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Grace Wolf heard what sounded like a jet flying over her home near the six mile mark of Mitkof Highway at about 7:30 P.M. on Sunday. She knew it had to have been a landslide, but the rain and the evening darkness blocked her view of the large landslide that occurred on Tonka Mountain on Kupreanof Island. To Wolf, it sounded like it could have occurred anywhere, even near her home. "The hillside behind our house has been known to slide before, so it's always in the back of my mind when it starts...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the Petersburg Rotary Club's request to begin construction on their Sandy Beach playground project at their meeting on Monday. As part of the project, trees will be removed and trimmed to make room for the new playground equipment. Contractors had begun cutting down trees several weeks ago in preparation for the construction, but the tree cutting came to a halt when Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht became aware of some concerns from the community. In an...
Incident Commander Karl Hagerman encouraged residents at Friday's COVID-19 community update who travel to other parts of the state to be tested for COVID-19 upon their return to town. The request follows five recent confirmed cases of the virus linked to intrastate travel. While Alaska residents are required to test for COVID-19 either before or after they arrive back in the state from other parts of the country, they don't need to be tested for the virus when traveling throughout Alaska. Four...
As bears continue to search for food in town, Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said he doesn't know at what point the bears will accumulate enough calories to hibernate. "We may have some hungry bears for a long while," said Robbins. Bears are currently experiencing a biological process called hyperplasia. It kicks in just before winter and tells the bears it's time to fatten up for hibernation, said Robbins. But the lack of natural foods,...
In the form of utility credit and business grants, the borough assembly approved $600,000 in community aid from the borough's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund at their meeting on Monday. If a local resident could prove they suffered financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic they could be eligible for a $500 one-time credit to their borough utility account. If more than a thousand individuals apply for the credit, the borough will adjust the credit...
The Petersburg School Board issued an administrative directive on Monday requesting school officials extend Alaska's state travel mandate to students and staff traveling throughout the state. State health mandate #10 requires incoming travelers to test for COVID-19 prior or upon entering Alaska and strictly social distance themselves for five days; however, the health mandate doesn't address Alaska residents who are traveling in the state. Students and staff at Petersburg School District will...
In his report to the Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors last week, PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter said a nationwide shortage of Cepheid cartridges has caused the hospital to closely monitor its own supply of cartridges and enacted guidelines for rapid testing. The hospital's testing capacity is currently exceeding its par level, or the number of cartridges needed to react to a local outbreak, Hofstetter said. "We cannot get the supplies needed to test," said Hofstetter to the borough...
From the Daily Dozen Newsroom comes a monthly student-run newspaper dedicated to news Rae C. Stedman Elementary School cares about the most. Students in Vanessa Miller's fifth grade class delivered the first edition of their newspaper, What's up Stedman? on Oct. 7. Each paper was rolled up, wrapped in a rubber band and flung through the door of each of the classrooms in the elementary school. In the weeks leading up to deadline day, the fifth graders contacted sources and compiled information....
Petersburg Medical Center reported a total operating revenue for the month of September that balanced off the expenses and led to a positive bottom line to the Board of Directors at their meeting on Oct. 29, according to PMC financial statements. Continuing its rise in revenue into the third month of the fiscal year, PMC reported $1,931,329 in total operating revenue, according to the financial statements. That number was 20 percent higher than what the hospital originally budgeted for September. The return of inpatient and outpatient services...
Arlington, VA - Fifty-two museum publications have gained accolades in the 29th annual Museum Publications Design Competition, presented by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). This competition recognizes and encourages superior execution and ingenuity in the graphic design of museum publications and is the only national, juried competition of its kind. Tin Can Country: Southeast Alaska's Historic Salmon Canneries was given an Honorable Mention in the Book Design category. Published with the...
November 5, 1920 The pupils of the 5th and 6th grades wrote original Halloween poems last week. The five best ones were put on exhibition. They were written by Anita Allen, Adolf Matheson, Hedvig Mjorud, Jonas Hallingstad, and Ruby Rodgers. On Thursday afternoon a Halloween party was given in the primary building for the first grades. Bobbing for apples and other Halloween games were played and apples, doughnuts and animal cookies were refreshments. November 2, 1945 At a meeting of the Town Council on Thursday, the City of Petersburg accepted...
