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During the Petersburg Borough Assembly's meeting on Monday, Mayor Mark Jensen reported that he and Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht recently took part in a conversation with two representatives from the U.S. Postal Service about the ongoing problems at the post office. The assembly has previously discussed staffing issues and the resulting long wait times at the post office which culminated in the passage of a resolution requesting a formal discussion with the USPS about solutions and...
On the mask mandate To The Editor: I wanted to take a minute to share my thoughts on the proposed emergency mask mandate. I believe at this point, two years into this pandemic, that we are doing more harm than good by trying to universally mandate the public’s actions. I believe that no one intentionally is trying to infect others with Covid and beyond that we are all capable of making decisions to protect ourselves and our families if we are feeling vulnerable. Taking away personal choice, and creating situations that promote division and d...
WRANGELL - It's one thing to experience Alaska's waterways from a ferry, cruise ship or even a fishing boat, but what about a Jet Ski, sitting atop a couple hundred horsepower of a thousand-pound jet pump with handlebars? One company is doing just that, guiding tours via personal watercraft, from Seattle to Juneau with stops in Wrangell and other Southeast communities. Dangerous Waters Adventures was founded in 2018 by Steven Moll, offering thrill seekers a chance to experience the Alaska and...
Breakthrough COVID-19 cases found in Alaska April 30 Between Feb. 1 and March 31, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services identified 152 positive cases of COVID-19 among people in the state who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report from DHSS. About 74 percent of the vaccine breakthrough cases, or 112 individuals, were among people who had received the Pfizer vaccine, according to the report. Thirty-eight percent of the breakthrough cases had received the Moderna... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center Board reviewed the recent COVID-19 outbreak during their July 22 meeting. Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom presented a report on the increase of COVID cases in July. According to Bacom’s report, the two contributing factors were the arrival of the American Cruise Lines vessel Constellation and the Independence Day celebrations. Four passengers and two crew members from the Constellation with positive tests isolated in Petersburg while recovering f...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A fully vaccinated passenger on an Alaska cruise tested positive for COVID-19 and received “private air transportation” home, according to Celebrity Cruises. A passenger on Sunday reported cold-like symptoms to the ship’s medical personnel and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, the cruise line said in a statement Tuesday. The person was isolated in the ship’s medical facility for monitoring. The company said it did contact tracing and tested the person’s close contacts, who were all negative for the virus. The pers...
Incident Commander Karl Hagerman gave the Borough Assembly possibly the last update of the Emergency Operations Center actions ahead of June 30, the date when all local COVID-19 related mandates and protocols come to an end. The Local Disaster Emergency Declaration will be terminated at 11:59 P.M. on June 30. Additionally, the Emergency Operations Center has been directed by the Borough Assembly to stand by until the end of the month. Petersburg's sole local health mandate, which requires...
The National Geographic Quest was spotted sailing north through the Wrangell Narrows on May 25. Viking Travel cofounder Dave Berg said the cruise ship was on its way to Juneau to begin preparing for their upcoming summer sailings. The cruise ship is scheduled to dock in Petersburg on June 10 for the first time this season....
Liv Husvik-Perschon, right, and Heidi Husvik-Lyons, left, were this year's Norwegian-American award winners. Together, the two sisters have kept Norwegian traditional foods and customs alive in Petersburg through their catering business, their cruise ship cookie gatherings and the impartation of their cooking skills to others in the community....
Alaska’s lone seafood marketing arm gets zero budget from the state and to date, has received no pandemic funds. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is hoping to get a breather from the more than $1 billion coming to Alaska in the latest round of federal relief dollars under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The influx also provides $518 million of non-discretionary funds to Alaska and $220 million for public health and safety, workforce development, education, transportation, and emergency management. ASMI put in a $20 million request two m...
The Petersburg Borough has set up two public restrooms in the Municipal Building parking lot ahead of the Little Norway Festival. The restrooms will be open from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. and be cleaned twice a day throughout the festival, according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. They will then be locked up until the start of the cruise ship season in June, though they may reopen sooner if the borough can come up with a workable plan to regularly service them. The Borough Assembly approved the...
The Petersburg Borough will have to wait until June 2 to see its first cruise ship of the season following a change to the local tour ship schedule. In December, eight ships were expected to make a combined 85 stops in Petersburg. As of April 10, seven ships will be making a total of 66 stops. The Alaskan Dream will be the first cruise ship to stop in Petersburg on June 2. Previously, National Geographic's Venture was going to dock in town and kick off the local cruise ship season on May 11....
The local Emergency Operations Center will be presenting the Borough Assembly with recommendations to change some local health mandates at their meeting on Monday. Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said the EOC's recommendations tie into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention move towards loosening COVID-19 protocols for Americans who are fully vaccinated against the virus. The recommendations also come at a time when Petersburg is reporting zero active cases of COVID-19 for the first tim...
