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The members of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department elected Dan Bird this month to replace Jim Stolpe as fire chief. Stolpe served two three-year terms as chief, and he intends to continue his volunteering career with PVFD for as long as he is able - though he plans to let his EMT certification expire in the coming year and will slow down a little when it comes to rushing into burning buildings. "After 45 years of doing it, I figure it's time for that younger generation to pick that ball up...
Earlier this month, the Petersburg Borough Assembly passed an ordinance updating the sales tax chapter of municipal code to clarify exemptions and rules for businesses, modernize definitions and organize information for better transparency - borough officials emphasized that the ordinance does not introduce new taxes or exemptions, nor does it change how sales tax is applied locally. The amendment highlights existing information about sales tax into clear new sections and adds definitions that w...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly adopted a few ordinances on Monday - one of which will increase and establish certain charges for residents of Mountain View Manor Assisted Living Facility, and another that clarifies the process of selling borough-owned tidelands. ORDINANCE #2024-20 Beginning in 2025, new residents moving into the Mountain View Manor Assisted Living Facility will pay a one-time Community Facility Fee of $2,000. Proceeds will go toward maintenance and repair of the facility. If a...
Lifelong gymnast and founder of Fitness Fundamentals Madeleine Valentine is leaping into a new chapter for her business. After three years of operating her gymnastics and fitness school from various rented, temporary spaces around Petersburg, Valentine has secured a permit from the borough to convert a large detached garage on her recently purchased property into a permanent location for her classes. Finding a consistent space to house the program has been a challenge. Valentine explored several...
WRANGELL - Kids keep asking John Schank if he's Santa. "I can't lie to them," he laughed. "But I say, 'I'm just his helper.'" John Schank is 72. He has a big white beard and has been driving for Lynden Transport for 49 years. He and Fred Austin, another longtime Lynden driver, are transporting the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree and its 82-foot sled - trailer - from Seattle to Washington, D.C. This is Schank's second time driving The People's Tree from Alaska to Washington, D.C. He was selected to d...
Over the last two summers, U.S. Forest Service crews have made headway to improve the Petersburg Lake Trail on Kupreanof Island — upgrading the boardwalk, brushing the path and cutting through fallen trees by hand. The 10.5 miles meandering from the dock up to the Petersburg Lake Cabin site is now mostly passable — but a beaver dam complex remains an obstacle, flooding about a mile of the path in the middle of the hike. Petersburg Lake Trail had been largely impassable due to degradation fro...
Folks filling seats in the Northern Lights auditorium next week are in for "a fun, quick-paced show that they'll walk away ... with a smile on their face," said Tiffany Glass, of the Mitkof Mummers theater group. Nearly a year since their last performance, the Mitkof Mummers will return to the stage next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for their fall performance of "The Snow White Variety Show." On stage, Seven dwarfs, each possessing a distinct personality, will recount their versions of the...
Petersburg residents are buzzing about the intense rumble that swept the area late last Thursday night. The sound —which to some folks seemed like an airplane flying just overhead, or felt like a tree fell into their home— was the roar of thunder resulting from lightning striking near Mitkof Island around 11 p.m. Nov. 7. Grant Smith of the National Weather Service in Juneau told the Pilot that overnight satellite data detected four strikes of lightning near the Petersburg area around the tim...
A fisherman, who also happens to be a member of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department, was checking on his boat in Petersburg's South Harbor Wednesday evening, Nov. 13, when he smelled smoke. He investigated and saw flames through a gally window of the FV Carol B — a tender docked a few stalls away from his own boat. He called it in, and the fire department along with harbor crews mounted a fast response. No one was aboard the Carol B and no one was injured in the fire or the response, confir...
An acre of muskeg along Petersburg's busy Haugen Drive has been slowly transforming into a parking lot over the last month. It's owned by Petersburg's tribe, the Petersburg Indian Association, or PIA. Tribal Administrator Jalyn Pomrenke said the end goal isn't just a parking lot at the corner of 12th Street, but there is no specific plan yet for what to build beyond parking. "That would be something for the council and the tribe to decide on eventually," she said. "You know, finding funding is...
Federal prosecutors are recommending that an Alaska fisher serve six months in prison, pay a $25,000 fine and be banned from commercial fishing for a year after lying about fishing catches and trying to kill an endangered sperm whale. Dugan Paul Daniels pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor earlier this year, and prosecutors released their sentencing recommendation on Tuesday. According to court documents, Daniels became infuriated in March 2020 when a whale began taking fish from his longline fishing gear and damaging equipment. This kind...
A new ordinance being considered by the Petersburg Borough Assembly proposes adding a new section about "inactive vessels" to the municipal harbors section of borough code. Adopting the new language would impose certain requirements —including storage fees, a marine condition survey, and proof of insurance— on vessels that don't leave their moorage stall in the harbor for 12 consecutive months or longer. The ordinance aims to encourage active, regular use of vessels that are moored in bor...
American Cruise Lines —operators of a small cruise ship that frequents Petersburg during the summer— is working with the borough to design and potentially build a dedicated cruise ship docking space at the end of Dock Street. Having a guaranteed place for the cruise line to dock could help the harbor department to better manage vessel congestion in the inner harbor. Splitting the cost with American Cruise Lines (ACL), the borough has hired PND Engineering for conceptual drawings to assess wha...
