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This year's mature herring biomass in the Sitka Sound is expected to be the largest ever with a forecasted 225,820 tons according to Sitka Area Management Biologist Aaron Dupuis of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The high forecast has also resulted in the highest guideline harvest level (GHL) ever set for the annual sac roe herring fishery of 45,164 tons or 20% of the sound's total mature herring biomass. Dupuis said the biggest factor impacting the forecast is the "very large" class of...
The Mitkof Middle School robotics team is making their final preparations for the upcoming robotics state tournament after placing first in the innovative project category at the regional competition in December. The team claimed first after wowing the judges with their concept to streamline loading and unloading at the Alaska Marine Lines facility in Petersburg. The students first got the idea of doing their project with AML after Kurt Kivisto gave them a tour of AML's local warehouses and...
Though they say the level of funding for the state ferry system in Gov. Mike Dunleavy's budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is adequate, coastal legislators don't like that the governor wants to use one-time federal money to pay the bills, eliminating almost 95% of state funding. Their fear is that when the federal dollars from last year's $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending plan run out, so too will adequate ferry service. "Those federal dollars were meant to augment state money, no...
January 27, 1922 Chas. Mann, who is always up to date and looking for something new, announced today that he will receive on the next boat, a shipment of the new popular “Polar Cake,” a new confection which has taken the south by storm. This new confection consists of a block of ice cream dipped in hot chocolate and again frozen. Those who have tried it claim that it is the best ever. January 17, 1947 “Next best thing to taking the trip yourself,” one person described the pictures shown by Dr. J.O. Rude here, taken last summer at the time he an...
Rae C. Stedman Elementary School called for aid, and Petersburg answered. The school was threatened with the closure of four classrooms in February and March as some teachers were set to take leave while there were no available substitute teachers before four Petersburg residents stepped up to fill the need. Casey Knight will fill in for Hillary Mullen's Kindergarten class on February 3-4, Erin Streuli will step in for Erin Willis' Kindergarten class from February 28 to March 9, and two classes...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly held a work session Monday afternoon to brainstorm ideas for how funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act can be used. The assembly invited representatives of various community organizations to discuss their needs and ideas for how the $634,382 can be distributed. The work session came as a result of numerous discussions at regular assembly meetings on the desire to find ways to spend the money received through ARPA and members of the community reaching...
A well deserved recognition To the Editor, This letter is recognition of Sammy Parker and Lee Newton who announced the retirement of Petersburg Business Services in last week’s Pilot. I’m proud to have been a regular customer at your Beech Boy hamburger joint in the 1970’s, when your Big Boy burger, large fries and cola were under 2 bucks, to have worked with Lee at the barite mine in Duncan Canal and enjoyed Sammy’s wonderful cooking for the hungry 20+ crew of miners. Thank you for your time as chef at Mountain View Manor, and for 50 years o...
January 19 — A medical transport was provided from Fram Street. Icy road conditions were reported on Kings Row. Public Works was notified and responded. A warning was issued on Frederick Point Road for woodcutting in a restricted area. Criminal mischief was reported on North Nordic. There is an on-going investigation. Suspicious activity was reported on Hungerford Hill Road. A disturbance was reported on Mitkof Highway. An officer responded and made contact with the individual who then departed the scene. An officer responded to a report of a...
According to the Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard, Petersburg had an active case count of 11 as of Wednesday evening with 20 new positives within the previous seven days. PMC is asking residents to notify the hospital if they test positive with an at-home COVID-19 test so they can keep an accurate count of cases in the community. The hospital is also urging people to receive their booster vaccination as soon as possible in order to significantly decrease the chances of serious...
The scholarship fund created to honor the memory of Helen and Sig Decker is a little different from most. In addition to the usual requirements of being a graduating high school senior who is going on to postsecondary schooling, applicants must have worked in commercial fishing or seafood processing. It's recognition that the Deckers worked in the industry for years before they died in a car accident in Petersburg on July 28, 2020, at 19 and 21 years old, respectively. The family made...
