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Brian and Ola Richards were awakened early Wednesday morning by loud barking and growling coming from their dog Roxy. Ola restrained the pet and through the opened door saw a sow standing near their trash container, which was lying on the ground. The couple made repeated attempts to scare off the bear by making loud noises, but the sow held her ground and rebuffed the homeowners with growls and hisses. Lacking anything but dog toys, Brian chucked toys at the sow until she eventually retreated...
A plan that would have allowed in-person public participation at future assembly meetings failed in a 3-3 vote by the Borough Assembly at their meeting on Monday. Assembly members cited concerns over the possible spread of COVID-19 in the assembly chambers and the need to update the teleconference system as reasons for voting against the plan. Other assembly members felt it was time they returned to in-person meetings to give the public the chance to address them face-to-face. The plan to...
October 6, 2020 Total ballots cast - 997 Borough Assembly Two 3-year terms David Kensinger - 573 Marc Martinsen - 343 Jeff Meucci - 497 Brandi Thynes - 481 School Board One 3-year term Craig Anderson - 297 Katherine Holmlund - 615 Write in - 2 School Board One 2-year term Megan Litster - 837 Write in - 12 Hospital Board Two 3-year terms Jerod Cook - 683 Marlene Cushing - 804 Write in - 8 Planning Commission Three 3-year terms Chris Fry - 684 Heather O’Neil - 768 Write in - 18 Planning C...
The Petersburg Medical Center staff member that tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday is thought to have contracted the virus locally, said Incident Commander Karl Hagerman at the COVID-19 community update on Friday, Oct. 2. The positive case of COVID-19 was detected during PMC's regular asymptomatic testing of its employees, said PMC Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom. The person immediately went into isolation and contract tracing has begun. "That gives us encouragement that...
October 8, 1920 A determined drive is being made by a committee appointed at a recent meeting to raise money amounting to $8,500 for the benefit of the local Hospital, the money to be used in paying for the new heating plant, dividing the present large rooms into smaller private ones, and paying for other equipment installed. The needs of the Hospital were discussed at great length and ways and means considered for raising the money. At the end of the meeting a committee was appointed to carry on a two week stock selling campaign, which will...
Unofficial municipal election results show David Kensinger taking one of two 3-year term seats on the Borough Assembly, with Assembly Members Jeff Meucci and Brandi Thynes in a close race for the second seat. Kensinger had 573 votes in the unofficial results, which put him safely ahead of the other three candidates. Meucci has 497 votes and Thynes has 481 votes. There are still four questioned ballots that need to be added in the final number of votes. Plus, the borough has yet to receive 19...
Pilot publisher Ron Loesch won a 2nd place award from the National Newspaper Association for his editorial supporting lifting of the Roadless Rule on the Tongass National Forest. The editorial appeared in the November 21 edition of the newspaper in 2019. Judges commented: "Well written editorial commentary on how federal regulations affect a local population." The Petersburg Pilot also received an honorable mention for its special investigative story about the airport terminal space squeeze...
Thank you To the Editor: Coach Eddy, the Viking runners and I want to express our thanks to the community for its support last week during the Region V Cross Country Championships. Parents, staff members, bus drivers, administrators, coaches, runners, and families from all over the region helped make this a great event in unusual times. Our Event Mastermind Jaime Cabral did an excellent job with logistics and making this meet happen and for that we are so grateful. As we raced at Green’s Camp to allow for easy access by jet boat, the event w...
“Don’t forget to sign-up for the National Newspaper Convention,” my wife and co-publisher said. “It’s being held in Jacksonville, Florida this year,” she added. If there was ever a year to leave Petersburg for a Florida destination, this was it. I anxiously clicked on the NNA website and discovered that due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the meeting was being held virtually this year. “How in the world can you hold a newspaper convention on Zoom? This will be interesting,” I muttered to myself. I signed up for the convention, went to Viking...
The Borough Assembly extended its emergency non-congregate sheltering agreement with the Narrows Inn on Monday through the end of the year or until state health mandate #14 is rescinded. Non-congregate sheltering gives homeless populations, first responders and health care workers a safe place to quarantine while they're waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test or to isolate while they recover from the virus. "Hopefully we don't need it before the end of the year, but if we do, we'll be glad...
While one can still expect to wait in a long line at the Petersburg Post Office, residents won't have to wait upwards of an hour to retrieve a package now that customer service hours have increased to four hours a day Monday through Friday from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. Earlier this summer, a long time postal employee retired and another employee resigned. That left Postmaster Kim Aulbach and one other employee with the bulk of the day-to-day duties. Customer service hours were cut back to two hours a...