More Alaskans voted to repeal the state's open primary and ranked choice voting system than voted against the measure, among the roughly 70% of the votes counted through early Wednesday. There were 120,597 votes to pass Ballot Measure 2 and 115,110 against it, though it remained too close to call, with a rough estimate of 100,000 ballots left to count. Ballot Measure 2 would repeal the voting system that's been in place since voters approved it in 2020. If the measure passes, political parties... Full story
Republican challenger Nick Begich III was ahead of Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska's U.S. House race with more than 90% of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning. The final result likely won't be known until Nov. 20, when Alaska's election workers are set to tabulate results in the ranked-choice election. Statewide, Begich had 49.66% of the over 255,000 votes counted as of Wednesday morning. Peltola had 45.27%. If the top vote-getter does not receive over 50% of the vote,...
A borough-owned parcel near Sandy Beach will undergo a rezoning process before it is auctioned for sale. The Petersburg Borough Assembly weighed an application to purchase the vacant 2.3-acre lot at 1020 Sandy Beach Road and, with a contested vote, decided the parcel should be rezoned prior to selling it. Rezoning the lot would make it eligible for developing more single-family homes and align it with the zoning in the surrounding neighborhood along Sandy Beach Road. Now the parcel will be sent...
The U.S. Forest Service Petersburg Ranger District is temporarily moving office operations to Scow Bay while the downtown headquarters is renovated. Work on the downtown office —including a complete renovation of the interior of the building— is estimated to start in January 2025 and could last two years. Until then, the Harris Building —at 123 Scow Bay Loop Road— will be the de facto Petersburg District office location where the public can meet with USFS staff. Work at the downtown office site...
On October 31, a Petersburg jury found a resident guilty of sexually assaulting a woman. The verdict comes down after an investigation that was set back for several years by the pandemic and backlog at the state’s only forensic lab. 31-year-old Kelsey McCay now faces up to 99 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman at a party in the fall of 2019. Over the course of the two-day trial, the jury heard from the victim and several witnesses. They deliberated for less than half an hour before returning their guilty verdict. The case was p...
Republican Donald Trump again won Alaska in the presidential election, the Associated Press announced on Wednesday. Trump had a 15.2-percentage-point lead over Democrat Kamala Harris, with roughly 70% of the state’s votes counted. Alaska was one of two states, along with Maine, that held a ranked choice election for president. However, the ranked choices of voters for trailing candidates would only be considered if no candidate received more than 50% of the first-preference votes. Trump was on track to exceed that level. Alaska has voted for t... Full story
The proposed summer 2025 Alaska Marine Highway System schedule shows the same level of service to Petersburg as in the past several years: one ship serving the mainline route, with one stop northbound and one southbound each week. The Columbia will stop in Petersburg northbound on Sundays, on its run from Bellingham, Washington, through Southeast, then turn around in Skagway and stop on its southbound route on Wednesdays. It’s the same schedule as the Kennicott is running this year. The state ferry system is scheduled to pull the Kennicott out...
While planning and hoping for as much as $2 billion to replace its shrinking fleet of older ships over the next 20 years, the Alaska Marine Highway System also is looking at smaller things it can do to improve service in the near term. That will include Wi-Fi service on the ships; possibly more offerings or expanded bars; maybe even putting gift shops on the vessels. Federal money will pay for installing Wi-Fi. Increased bar service and possible gift shops will depend on whether the state ferry system can cover the costs, said Sam Dapcevich,...
Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) filled two positions in October, hiring Jalyn Pomrenke to the Tribal Administrator position and Hillary MacDonald as Director of Finances. "I am excited to have this opportunity to listen to and uplift the voices of tribal citizens in Petersburg," Pomrenke said in a message to the Pilot. Born and raised in Petersburg, Pomrenke has a career in residential property management and real estate, working at Petersburg Properties LLC and at PIA in her previous role...
Petersburg Borough is set to request over $3.5 million in state loans to help fund the long-anticipated vessel haul-out and work yard project at Scow Bay. The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed a resolution on Oct. 21, authorizing the loan application to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) for the Scow Bay infrastructure project. It passed unanimously in a 6-0 vote, with assembly member Bob Lynn excused. The borough will apply to ADEC's revolving fund program for...
The differences between Democratic incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola and her Republican challenger Nick Begich were on full display last Monday during the final planned debate of Alaska’s U.S. House race. Begich, a businessman who lost twice to Peltola in 2022, is again vying for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat against Peltola, a former state lawmaker who won the seat in 2022 after leading for several years an intertribal fish commission. The outcome of the race could have far-reaching impacts in determining control of a closely divided chamber, dra...
An updated set of procedures for future sales of borough-owned tidelands could be codified this November. The Petersburg Borough Assembly is considering a new ordinance that would update municipal code to clarify the process of selling borough-owned tidelands and establish that such sales would be considered at no less than the appraised value —rather than the assessed value— of the land. The ordinance would add not one, not two, but three new sections under the Tidelands chapter of borough mun...
