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Gus Pennington will return to Stedman Elementary School this fall as the new fifth grade teacher. However, Pennington is no stranger to the Petersburg School District. His new teaching role comes on the heels of experience in the district as a substitute and student teacher - and as a pupil in Petersburg, himself. Pennington graduated from Petersburg High School with the class of 2019 and left for college at University of Alaska Southeast. He returned to town later that fall - just before...
John Edgington was born in southern California and after high school he went to Alaska for the first time as a summer stream guard for the Department of the Interior, before Alaska statehood. After meeting and marrying the love of his life, Michale, at Oregon State University, John completed his Masters degree in fisheries at University of Idaho. He became a biologist for the State of Oklahoma and after the birth of his daughter Sarah, the family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, where John worked... Full story
The U.S. Coast Guard held a Change of Command Ceremony for the new officer in charge of the USCGC Pike at the Sons of Norway Hall Monday morning. Command of the Pike was transferred from Lt. Jak Loewenstein to Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Kay Jones in a formal reading of orders in front of the crew and Capt. Darwin Jensen, the Commander of Sector Juneau. The ceremony was attended by the crew of the Pike, their families, Coast Guard personnel, Petersburg Borough staff, representatives of Sens....
Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed Alaska’s $6 billion state budget into law Monday after vetoing more than $200 million from the document approved in mid-May by the Alaska Legislature. The governor’s biggest single cut was half of a $175 million one-time funding boost for K-12 public schools. Lawmakers intended the addition to partially compensate for inflation-driven cost increases. Because school districts have already had to set their budgets for the coming year, Dunleavy’s veto leaves some of them facing additional budget cuts or the prosp...
For many, classical music evokes images of evening gowns, baroque concert halls and impassioned, white-gloved conductors. Its mood is reverent, its audiences are serious and ever-so-slightly snobbish. But concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky has set out to buck classical piano's black-tie reputation. The music, he argues, is not only for a knowledgeable few - its beauty can be appreciated by everyone, regardless of whether they know a "madrigal" from a "minuet." Rudnytsky, a professional musician...
Which came first, the magister squid fishery or the magister squid market? A Juneau charter fishing operator was just awarded a $230,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to find out, and area fishermen might soon have a chance to diversify in the face of declining stocks and high barriers to entry in other markets. “It’s the chicken and the egg. Do you start researching on how to catch them or if there’s a market?” said Richard Yamada, who’s dedicated the last several years to learning more about magister...
This month, Alaska Airlines unveiled a new design that replaced the Salmon Thirty Salmon art known by many Alaskans. The new art still features salmon, but this time from an Indigenous perspective. Crystal Worl, Tlingit artist and business owner from Juneau, created the new design in the style of formline art. Worl said she hopes that the plane will inspire non-Indigenous people to learn about the rich cultural history between Native Alaskans and salmon - and she was excited to share that histor... Full story
Long-time Petersburg resident Dennis Sperl survived a near fatal stroke in March of 2015, but returned home to make the most of eight "bonus years" with dear family, friends, and caretakers before succumbing to a brief illness on April 13, 2023. Dennis was born in Bremerton, Washington, on September 3, 1943 to Clara and Walter Sperl and his older brother David. A sister, Moretta, joined her two older brothers a couple of years later. In 1946 the Sperls moved to Juneau where Walter worked as the... Full story
The long-term outlook is bright for Bristol Bay sockeye runs, source of a thriving commercial fishery that has enjoyed record-breaking returns and harvests in recent years, a salmon expert told a conference last month. Part of the credit goes to the warming climate in that southeast Bering Sea region, Daniel Schindler, a professor at the University of Washington's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, said in a teleconferenced presentation on March 24 to the two-day Bristol Bay Sustainability... Full story
Wolves are social, territorial animals that educate their young, care for their injured and stick with their close-knit family groups — most of the time, that is. In the past few months, a wolf from Petersburg has struck out on its own and taken up swimming, behaviors that are unusual — though not unheard of — for a wolf. The swimming wolf traveled from Petersburg to Wrangell Island to Etolin Island, and its movements could help area scientists learn more about the animals’ lifestyle . The animal was captured on Sept. 14 within Petersburg city...
Organizers are creating programs to start using a $49 million federal grant and $15 million in matching funds to grow Alaska’s shellfish and seaweed farming industry. The money will go toward a statewide effort, though more permit applications were filed for new or expanded farms in Southeast than in any other region 2016 through 2022, according to state statistics. Southeast set a record last year with seven applications for seaweed and shellfish farms, Rachel Baker, deputy commissioner at the Alaska Department of Fish Game, said at last w...
Vikings: take a closer look To the Editor: I enjoy living in a community with a strong sense of tradition and heritage, sadly lacking in many places today. I find the culture of this “Little Norway” largely wholesome and endearing, from krumkake to rosemaling. When the furs and horned helmets come out at Mayfest, I’m glad to see that someone remembers that there once existed people who went a-Viking, long, long ago. But I think that pop culture imagery of the Vikings falls far short of what we now actually know about these people, who were...
Everything you could possibly want to know about fish, from their biological characteristics to the commercial fisheries that harvest and sell them to the governmental entities that regulate them, is available through the University of Alaska Southeast applied fisheries program. Catering to high schoolers, recent graduates and seasoned professionals alike, the school's online and in-person programs prepare students for jobs in the industry. Applied fisheries is a workforce development program...