We’re glad the borough assembly cut through drawn out discussions and approved the continuation of work on the Sandy Beach Park playground project. The park improvement proposal received plenty of publicity over the past two years, so the work should have come as no surprise to anyone paying even remote attention to the news. If the parks and recreation board had their way, the debate over the plans would have delayed the project for at least another summer. That would have been unacceptable. Rock-n-Road is volunteering their labor and had t...
Last week, the Alaska Marine Highway Reshaping Group released a report it had been working on for several months throughout the pandemic. Even though this group has finished it’s task, I will continue to work to find ways to increase ferry service and reliability throughout Southeast Alaska and the rest of our state, at a level that is sustainable, functional, safe, and efficient. The Reshaping Group made several recommendations, many of which focused on the need for the ferry system and the ferry budget to focus on long-term service goals, r...
Opposed to the process To the Editor: Many residents of Kake, Kupreanof and the Petersburg Borough likely share the following concerns on the a long standing state edict currently aliased and marketed as a $40 million “Subsistence and Recreation” project. These concerns however, are best conveyed directly to Senator Stedman, but he has chosen so far to make himself unavailable to the general public. Many of us can understand, then, why the Senator might be unavailable. As co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which holds the purse str...
October 28— Robi Scaduto, 30, was issued a citation for driving with an expired license. Authorities responded to a call of a lost dog on Lumber St. It was later found. A dangerous driver was reported on Kiseno St. October 29— Authorities responded to a security check in the downtown area. Matthew Davis was remanded for violation of conditions of release. A welfare check was requested at a location on Chief John Lott St. Authorities made contact with an elderly driver who was driving the wrong way down a one way road. Bears were seen at locatio...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Legislative Council approved a measure that requires lawmakers, employees and reporters to be screened for the coronavirus when entering the Capitol and to wear masks or face coverings in the building and other legislative offices. The council also voted on Thursday to keep the Capitol building closed to the public until at least January, when the next Legislature convenes. Legislative staff and reporters will still be allowed into the building, KTOO Public Media reported. The council's chair, Sen. Gary S...
Phillip Martin Odegaard, 67, died on Oct. 6, 2020 at Providence Hospital in Anchorage. He was born Aug. 10, 1953 to Barbara and Palmer Odegaard in Petersburg, Alaska and was the middle child of three boys. When he was two years old, the family moved to Washington and at age 11 he came back to Petersburg to fish with his Grandpa Chris. It was then that he fell in love with the water and fishing. He purchased his first house in Petersburg at the age of 18 and bought into his dad's boat at the age...
After a salmon season that successfully fished its way through a pandemic and upturned markets, the value of Alaska salmon permits is ticking up in two regions while toppling in others. Permit values are derived by the state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission based on the average value of four permit sales. One of the uppers is the bellwether fishery at Bristol Bay where driftnet permits are showing good gains after a strong fishing season, despite a disappointing base sockeye price of $.70 a pound, down by nearly half from last year....
Castle Island Barium-Barite Mine was located in the Kupreanof Mining District from 1966 to 1980 and operated by three companies – Alaska Barite Co., Inlet Oil and Chromalloy America. Castle Island produced about 750,000 metric tons of ore during that time. Mostly a large offshore rock, the site now sits under water. Barium is critical to well-drilling for the petroleum industry and used around underwater pipelines. It is valuable because of its denseness, chemical inertness, and softness. At p...
WRANGELL - The Coast Guard pulled a man out of the water last Sunday evening, Nov. 1. The incident occurred in Union Bay, near Meyers Chuck, south of Wrangell. Petty Officer Janessa Warschkow, with the Coast Guard, said that they were notified of a man in need of rescue at about 4:46 p.m. Warschkow said, in an email, that they were on-scene at 9 p.m. According to a Coast Guard press release, an air crew from Sitka and the cutter Anacapa were sent to conduct the search and rescue. A 70-year-old...
Southeast Alaskan electrical vehicle owners are hosting a one-hour knowledge sharing session outlining the economic and environmental advantages of EV ownership, including saving money, supporting the local economy, and reducing CO2 emissions. There are now several hundred EVs in both Sitka and Juneau. The fundamental advantages of EV ownership that exist in Sitka and Juneau also exist in other locations, as the presentation will outline. After the presentation, there will be a Q&A session for...
A staff member at Petersburg Medical Center has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total local case count of the virus up to five, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The positive test result was identified through the hospital's routine asymptomatic testing protocols, according to the release. The individual is in isolation and is not experiencing any symptoms. PMC has switched over to a red level of mitigation protocols and has cancelled all... Full story
