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In a change of plans from just a few weeks ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System reports it lacks enough crew to operate the Kennicott this summer. The loss of the Kennicott from the schedule likely would mean dropping service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and the loss of two additional port calls in Petersburg each month, May through September. It also could jeopardize state ferry service to Yakutat on the cross-gulf route, and abandoning plans to run the Kennicott to Bellingham, Washington, once a month to help move the heavy load of su...
An ongoing shortage of crew is the “No. 1 risk factor” for the Alaska Marine Highway System, Transportation Department Deputy Commissioner Katherine Keith told legislators. As of a Feb. 2 presentation to the Senate Transportation Committee, the ferry system was short just over 100 crew for full staffing to efficiently operate the winter schedule, about a 20% vacancy factor for onboard employees. The ferry system, however, is able to run its schedule with crew members picking up extra shifts and overtime to cover the work, and with man...
Less than five years ago, prospects appeared bright for Bering Sea crab fishers. Stocks were abundant and healthy, federal biologists said, and prices were near all-time highs. Now two dominant crab harvests have been canceled for lack of fish. For the first time, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in October canceled the 2022-2023 harvest of Bering Sea snow crab, and it also announced the second consecutive year of closure for another important harvest, that of Bristol Bay red king crab. What has happened between then and now? A sustained... Full story
A joint House-Senate committee of the Alaska Legislature voted against accepting $20 million in federal aid to seafood processors, with lawmakers saying that a new state law prevents them from accepting that much money outside the normal state budget process. The 3-4 vote came Wednesday during a meeting of the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, which makes financial decisions on behalf of the Legislature when lawmakers are not in session. The failed vote means seafood processing companies in Alaska will wait several more months to receive... Full story
After a recent fire put the Ketchikan harbor department at risk of a lawsuit for not requiring boat owners to carry insurance, the Wrangell Port and Harbors Department is considering issuing an insurance requirement for vessels, though the decision-making process is still in the early stages. At the Ketchikan harbor, the owner of a boat damaged in the fire aboard a nearby vessel has threatened legal action against the city for losses. According to Wrangell Port Director Steve Miller, the borough harbor department is weighing its funding needs...
The five candidates running for the two seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly participated in a candidate forum on Monday in the assembly chambers hosted by KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, Donna Marsh, Scott Newman, and Kurt Wohlhueter were presented with the same questions and were each given one minute to respond in a random order. The first part of the forum saw candidates answer questions asked by members of the media...
Casey Knight What is your age? 36 What experience do you have? Three years on Harbor Board Why do you seek public office? To help maintain an affordable working waterfront in Petersburg What are your thoughts on the proposed improvements to the Papke's Landing Marine Facility? The State isn't going to do improve Papke's, so the Borough has to. But we must decide whether the Borough is in a position to take on the extra responsibilities involved in taking over the relevant land from ADOT and ADNR...
Bob Lynn What is your age? 76 What experience do you have? I've had 8 year's experience on the Petersburg Assembly. I have been fortunate to serve as Petersburg Assembly Board representative to Southeast Alaska Power Authority (SEAPA.) In that role I have served as Board Chair and voting member to replace submarine cable serving Petersburg. I have also served 6 years as the Assembly representative to the Hospital Board. Having been an EMT years ago has provided me much needed background to serve...
The Petersburg School Board updated its COVID-19 mitigation plan for the upcoming school year during its meeting last week. The school district is required to update its plan by the Alaska Department of Education and under the American Rescue Plan funding. The new guidelines resemble those the district had at the end of the previous school year but with a couple of changes. Masking will remain optional for students, staff, and visitors and there will be no trigger for universal masking or...
WRANGELL — In November of last year, Tlingit & Haida Community and Behavioral Services opened a healing center in Juneau to provide care to tribal citizens and other Alaska Natives. At the time, care was provided through Zoom Health or over the phone. The center was able to open its doors this year for in-person appointments but still relies on telehealth to reach a greater number of patients who might not have access to such services otherwise. Healing center staff provides a mix of wholistic healing and western treatment for crisis and ac...
Words of advice have been running through Joseph Tagaban's mind ever since meeting his NBA idol Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. "Take small little steps, test yourself and you'll eventually make it," the five-time NBA All-Star and four-time champion told the 15-year-old boy from Petersburg. The advice takes on new meaning since Tagaban recently found out that his fight with cancer is not over as was previously thought. What started as a routine checkup in Seattle last week... Full story
In early 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, we knew almost nothing about COVID-19. How did it spread? Who would get sick? How could we protect ourselves and each other? We saw hospitals being built and overflowing, first in China, then Italy and New York. Morgues filled across the world as health care facilities made desperate pleas for ventilators, personal protective equipment and additional health care workers. Here in Alaska, we scrambled to make our own testing supplies and to quickly build up our health care capacity. Public health w...