December 8, 1922 – A Ford passenger car arrived in town on the mail boat from Juneau this week for Ole Scarbro and will be used in a general jitney service. This is the first strictly passenger car to arrive in town and its first trip down the street occasioned considerable interest. December 12, 1947 – The custom of Christmas ships for Alaska will be revived this year after a 10-year lapse. With a Santa Claus to distribute candy, fruit and nuts to children and sprays of holly to their mothers, a show will be put on at each port, officials sai...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly is expected to take a look at adopting a trial program to support local child care providers in Petersburg at its next meeting. The Education Incentive Program, modeled after the Hiring, Educating, and Retaining Teaching Staff (HEARTS) Program implemented in Juneau, aims to increase retention, encourage child care professionals to continue their educations, and improve quality of care. The program would award tiered bonuses every six months to child care educators...
December 1, 1922 – “I love them all – their father saved my life,” rejoiced Mrs. A. W. Thomas, widely known Alaska sportswoman, as she surveyed a family of eight spitz puppies in the basement of the Savoy Hotel yesterday. When Mrs. Thomas, the wife of an Alaskan canneryman, arrived in Seattle from Kodiak two days ago and brought with her Lady Queen, a pedigreed Spitz. Lady Queen celebrated her arrival here by bringing into the world a litter of eight pups. “Their father is Carlo, one of the best hunting dogs in Alaska,” explained Mrs. Thomas...
Three Petersburg High School students traveled to Haines with their music teacher, Chelsea Corrao, to perform in the October 23-25, 2022 Southeast Alaska Honor Music Festival. After a classic southeast travel experience complete with flight delays and an early morning ferry, the students met the other musicians and began rehearsals in preparation for a Tuesday evening live performance. The process for selection for Honor Music began back in September. Chelsea Corrao, the new Petersburg High...
A statewide coalition of fisheries and economic development organizations, led by the Southeast Conference, has won a $49 million federal grant to help build up Alaska’s mariculture industry. “This is a moon shot,” Robert Venables, executive director of the Southeast Conference, said of the challenges ahead and the potential rewards of growing the industry to raise and harvest shellfish and seaweed in larger commercial quantities. “It’s a big deal,” said Wrangell’s Julie Decker, executive director of the Alaska Fisheries Development F...
Haines — While thousands danced and dined at the Southeast Alaska State Fair last month, Drew Robertson of Sedalia, Colorado was rescuing a half dozen local puppies that might be part wolf. The state suspects at least 10 dogs born at 35 Mile Haines Highway in February could be wolf hybrids, which are illegal to breed or possess in Alaska. The owner of the litter — “Seandog” Brownell — said he suspects the mother, Inja, a lab, could’ve mated with a wild wolf last December on or near his property. Robertson, who runs an organization with wolfdo...
July 21, 1922 At the city council meeting on Monday night a committee was appointed to locate a new cemetery site. It was pointed out that the old cemetery was inaccessible except at low tide, that the survey has become obsolete, the location of lots and graves being unknown, and that in general it would be almost impossible to get it straightened out. It was pointed out that a sand and gravel ridge parallels the Narrows between Petersburg and Scow Bay and that if a location can be secured the ground is deep, well-drained, sightly, and...
Sandy Ellis passed away peacefully at her home in Petersburg on Friday, May 13, 2022 with her children by her side after a short second battle with cancer. Last year she was treated by Southeast Radiation and Oncology Center in Juneau. Upon finding that the cancer had recently returned and was terminal, she was treated by staff at Petersburg Medical Center and the Home Health and Hospice Program. The gentle and thoughtful care in her last few days, as well as the support shown to family... Full story
Amongst the sounds of churning conveyor belts, rolling carts, and running rivers, a high pitched steam whistle blares, cutting through the noise-its time for mug up. Coffee drips and silverware clatters with plates as tired workers gather for a moment of respite. With eyes closed, hearing the symphony of industrial noise one might think they had walked inside an operating Alaskan cannery, but upon opening they would instead find a faithful recreation of cannery life inside the Alaska State... Full story
After 56 years of service in the Alaska Marine Highway System fleet and almost three years tied up at a Ketchikan dock, unused and in need of costly repairs, the Malaspina is headed to another career as a privately owned floating museum and employee housing. Plans also call for using the ship as a classroom for maritime industry jobs. The state last week accepted $128,250 for the 408-foot-long passenger and vehicle ferry from the recently formed Ketchikan company M/V Malaspina. The company is a subsidiary of Ward Cove Dock Group, owned by John...
The arrival of herring signals the start of Alaska’s spring fisheries and this year’s commercial catch limits from each of the three main areas are record breakers. But much of the catch will go unharvested — there is no market. Combined harvests from three prime producing areas total 118,346 tons, or nearly 237 million pounds. The limit for the Sitka Sound harvest in late March is set at over 45,164 tons, followed the first days of April at Kodiak where a harvest of 8,075 tons is allowed. Alaska’s largest roe herring fishery at Togiak in Brist...
March means more fishing boats are out on the water with the start of the Pacific halibut and sablefish (black cod) fisheries this past Sunday, followed by Alaska’s first big herring fishery at Sitka Sound. For halibut, the coastwide catch from waters ranging from the West Coast states to British Columbia to the far reaches of the Bering Sea was increased by 5.7% this year to 41.22 million pounds. Alaska always gets the lion’s share of the commercial halibut harvest, which for 2022 is 21.51 million pounds, a nearly 10% increase. Exp...
