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The local Rotary club is known for sending students on its year-long exchange program to study abroad, but this summer a PHS student took part in the club's short-term program. Gillian Wittstock spent four weeks with a family in Germany and the two girls who hosted her there recently traveled to Petersburg to stay with the Wittstocks. Gillian is the first local student to participate in the program. She says getting to know Svea and Vilja Zahnke in Germany really made it easy for everyone to... Full story
The weather finally cooperated with sunny conditions for the track and field teams last weekend in Ketchikan. PHS took over 30 athletes and 20 middle schoolers also made the trip to compete. Team scores were not available, but the teams performed well, according to PHS head coach Brad Taylor. "The kids did really well, I was really happy with our performances," he says. "We had lots of first place finishes." Casey Bell had first place finishes in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, he came close...
The Petersburg High School baseball team notched its first wins of the season against Thunder Mountain High School last weekend. The Vikings hosted the Falcons for a three-game series that included senior appreciation ceremonies between game one and two of a Saturday doubleheader. “We made some mistakes, but I felt we started to put some things together,” said head coach Jim Engell. “We played really well, considering the circumstances we were playing in were less than ideal.” The weather was rainy with some wind thrown in, but a lot of loca...
Buschmann Park in downtown Petersburg received a long awaited addition last Friday. The bronze sculpture named "Everything starts with a dream" by local artist Eric Larson was installed. "It's a huge relief, I was apprehensive taking it down there, but then once it went in it was like 'oh, yeah,'" Larson says with a chuckle. Larson estimates the piece weighs around 700 pounds, and there is still some electric work to do until it can be officially unveiled later this year at the Little Norway... Full story
Despite flat or decreased sales tax contributions from some of the largest local businesses, the Petersburg economy saw a 3.7 percent increase in overall consumption from 2014 to 2015 according to Petersburg Borough sales tax revenue data. In 2015 the borough brought in $3,128,549 in sales tax revenue compared to $3,011,968 in 2014. Local grocery and hardware businesses, the largest contributors in sales tax revenues to the Petersburg Borough, remained steady paying around $1 million in local...
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team continued to improve last weekend with two wins over rival Wrangell during homecoming festivities. Head coach Dino Brock likes the balance of his team so far this season, and credits the experience of players for the good start. "We are doing a very good job, and everybody is working hard," coach Brock says. "We are improving every day and that's what you want." Amy Jensen starred for the Lady Wolves scoring 22 points during the two games. However...
Four Viking wrestlers headed to Anchorage last weekend to participate in the Lime Solar/Alaska Christian Schools (ACS) Invitational. The two-day tournament showcased 673 matches and over 355 1A/2A/3A wrestlers from all over Alaska. This meant facing the toughest competition of the year for Buddy Stelmach, Mike File, Nathaniel Lenhard and Kirk Evens, according to head coach Dan van Swearingen. “It was tough, but it was good, and great experience for our guys,” he said. After taking second place at ACS last year, Stelmach had to battle back and...
Petersburg High School wrestlers traveled to Ketchikan last weekend for the Bill Weiss Invitational, but only a handful of the squad made the trip. Six wrestlers participated in the event, the rest stayed home because they were feeling under the weather due to illness or were injured. Sophomore Brandon Ware was ordered to stay home by a doctor after he had stitches for a cut above his eyebrow. Ware is sidelined until next week’s meet in Craig. No Viking wrestlers placed higher than fourth in Ketchikan, but the team fared better than their f...
Skate of Gear moving closer to downtown is definitely helping year-round business. The family owned and operated store doesn’t focus on tourism. Any summer dollars from out of town guests is just a bonus. “I find that we don’t really carry or buy things that I would consider a tourist type of product,” says Lisa Nilsen. “We buy more for local customers.” Tourists will stop in to buy jewelry and cards, but that’s about it. The fact that Skate of Gear lacks large display windows is not helping business a bunch, but Nilsen likes the new location....
Petersburg swim teams headed to the Ketchikan Invitational last weekend, and there were no signs of slowing down since their home meet in Petersburg. If anything, Viking swimmers took the time off to improve their conditioning and the hard work paid off. Both squads placed third in the team standings for the weekend, and head coach Andy Carlisle was pleased with the efforts of everyone. “We had a good showing at Ketchikan,” Carlisle says. “We raced a lot better than we did two weeks earlier and looked much more fit.” Carlisle says he was especi...
Petersburg High School cross country had tough competition at the Wrangell Invitational last weekend. The boys and girls faced a field with multiple 3A and 4A teams, including Juneau-Douglas, Thunder Mountain and Ketchikan. The meet hosted over 200 runners, and the course proved to be quite fast. The boys team place sixth overall in the 1A/2A/3A/4A standings, and third among 1A/2A/3A squads. And the girls team finished third in 1A/2A/3A/4A, finishing behind first place Juneau-Douglas and only...
Petersburg High School volleyball started this week, and over 35 girls will be participating for the Vikings. Last year, the volleyball team played as a 3A team, and this year they will be playing in the smaller 2A classification, but still face serious competition. Head coach Jaime Cabral says the girls were excited to start practice on Wednesday, and he believes his “scrappy” squad will be prepared and ready to play. The Vikings first junior varsity and varsity matches will be in Juneau against 4A Juneau-Douglas on Oct. 2 and 3. Cabral say...
