old, 10 were between 30-39 years old, five were between 40-49 years old, 11 were between 50-59 years old, and five were 60 or older. The Alaska...
Continue to be amazed To the Editor: A few weeks ago I again passed through Petersburg while traveling on my small boat, Puffin. This was my 29th year cruising in SE AK. I continue to be amazed at the friendly and helpful reception I receive from the citizens of Petersburg. Starting from the cheerful VHF radio greetings to your harbor by Glo Wollen and her outstanding staff, you can’t help but notice the contrast between them and the passive reception one receives in other SE harbors. Your questions are answered with a smile and you never f...
By any measure, the seemingly never-ending stream of vitriol at the Anchorage Assembly’s mask mandate debate over the past week was a depressing spectacle. If you showed up in person or tuned in to the livestream Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening, you were witness to an hours-long hatefest that displayed just how degraded our politics has become, even at the local level. After watching the proceedings for any length of time, two questions were sure to come to mind: “How did we come to this?” and “Can it possibly get worse?” The discourse...
Once again, Alaska legislators have gaveled back into special session because Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants to show his constituents that he believes in one thing above all else: The largest Permanent Fund dividend in state history. He’s like a wide-eyed kid in the candy shop, only he’s got a record-setting Permanent Fund balance jingling in his pockets and wants to spend some of it to buy chocolates for everyone in the state. Talk about a dangerous sweet tooth that can only decay the future growth potential of the state’s only savings accou...
September 29 — Suspicious activity was reported near 1st St. Complaint of a parked boat with a trailer near Gjoa St. and Sing Lee Alley. Danny Rusk and Ramona Short were remanded for Violation of Conditions of Release. A citizen was assisted at the Police Department. Sex offender registration was completed at the Police Department. September 30 — An officer responded to a non-criminal disturbance and the parties separated. A citizen was assisted near Queen St. Lost property was reported near North Harbor. There is an ongoing investigation of...
Petersburg Parks and Recreation and Public Works completed improvements to Sandy Beach Saturday. The project added space for parking at shelter one and along the road according to Public Works Director Chris Cotta. Construction also widened the entry road and replaced the culvert near the park. Cotta estimated there is room for five parking spaces combined in the areas they cleared behind the shelter and by the road. Some dead trees were taken down because they posed safety hazards while others...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave an update to the Borough Assembly during Monday's meeting on the current COVID-19 situation at the hospital. During the current outbreak beginning on September 20, the hospital had recorded 54 total positive cases with 35 cases considered active at the time of the meeting according to Hofstetter. As of Wednesday that number has dropped to 31 active cases. "Encouraging facilities to mask inside, distance, and vaccines, obviously are a way out of...
The Borough Assembly discussed a new sanitation ordinance during Monday's meeting, Ordinance #2021-17 would aim to mitigate bears getting into garbage and make changes to the recycling program. Public Works Director Chris Cotta spoke to the assembly on the four focuses of the ordinance and the purposes of it. The ordinance would require a reasonable effort must be made to secure garbage from bears and other wildlife. It lists examples of measures that could be taken including tying down the lid...
The moose harvest is in full swing this year with a count of 81 reported moose as of Tuesday according to Hilary Wood of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. During Hunt RM038, Unit 3, which is mainly comprised of Mitkof Island and Kupreanof Island, has seen the most activity. 35 legal moose have been taken so far on Kupreanof Island. Of that, 20 were taken in the area near Kake. With less than ten days to go in the season, 17 more would be needed to reach last year's final tally of 55. Kuiu...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht issued an emergency proclamation Friday recommending actions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Petersburg. The proclamation recommends masking and social distancing in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, it encourages organizations and businesses to reduce capacity and avoid large gatherings. It recommends people to get vaccinated, saying they are safe, effective, and free, and get tested if they plan on traveling, are exp...
The Petersburg High School cross country team competed in its regional meet in Ketchikan Saturday; both the boys and girls teams qualified for state. The unpredictability of Southeast Alaska weather impacted the meet according to Head Coach Tom Thompson, who said the race was brutally cold. "It was a great run for all the guys, considering we had a hailstorm in the first 20 seconds of the race," Thompson said. "It was pelting them with pea sized hail for about 25 seconds. It was a pretty amazing...
The preliminary value to fishermen of the nearly 41 million salmon caught this summer at Alaska’s largest fishery at Bristol Bay is nearly $248 million, 64% above the 20-year average. That figure will be much higher when bonuses and other price adjustments are paid out. But as with the fish dollars tallied from Alaska’s cod, pollock, flounders and other groundfish, the bulk of the Bristol Bay’s salmon money won’t be circulating through Alaska’s economy because most of the fishing participants live out of the state. In 2017, for example,...
A daily record of 3.54 inches of rain fell while hurricane force winds with gusts up to 70 mph dropped trees into power lines, bringing out borough line crews, Alaska Department of Transportation workers, emergency services personnel, borough staff, and volunteers until 2 a.m according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. Employees and volunteers first responded to a tree in the line at 919 Sandy Beach Road which the crew cleared without damage to the power or telecom lines. Though the trees...
Mayor Mark Jensen proclaimed October 2021 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month during Monday's meeting. He also declared October 21, 2021 as Wear Purple Thursday and encouraged members of the community to participate in activities organized by Working Against Violence for Everyone (WAVE) and other national organizations. According to the declaration, one in four women and one in seven men will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes and anyone can become a victim of domestic violence. Do...
The State of Alaska activated its crisis standards of care document Saturday for 20 health care facilities across the state according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The list of facilities includes Petersburg Medical Center and Wrangell Medical Center as well as facilities in Anchorage, Juneau, and other cities. A lack of resources within some hospitals, limited health care staffing, and the increase in COVID-19 cases in the state caused the state’s Crisis Care Committee to request the document be a...
