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The 47th annual Oktoberfest Art Share event will return to Petersburg once again this Saturday, Oct. 28. When the doors of the Petersburg Community Gym open at 10 a.m., attendees can explore the variety of homemade food, handmade crafts, and much more until the event concludes at 3 p.m. The Muskeg Maleriers have facilitated the event for about 41 years, taking over for the Petersburg Arts Council, the original founders. As for what Saturday's event will offer, Muskeg Maleriers member Sally...
Petersburg's Clausen Memorial Museum has a new museum director. Maureen Floyd was hired this week for the role long-held by Cindi Lagoudakis. "I've got big shoes to fill, [Lagoudakis] was a great director before me ... I'm hoping that I can learn through her and different people ... I am open and eager," Floyd told the Pilot. Floyd moved to Petersburg about four years ago. This August, she walked in the doors of the museum hoping to learn more about Norwegian pioneer Peter Buschmann, who had...
An unusual white raven has been seen repeatedly around Anchorage in recent days, captivating birders, photographers and amateur wildlife enthusiasts. "It looks like a leucistic bird, so a bird that's lacking melanin in its feathers," said Lisa Pajot, a volunteer with a local avian rehabilitation organization, Bird TLC, who spent 20 years working as a bird biologist. The condition is slightly different from albinism, marked by full white cover and red eyes. The raven spotted in Midtown Anchorage...
On the north end of Blind River Rapids, a large boulder stands amidst the rushing water - long used by the public for a popular spot to sport fish for hatchery salmon. The fishing rock is located on the banks of a parcel of land owned by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office, which the state created to fund mental health care in Alaska through selling the trust's property. On Sept. 13, the 4.46 acre parcel was put up for sale at a minimum bid of over $102 thousand. During the Borough...
The garden in front of the Petersburg Public Library has the first stage of a new art installation in the works - blending into the background, awaiting the focal pieces. Josef Quitslund welded an intricate fence last month, just "putting up the framework" for what will soon become a school of salmon swimming up Haugen drive. Around a hundred salmon-shaped pieces of colorfully painted plywood will hang from the rebar structure - moving with the wind and swimming through the garden midair....
The ordinance to rezone Skylark Park property Lot GL 14 from Public Use to Single-Family Mobile Home (SFMH) was unanimously approved by the Borough Assembly once again in its second reading of three on Oct. 16. However, before the roll call, the assembly agreed to amend the ordinance. Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh proposed the amendment that added a condition to the rezoning and dictates a definition for manufactured homes. This does not codify an official definition or alter any rezoning...
Bystanders in downtown Petersburg watched through the windows of Petersburg IGA as wildlife troopers and police captured a young bear inside the grocery store on Tuesday afternoon. Alaska State Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Cody Litster told the Pilot that he received an urgent call from staff at the downtown grocery store and left promptly, notifying the Alaska Department of Fish and Game along the way, with the Petersburg Police Department following close behind. Trooper Josh Spann and Sgt. Litster...
The Mitkof Mummers are setting the stage for their upcoming play, "McQuadle: A Dragon's Tale." With performance dates of November 9, 10, and 11 just weeks away, director Tiffany Glass aims to be off-book soon, meaning everyone should have their lines memorized. Three performances, instead of the usual two, is part of a new Mummer's fundraising goal: to replace the worn-out seats in the auditorium. The Mummers' costume sale in the Elk's Ballroom earlier this month was also for that long term goal...
A statewide effort to build up Alaska’s mariculture industry is looking to expand production at the same time it grows the market, particularly for kelp. “Everyone talks of the chicken-and-the-egg situation,” Juliana Leggitt, mariculture program manager at the Southeast Conference, said of what comes first: More kelp or more buyers. “There are definitely challenges in both.” The Alaska Mariculture Cluster, a consortium led by the Southeast Conference, has $49 million in federal money and $15 million in cash and in-kind matching funds to use ove...
WRANGELL - A seal-processing workshop hosted by the Wrangell Cooperative Association brought knowledge about traditional subsistence practices to the community. During a series of classes on Oct. 6, 7 and 8, students helped harvest the meat, fat, skin, oil and intestines from two seals and learned how each byproduct could be prepared or stored. Instructor Paul Marks II learned how to harvest and process seals from his family in Kake, particularly his grandmother. "I would bring in fish, crab,...