September 30— Authorities responded to a report of criminal mischief at a location on Sing Lee Alley. Eric Larson, 40, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. Bears were spotted at locations on Skylark Way and Sandy Beach Rd. and near the baler facility. Oct. 1— A sex offender registered with the Petersburg Police Department. A dangerous driver was seen on Sandy Beach Rd. Theft was reported at a location on S. 1st St. Suspicious activity was observed at locations on Haugen Dr. and N. Nordic. Dr. Bears were seen at locations on...
Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Members discussed the challenges faced by staff at their second board meeting held on Oct. 1 as visitors to the aquatic center have reached record numbers in the weeks following its reopening. The board discussed several issues, including upcoming Halloween plans and facility upgrades, but a bulk of their discussion focused on the aquatic center. Board Members Brian Richards, Stephanie Hayes and Malena Marvin were in attendance. According to Borough Manager...
The Petersburg High School swim team had their first meet of the season on Sept. 25, and while it was held in the Parks and Recreation aquatic center, swimmers were able to compare their times with other schools in the region. The Vikings ended up placing third overall in the meet with a combined final score of 91, just behind Ketchikan High School in first and Sitka High School in second. Allie Morgan had the best weekend out of the Vikings. She took first place in the womens 200 yard IM with...
Petersburg Medical Center has continued their spike in revenue into the second month of the fiscal year, with a total operating revenue for the month of August that was 26 percent above expectations, according to a financial report PMC Controller Rocio Tejera presented to the Board of Directors at their meeting on Sept. 24. PMC had budgeted for $1,619,830 in total operating revenue in August, but instead brought in $2,045,120. A high number of patient days for the month drove up the total...
The weather information transmitter at Cape Fanshaw has been repaired after being out of service for over a year. Cape Fanshaw is located north of Petersburg, along a point of mainland approximately 12 nautical miles north of Farrugut Bay. As of Oct. 6, NOAA and Coast Guard personnel confirmed that the transmitter was now operational. Kip Wadlow, Coast Guard spokesperson, said that the transmitter fell under the domain of NOAA. He later clarified on Oct. 6 that they had a memorandum of...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska conservationists are urging state and federal officials not to reopen wolf hunting season around Prince of Wales Island. They are imploring officials to do so in order to allow the population of wolves to recover from last season’s record harvest, CoastAlaska reported. Much of the island is part of the Tongass National Forest, which makes state and federal governments in charge of managing hunting and trapping. The U.S. Forest Service had postponed the federal subsistence wolf season until Oct. 31. The sta...
BETHEL, Alaska (AP) —Alaska may have reached the limit of hospital space available for care of people infected with COVID-19, a health care company official said. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation recently had to keep a patient at its Bethel facility for an extra day because there were no available beds in Anchorage, KYUK-AM reported Wednesday. The corporation’s hospital in Bethel does not have an intensive care unit, which medical staff deemed necessary for the patient’s treatment, said Dr. Ellen Hodges, the corporation’s chief of staf...
WRANGELL - Tuesday, Oct. 6, was election day for Wrangell. Polls closed at 8 p.m., with the preliminary count showing a total of 419 voters participating on election day. Wrangell voters chose the community's leadership in a variety of positions this year, as well as whether or not Wrangell should leave the Inter-Island Ferry Authority. Below are the preliminary election results. Preliminary winners are marked with an asterisk (*). Borough Mayor, one two-year term *Steve Prysunka, 304...
Coho Salmon Don’t put away your rods yet, there is still great fishing opportunity for coho salmon fishing! For most streams in the area anglers can expect opportunity for freshwater coho fishing to continue through October, although the ratio of ocean bright fish will be decreasing. Anglers are reminded that bait is allowed in many freshwaters systems between September 15 and November 15, but be sure to check the 2020 sport fishing regulation summary for a list of the specific waterbodies where bait is prohibited year-round. King Salmon K...
Now that the 2020 pack of Alaska salmon has been caught and put up, stakeholders will get a better picture of how global prices may rise or fall. Nearly 75% of the value of Alaska’s salmon exports is driven by sales between July and October. And right now, lower supplies of wild Pacific salmon by the major producers are pushing up prices as the bulk of those sales are made. For sockeye salmon, global supplier and market tracker Tradex reports that frozen fillets are in high demand and supplies are hard to source for all sizes. With a catch t...
Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in February 1942, established wartime civil control over lands from the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas to the sea, including Alaska. This order resulted in relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans and Alaska Natives living in the Pribilofs. Alaska was deemed a "military area" governed by the Alaska Travel Control, requiring permits for travel in and out of Alaska. Violating permit terms could mean exclusion...
The Petersburg High School boys cross country team placed second in the Region V Division III Regional Championships held at Greens Camp last weekend. Uriah Lucas and Michael Durkin took first and second place in the boys race respectively. Head Coach Tom Thompson said Durkin set a new personal record at the meet with a time of 17:44.55 and managed to shave 40 seconds off his time. Although Lucas didn't set a personal record, he still ran a fast race, completing the course in 17:23.63. Thompson...