Hammer & Wikan Grocery is set to welcome four self-checkout stands in early February according to Grocery Store Manager Todd Hampton. The self-checkouts will replace registers two and three following a remodeling of the checkout lanes with the hope of adding convenience to the shopping experience according to Hampton. "We're just trying to bring Hammer & Wikan up with the times and try to match what other places are doing in the lower 48," Hampton said. Though the recent nationwide staffing...
Lower back pain, that's what made Dave Thynes start running one fall, almost a decade ago. He'd grown tired of going to the medicine cabinet for multiple ibuprofen, and occasionally having to resort to pain killers, as a means to cope with "goofed up discs." He chipped away at running and, after a rocky period of his back adjusting, it became his new thing. "By the wintertime I was feeling really good with my gains, and I had lost a lot of weight," Thynes says. "So, I just went ahead and got... Full story
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team took home the winner's trophy after going undefeated in last weekend's basketball tournament hosted by Su Valley in Talkeetna. The Vikings won all three of their games in a tournament that they almost did not make it to after the team's flight from Petersburg last Wednesday was delayed. They flew out later that day, but by the time they reached Juneau their connecting flight had already left. After spending the night in the capital, the team...
About 50 people, some holding anti-abortion signs, marched along Nordic Drive on Sunday afternoon in observance of National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The marchers began gathering at the corner of Nordic Drive and Dolphin Street for the annual March for Life just before 1 p.m. and marked the beginning of the march with a prayer. Pastor Lee Corrao, who organized this year's march and invited local churches to participate, said people came out to make a statement of their pro-life beliefs. "We...
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team traveled to Talkeetna for the Rally at Denali tournament last weekend, making it to the championship match where they fell to Wrangell in their first meeting of the season. The six teams who traveled were broken up into two groups at the tournament which Head Coach Dino Brock said was a good environment to play against competitive teams outside their conference. "I thought that the weekend showed us that we really need to work on," Brock said....
WRANGELL – The kids gathered atop the sledding hill across from Evergreen Elementary, next to a small fire in which they burned face masks. They carried signs reading "Unmask Wrangell Youth!!" and "Unmask our children! Let them be kids!" They chanted, "Burn the masks!" It was part of a walkout in which children and parents frustrated over wearing masks during school hours voiced their opposition to the districtwide rule. About 14 elementary and middle school students left the grounds at 10:30 a...
WRANGELL– In a break from past practice, the Alaska Department of Revenue this year will provide monthly updates to legislators whenever projected oil prices — and state revenues — move up or down more than 10%. Several legislators worry that could confuse budget deliberations this session. Revenue staff has updated the state’s twice-yearly oil-price forecasts internally but not released the numbers to the public, the department’s chief economist Dan Stickel told the Senate Finance Committee on Jan. 20. “We’ve decided to go ahead and star...
Where do most Alaska fishermen live? Which Alaska region is home to the most fishing boats? The answers are in an economic report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for 2019/2020 that includes all regions from Ketchikan to Kotzebue. Nearly 40% of Alaska’s more than 31,000 fishermen live in the Southcentral towns of Anchorage, Kenai, Cordova, Seward, Homer, Valdez and Whittier. They earn more than half of their paychecks from fisheries outside of the region, with the Bristol Bay driftnet fishery their main source of income. S...
Doris Gregg Smith passed away from Covid on December 25, 2021, Christmas Day, at North Cascades Health & Rehabilitation Center in Bellingham, WA. She was 101 years old, just a month shy of 102. Doris was born Doris Ruth Gregg in Oak Park, Illinois on January 26, 1920. She graduated from Denison University as a Registered Nurse, then served in the Army in France as a nurse in WWII. She was a Lieutenant. She met her future husband in France, Tarleton (Tee) Smith, also a Lieutenant, from Waco, Texa... Full story
Sammy's Cafe boasted it was "The Best Place to Eat" in 1930's Petersburg. Sammy Nakamoto, proprietor, also farmed. He once had mink escape after road blasting blew a hole in their pen. Nakamoto was involved in multiple enterprises, having moved to Petersburg from Wrangell in 1918. He then bought the Good Eats Cafe which he later named Petersburg Restaurant and finally upgraded to S.K.'s Cafe in 1934. Born in Southwest Japan, Sammy lived in Petersburg for almost 30 years. In 1938, Charles Mann...