The Canadian government issued an order on Feb. 4 to prohibit cruise ships in all Canadian waters until Feb. 28, 2022, but Dave Berg, cofounder of Viking Travel, said the restriction would only affect one cruise line expected to port in Petersburg this summer. Victory Cruise Lines' foreign-flagged ship Ocean Victory is scheduled to port in Petersburg eight times this season, with the first stop expected on July 17. According to the Jones Act, which regulates maritime commerce in the United...
Cruise ships are expected to make 85 port calls in Petersburg between May 11 and Sept. 18, according to the current 2021 Petersburg cruise ship schedule. Following the cancelled ports of call in Petersburg and Alaska last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave Berg said tourists are eager to make their way back up to America's Last Frontier. "We're getting lots of calls from people who want to visit Alaska on ferries or with tours," said Berg, who cofounded Viking Travel. "The number...
During a discussion on the possibility of testing the water quality in the Petersburg Harbor at the Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday, Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said the Department of Environmental Conservation is already scheduled to come to town this summer to do just that. Mayor Mark Jensen said he and other mayors in Southeast Alaska lobbied Sen. Bert Stedman to pass legislation that would test the water quality of the region's aquatic traffic lanes. He said fishermen were complaini...
Predictability and dependability. More than anything else, that's what the communities served by the Alaska Marine Highway System need. The communities need to know the schedules further in advance so that they can plan school sports, scholastic and musical events, regional festivals, and confidently market to tourists in a post-COVID world. Residents need the dependability of ferry service for medical appointments, commerce and shopping, vehicle repair appointments at dealers, and of course...
This year's borough assembly candidates took the stage on Sept. 24 to answer questions ranging from the borough's COVID-19 response to the tourism industry in this year's candidate forum. The candidates answered questions from representatives of KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Marc Martinsen, Dave Kensinger and incumbents Jeff Meucci and Brandi Thynes were each asked the same questions and had two minutes to respond. The order of the candidates changed with each question that was asked. The forum...
Vessels arriving in Petersburg Harbor with non-residents onboard will have to continue to seek approval from the borough public health officer before docking through Dec. 31 under public health mandate #5, which was extended in a special meeting on Monday by the assembly. Public health mandate #5 requires interstate travelers aboard vessels, including passengers and crew, be screened to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 prior to arrival. Borough Public Health Officer Mark Tuccillo will...
American Cruise Lines has cancelled their voyages through Southeast Alaska this summer leaving Lindblad Expeditions as the last cruise line with port calls in Petersburg this summer. ACL had originally planned to make about 11 stops in Petersburg this summer, with the American Constellation making the cruise line's first stop at the end of June, according to a statement made to the Pilot in May by ACL CEO Charles B. Robertson. Paul Taiclet, vice president of ACL, said on Monday the decision to...
July 2, 1920 The big party of Shriners who are making the tour of Southeastern Alaska this week on the steamers Jefferson and Spokane were entertained by the people of Petersburg on their way north on Tuesday. The entertainment took the form of a luncheon served at the S. of N. Hall, the main part of which consisted of fresh shrimp salad. For several days before the arrival the men and women were busy decorating the hall with bear skins, goatskins, deerskins, fox skins, mounted heads and when the Shriners were here the hall presented a very att...
The borough assembly approved the Emergency Operations Center to answer a survey from the Alaska Municipal League regarding the presence of cruise ships in Alaska and also heard concerns over cruise ships arriving in port. The assembly had the option to hold a special meeting to provide input on the survey, but the assembly members felt comfortable with the EOC answering the questions. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said the communities at a recent AML meeting were cautious and showed...
Petersburg Public Health Nurse Erin Michael warned the public that as people's lives change and adapt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they can begin to feel depressed and suicidal. At the COVID-19 community update on Wednesday, May 27, Micheal said the state reported an increase in emergency room visits related to suicide. She said it's not uncommon for people to feel anxious or depressed as they deal with the pandemic. Some specific causes of depression brought on by the pandemic can be a lack...
American Cruise Lines has 11 stops planned for Petersburg this season, with the first docking taking place at the end of June, according to ACL CEO Charles B. Robertson. ACL's American Constellation is planning to dock in Petersburg on June 21 and June 29, the first of the cruise lines' expected stops in town. The two sailings will begin in Juneau and make their way counterclockwise through Southeast Alaska. Nine more stops are planned in Petersburg through the summer, with the last trip being...
WRANGELL — It was a relatively light meeting of the Wrangell Port Commission last Thursday evening, May 7. There was only one agenda item for the commission to consider, a request by GCI to relocate the landing for a submarine cable. The telecommunication company currently has a submarine cable come onto the beach next to the community garden area, near City Park. From there, according to the meeting’s agenda packet, the cable hits aerial lines and goes to its hub building, and also leaves the beach area and runs towards Petersburg. How...
