Sorted by date Results 1376 - 1400 of 6791
The Salvation Army's signature red kettles raised $13,911.30 for its social services budget during the holiday season according to Major Loni Upshaw. Though it was about $6,000 less than last year's total, Upshaw was still surprised with how high the final tally was and said that it was only $90 dollars short of the goal given to the local branch by the Salvation Army's headquarters. The Petersburg Vessel Owners Association, which had volunteers ringing the bells on Christmas Eve, topped the...
Birders canvassed Mitkof Island on December 18 as part of the National Audubon Society's annual Christmas Bird Count as they looked to collect data on local bird populations. It was a smaller group of people than usual according to Brad Hunter, the coordinator of Petersburg's bird count. Of the 23 people who participated, 10 people watched bird feeders while 13 split up to cover the group's regular routes near Hungry Point, Sandy Beach, the Beachcomber Lodge, and Blind River Rapids. "It's a lot...
Petersburg residents took up shovels, flashlights, and rain boots Tuesday in a day that saw freshly fallen snow followed by a power outage and a broken water main flooding the streets of town. 8.5 inches of snow fell Tuesday, setting a new record for most snowfall on December 21 of any year. So far, Petersburg has accumulated a total of 74.3 inches of snow this winter according to the National Weather Service, well above the average for this point in the season of 21.3 inches. While people outsi... Full story
The Borough Assembly passed Ordinance #2021-18 in its third and final reading which will increase electric utility rates to account for an increase in Southeast Alaska Power Agency rates and the cost of debt service for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric Refurbishment and the Scow Bay Standby Diesel Generation projects. The ordinance was proposed following the results of a rate study conducted by D. Hittle & Associated and passed unanimously in its first two readings. Utility Director Karl Hagerman...
The new cabin at the end of the Raven's Roost Trail was opened for reservations on December 16 and has already seen use according to Cabin and Trails Program Manager Paul Olsen with the U.S. Forest Service. Built by Rainforest Contracting, it is larger than the previous cabin and about 1.2 miles closer to the trailhead which was also reconstructed to make it more accessible to hikers. The new cabin is more family-oriented than the previous one, which was showing signs of decay. It also features...
During Monday's assembly meeting the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted against Resolution #2021-17 which would have requested the option of home mail delivery by the United States Postal Service. The resolution was presented as a possible solution to ongoing issues at the short-staffed post office which has seen long wait times for package pickup and decreased window hours. Assembly Member Dave Kensinger said he brought forward the resolution because of the time people and businesses are having...
Plows and shovels became commonplace in Petersburg last week after record-breaking snowfall covered the town while Public Works, the Alaska Department of Transportation, businesses, homeowners, and everyone in between cleared roads and paths to keep the snow at bay. Last year only a total of 9.1 inches of accumulated snowfall had been seen by this time-a drastic contrast to this winter which, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau, has seen the third-highest snowfall on record in Pe...
The board that oversees Alaska's multibillion-dollar investment portfolio has fired Angela Rodell as chief executive officer of the Permanent Fund Corp. Legislative leaders and Finance Committee members are upset at the surprise decision and plan to hold hearings to ask questions. The fund this past fiscal year grew more than 25%, with record returns on its investments. The board on Dec. 9 voted 5-1 to remove Rodell. The five votes came from members last appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The...
The Petersburg Medical Center' COVID-19 Dashboard reported four active cases as of Monday, the last time the dashboard was updated, with 18 tests results pending. PMC moved to yellow status on Monday as a result of the decrease in cases and continues to encourage physical distancing, masking, and other mitigation measures. Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 347 new cases from December 13 to December 14 in the state, along with two deaths and 12 new resident...
The Petersburg School Board held a discussion on the district's current COVID-19 protocols during Tuesday's meeting and agreed to hold a work session on potential changes in January. The district has required universal masking for the majority of the year due to continued COVID-19 outbreaks both in the district and in the community. The district began the school year with two weeks of universal masking as part of its reopening plan and the board later amended the plan during its September...
The newly opened Evergreen Market is looking to offer new options in a changed world as challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic shift the store's thinking. Replacing the old hardware store, the market looks to be a fluid store that can adapt to supply chain issues and stock items that are not easy to find in Petersburg. Half of the market focuses on offering healthier food options for those who want to eat better or have specialized dietary needs. "...the thing we get asked for the most...
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...