The Cross Country team traveled to Sitka last week for the first meet of the year, and both squads finished about where head coach Tom Thompson expected. The girls finished fourth overall in 1A/2A/3A/4A, but first in the 1A/2A/3A division. The boys finished fifth overall in the larger 1A/2A/3A/4A division, and second in 1A/2A/3A. Each team typically has seven competitors, with the top five individual performances from each team being recorded for overall points. Thompson says the loss of a...
August 14, 1915 – The fast and commodious launch Trigby will leave Petersburg next Monday for Cape Fanshaw, Port Houghton, Pybus Bay, Tyee, Warm Springs Bay, Kuiu Island points, and Kake. Such is the announcement of S.L. Hogue, who this week purchased the Trigby from Conrad Dahl. It is Hogue's intention to make a trial trip to the points above listed, and if it appears that business will justify the enterprise, to make weekly return trips, carrying passengers, mail, and freight, and also to take orders for and deliver merchandise to people a...
Tourists and local marine mammal lovers alike can now enjoy an updated, interactive Marine Mammal Kiosk at the Petersburg Visitor’s Center. The kiosk is a collaboration between the Visitor’s Center and the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center (PMMC), awarded a $1,700 grant last year by the Petersburg Community Foundation to make upgrades to the kiosk’s computer. “The equipment, computers being what they are, don’t have a long lifespan,” said Don Holmes, PMMC board member. “So the new grant enabled us new hardware, and we had a volunteer, Je...
Dave Kensinger of Chelan Produce has a 38-year-long business history with the ferry system. “I’ve probably ridden the ferry more than anybody else,” he said. He uses the barge to ship produce (and has for a long while), but utilizes the ferry to travel back and forth between Sitka, where he also sells produce. With a Senate Finance Subcommittee proposing a $12.3 million cut to the ferry system, reducing service to Petersburg and other Southeast communities, Kensinger said he and his wife are looking to fly back and forth to Sitka now, a more ex...
January More than 600 Petersburg residents signed up for the borough's recycling program. The Petersburg Land Selection Committee requested the borough pursue legislative action regarding the State's calculation of land entitlement for the Petersburg Borough after the committee's determination that the State's selection of land was inadequate. The Petersburg School Board approved a $2.3 million exterior wall renovation project for the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School. Petersburg School District... Full story
Summer 2014 was a busy one for Petersburg, with tourists bringing more charter business to town and spending more on hotels and retail than the previous summer. This summer the Borough collected over $35,000 in sales taxes from charter businesses, almost double what was collected over the same time period in 2013. The Borough also collected about $4,000 more each in bed tax revenue and retail sales tax revenue. Marilyn Meucci of the Visitor Information Center said she thought that a rebounding economy played a large role in the increased...
Viking wrestlers went for broke again in Sitka, going first or nothing when it came to the championship rounds of the unconventional double elimination tournament and taking three titles for Petersburg. Buddy Stalmach, 113; John Brooks, 145; and Billy Ware, 152, all took tops in their divisions, wrestling undefeated through the ranks. “We didn’t bring everybody — we left Brandon (Ware), 192, at home, but he could have probably taken first or second,” Coach Dan Van Swearengen said. “John Brooks, he went back up to 145 pounds instead of 138, w...
Two dozen daring dancers braved torrential rains to participate in National Dance Day on Saturday at the ball field. The pitching mound may have been soaked, but the dancers scored a home run with their interpretation of this year's advanced dance routine set to Mark Ballas' single "Get My Name." This is the third non-consecutive year Petersburg dancers have participated in the national event. The videos of this and past years' routine can be viewed on YouTube. This year's event was organized... Full story
July 25, 1914 – Workmen employed in blasting soft rock from a quarry in Connecticut recently came across a bit of rock which had been blown out about thirty feet underground which, when cracked, exposed a live worm that lived five days after it had been exposed to view. How long the worm had been occupying his cramped quarters is mere conjecture. July 26, 1974 Celebrating Pilot's 40th Year – Petersburg gets publicity in the strangest ways. It has come to our attention that the Department of the Interior, in a report on the subject of "Towing Ic...
More than 50 cruise ships will stop in Petersburg this spring and summer—slightly up from last year. The vessel Safari Legacy stopped in Petersburg twice last year but is making nine stops this year. Cruise ships visiting Petersburg typically carry between 60 to 80 passengers and remain in port between four to seven hours. Viking Travel owner Dave Berg said visitors are offered a shuttle into town as well as several guided tours and a chance to watch traditional Norwegian dancing at the Sons of Norway Hall. “It’s nice to have the ships comin...
Sales increased for local Petersburg businesses by more than $14 million in 2013 compared to 2012. Business across town such as Viking Travel, Diamante Gift Shoppe and Hammer & Wikan all experienced increased sales. Lee Corrao, manager of the Hammer & Wikan hardware store, said 2013 sales increased by four percent over the previous year. “A significant amount of that is attributed to the fishing season,” Corrao said. “All of the fish processing plants were operating and there were more boats.” Southeast Alaska saw the highest harvest value for...
Eight Petersburg Viking wrestlers placed at the Pilot Invitational in Juneau the weekend before last. DJ Toyomura, John Brooks and Billy Ware took first place in their respective weight classes. Buddy Stelmach and Isaiah May took second. Logan Turcott and Matt Gudel took third. Bret Martinsen took fourth. Petersburg placed second overall in the tournament. "The team really pulled together," said assistant coach Ed May. "We're, at this point, hitting our stride. Hopefully we'll be getting near...