Two candidates have filed for candidacy in this year's election to fill Rep. Jonathon Kreiss-Tomkins' seat in the Alaska House of Representatives. Kreiss-Tomkins, who first elected to the seat in 2012, announced earlier this year that he will not seek reelection. House District 2, which was newly created by the Alaska Redistricting Board, spans Southeast Alaska from Prince of Wales Island to Yakutat and includes Petersburg, Sitka, Kake, and Craig. The candidates running for the seat are Kenny...
Alaska property owners have paid more than four times as much in premiums than they received back in claims under the National Flood Insurance Program going back to 1980. “It’s kind of ugly,” Lori Wing-Heier, the state’s insurance division director, told legislators this spring. “We don’t have the storms they get in Texas or Louisiana.” The nationwide program, which is voluntary for states and communities, has been around for more than half a century. It pools together property owners from all the states and territories, much like group he...
The Petersburg Medical Center is bringing back its Health and Safety Fair after a four-year hiatus and is encouraging members of the community to come to the in-person event on June 4 and the blood draws leading up to it. The health fair, which is usually held every two years, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the theme of this year's event is "Getting Back on Track." The in-person event will be held in the community gym from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. where booths will be set up to...
An award-winning film chronicling the Metlakatla boys basketball team's run to the 2018 state championship will make its Petersburg big screen debut next week. "Alaskan Nets" plays at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3, at Wright Auditorium. Tickets are $20. Californian Jeff Harasimowicz, director and producer of the documentary film, said he got the idea in 2017 when he was scrolling sports stories, which he loves, on ESPN.com and came across a 2016 photo story by photojournalist Samuel Wilson about...
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...
The Petersburg School Board voted to continue universal masking throughout the district as part of its COVID-19 mitigation plan Tuesday night. At the beginning of Tuesday's meeting, teachers and parents spoke to the board both in support and against the continuation of universal masking. Those who supported universal masking cited the high number of positive cases nationwide with the spread of the highly infectious omicron variant and their belief that remote learning is more harmful to...
To the Editor: My wife and I, Marja Smets and Bo Varsano of Farragut Farm, are the founders and organizers of the Southeast Alaska Farmers Summit. This conference takes place in a different Southeast Alaska community every other year. The original event was held in Petersburg in 2015, it migrated to Haines in 2017 and then to Sitka in 2019. It was supposed to take place again in Petersburg in February of 2021 but was rescheduled (because of Covid-19) for February 2022. Unfortunately, we are sorry to announce that Covid-19 has again forced the...
WRANGELL - SEARHC's announcement last week that it was shuttering the 21-year-old Alaska Crossings program in Wrangell, a wilderness therapy program for at-risk children that the health care provider took over in 2017, disappointed much of the community. The news release cited rising costs. Spokesperson Maegan Bosak, senior director of lands and property management at SEARHC offices in Sitka, said Friday she didn't have an operating cost for Crossings but would ask the finance department for the information. "Health care systems throughout the...
An Alaska Salmon Research Task Force Act was introduced in Congress last week by Alaska Senators Murkowski and Sullivan that, if passed, aims to gain better understanding about causes of salmon declines, especially in the Northwest regions. The task force of up to 19 people would conduct a comprehensive review of salmon science and management in Alaska. The bill also would establish a working group specifically focused on salmon returns in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region of Western and...
The Petersburg Medical Center has spent the last two weeks implementing a new electronic health records system, with the goal of increased security of patient records and improved usability. Cerner—the company which after the hospital board’s request for proposals in December 2020 was awarded a $1.3 million contract which was paid for by a state grant—sent technicians to Petersburg last week to help install the software and train staff on the new system. PMC was drawn to use Cerner as it is one of the two largest healthcare software provi...
The Borough Assembly held a discussion during Monday's meeting to figure out how the borough should spend funds received through the American Rescue Plan and considered a future work session on the topic. The borough received $634,000 in funds, $20,000 of which has already been spent on finishing the deck out the deck project at Mountain View Manor. Representatives from childcare programs in Petersburg wrote letters to the assembly requesting ARPA funds to recoup losses caused by the COVID-19...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly’s attempt to abate a public health crisis in Petersburg Wednesday night went nowhere. Creating an ordinance to bring the rule of law into play failed. With no enforcement there will be little change. Possibly, but unlikely, the discussion carried out at Wednesday night’s meeting could change some minds, but it’s doubtful. Given the comments voiced by a majority of the speakers Wednesday night, no amount of peer reviewed science or proven medical knowledge is going to change the minds of those who choose to ignor...
The Petersburg High School volleyball team’s North Seeding Tournament was canceled last weekend due to the high number of active COVID-19 cases in Petersburg according to Activities Director Jaime Cabral. PHS was set to host the tournament and welcome Double-A schools, and some Single-A schools who opted up a division, from across Southeast Alaska to Petersburg. According to Cabral, the schools did not want to risk exposure and jeopardize their seasons due to the high level of community spread. He wrote that it was not an easy decision to m...