JUNEAU (AP) — Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Monday he plans to propose as part of his upcoming budget that the state spend $5 million in federal dollars to support tourism marketing efforts amid the ongoing pandemic, and additional funds to prepare state parks for visitors next year. He said the hope is for a return to “robust” tourism activity after a difficult two years. Speaking in Anchorage, Dunleavy said people are “starting to learn to live with (the coronavirus) … understanding that it’s not going to go away, but there’s ways to protect onese...
Haines - Klukwan resident and Diné (Navajo) artist Clara Natonabah wrote and sang a Navajo song that was featured this month in a Disney Junior Shake Your Tale with Chip 'N Dale music video. The song, titled "Hózhóogoo Dahwiit'áál" (We Will Sing in Beauty), was released on YouTube and appears in the cartoon where the popular Disney cartoon characters dance to Natonabah's song. Natonabah was chosen by Disney to celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November. "I was asked to part...
WRANGELL - A Wrangell company that makes bath and body care products has nothing to do with fish, but that's OK because it won this year's beyond-the-plate award at the Alaska Symphony of Seafood competition. Waterbody won for its Deep Blue Sea Bath Soak, which counts Pacific sea salt and Alaska bull kelp among its ingredients. Angie Flickinger started the business in 2015 as Gathered and Grown Botanicals. The idea began when she wanted to give handcrafted soap as a gift. She rebranded in 2020 a...
Beginning Friday, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, with the help of many organizations in Petersburg, distributed approximately 1,400 pounds of meat from sublegal moose through the burger bank program. 1,960 pounds of meat from seven moose harvested during this year's hunt were put into the Community Cold Storage earlier this year and will be given to people in need according to Sergeant Cody Litster. According to Litster, antler restrictions allow everyone to participate in the hunt as opposed to a...
The Borough Assembly voted to extend an emergency ordinance requiring masking in indoor public buildings during Monday's meeting. The previous emergency ordinance was passed during an emergency meeting on November 5 in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Petersburg which was at one point the highest per capita outbreak in the country. The original ordinance required people to wear masks in indoors settings that are open to the public including businesses with some exceptions such as a medical...
The Borough Assembly held a discussion during Monday's meeting on the continuing issues at the post office and the possibility of home delivery. The assembly has held multiple discussions on the U.S. Postal Service's operations in Petersburg in the past, including at its last meeting, while the community continues to wrestle with limited service window hours, long lines, and the lack of masking enforcement in the building. A draft resolution was included in this week's assembly packet...
The active COVID-19 cases count fell to five on Thursday with two positives in the previous seven days and 11 tests pending results according to the Petersburg Medical Center’s COVID-19 Dashboard. Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 441 new cases from December 6-7 in the state and three deaths. According to the DHSS, 56% of Alaskans aged five or older are fully vaccinated while 63% of residents in Petersburg Borough are fully vaccinated. The Petersburg School District r...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht presented the assembly with a list of capital projects to consider for FY23 during Monday's meeting in hopes of obtaining funding through the state and federal sources. The list grouped projects by their associated departments such as Harbor, Parks and Recreation, and Public Works and prioritized them within each grouping. It also included some projects associated with the Petersburg Medical Center and the Petersburg School District. The priority list,...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave a report on the latest COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the hospital during the PMC Hospital Board's December 2 meeting. According to Hofstetter, PMC saw over 230 individual Petersburg residents with COVID-19 in November. It was the largest outbreak Petersburg has seen since the start of the pandemic, caused in part by the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant. Approximately 16% visits to the ER in November were for COVID-19 and...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board discussed how the most recent COVID-19 outbreak has impacted PMC's operations and finances during its December 2 meeting. "When we scale everything up and use all our resources and have to focus 100% for care for COVID, it detracts from our routine care, it detracts from taking care of patients," PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter said. He was concerned that the cost of staffing and resources to take care of COVID-19 patients, people avoiding the ER, and other...
The Petersburg High School and Mitkof Middle School bands are preparing for the Petersburg School District's upcoming winter concert with a new director at the helm. Charlie O'Brien moved from Chicago to Petersburg in November to serve as the school's band director after previous director Matt Lenhard moved to Ketchikan. O'Brien began his musical journey in the fifth grade when he started playing the trumpet before switching to the euphonium in seventh grade. Over the years, he also learned to...
The Alaska Housing Finance Corp. is continuing its monthslong program of sending out rental and utility assistance payments - including over $800,000 to households in the Petersburg Borough as of last week - drawing on federal pandemic relief aid allocated to the states. As of last Friday, Alaska continued among the leaders nationwide in distributing the aid to households hurt by a loss of income due to the pandemic. AHFC reported it had sent out almost $193 million in payments, about 80% of...
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