HAINES - More than $3.5 million worth of Haines real estate - most of it in the downtown area - went up for sale last week, surprising business owners and public officials who worried about what the sale might mean for the vibrancy of the city center. The properties include Alpenglow Pizza, Thor's Gym and Eagles Nest Apartments, and are owned by Chris Thorgesen, who purchased most of them about 10 years ago. "It's obviously a concern," said mayor-elect Tom Morphet. "Chris single-handedly kind...
After a period when COVID-19 restrictions halted the spread of other respiratory diseases, Alaska had a big increase in influenza cases, state data shows. The overall influenza case load during the 2022-23 season was much higher than in prior years, reports a new bulletin issued by the epidemiology section of the Alaska Division of Public Health. Most notably, cases spiked much earlier in the season, in November and December, before dropping. There were five influenza deaths over the season, all among adults, according to the bulletin, the late... Full story
Jobs are available in Alaska, but the workforce to fill them isn’t there. A report from the Association of Alaska School Boards linked it to underfunding public schools — especially guidance counselors and guidance programs. The report noted that one in five young adults in Alaska isn’t connected to school or work. Emily Ferry, a coordinator for the Association of Alaska Schools Boards, said schools and Tribes need support for these programs. “It’s not surprising when you invest less, your return on investment is not there, it’s not the sam... Full story
The five-person board in charge of drawing Alaska’s legislative districts will pay $400,000 to settle financial claims brought by a group of East Anchorage plaintiffs who successfully challenged the boundaries of Eagle River’s state Senate district last year. In total, the state will have paid more than $600,000 to settle financial claims resulting from what the Alaska Supreme Court called “an unconstitutional political gerrymander.” Two smaller financial claims by other plaintiffs remain unresolved, but Friday’s decision by the redistric... Full story
On Monday, Clerk Debbie Thompson and Deputy Clerk Becky Regula opened and counted the final votes for Petersburg's 2023 municipal election, as candidates and their supporters anxiously watched in assembly chambers and listened via the live broadcast on KFSK radio. A total of 12 out of 24 uncounted absentee ballots reached the clerk's desk before the election was certified on Monday, Oct. 9. The four questioned votes were determined invalid by the state and did not count toward the election. This...
Assembly: Rob Schwartz – 698 Jeigh Stanton Gregor – 597 Rick Perkins – 596 Jeff Meucci – 548 Hospital Board: (Two 3-year terms) Jerod Cook – 901 Marlene Cushing – 808 Don Koenigs – 442 (One 1-year term) Mika Hasbrouck – 602 Jim Roberts – 527 Public Safety Advisory Board: Mark Tuccillo – 649 Stanley Hjort – 412 Jacob Slaven – 403 Tony Vinson – 391 Russell Thynes – 324 Library Board: (Three 3-year terms) Mary Ellen Anderson – 850 Lizzie Thompson – 734 Marilyn Menish-Meucci – 514 Tina Buschm...
At the regular Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 10, the commission considered the rezoning and sale of five lots on Odin Street and one parcel near Skylark Way at the request of Rock'n'Road Construction and Skylark LLC owners Sig and Ambre Burrell. The Burrells put forward the request for the borough to rezone and sell the properties with the intention to purchase and develop them. "If we can buy these lots, put the utilities in, turn around and sell them, put the utilities...
Alaska Seaplanes has decided to shut down its Wrangell and Petersburg operations, citing poor economics. Its last flights to the communities are scheduled for Oct. 31. "Unfortunately, it wasn't financially sustainable with the ridership," Carl Ramseth, general manager, said Thursday, Oct. 5. "It hurts to pull out of those two communities." Alaska Seaplanes started scheduled service into Petersburg in spring 2021, with daily flights from Juneau, and added a Sitka-Petersburg-Wrangell-Sitka flight...
At the Alaska Hospital and Health Care Association (AHHA) conference in Girdwood last month, Petersburg Medical Center Long Term Care received the top award of Excellence in Quality for the 2023 Nursing Home Quality Awards. The Alaska Nursing Home Quality Achievement Award was bestowed to PMC by Mountain Pacific, a nonprofit corporation that oversees the quality of care for Medicare and Medicaid members through federal and state contracts, as a Gold Pan award for the quality of care delivered... Full story
The Alaska Division of Public Assistance has temporarily stopped dropping people from Medicaid for paperwork-related reasons after thousands of low-income Alaskans — including families with children — lost health coverage that they may still be eligible to receive. Nearly 14,000 households have lost their Medicaid coverage in the past two months. Almost 265,000 households were enrolled in the program as recently as April, before the state embarked on the federally required review of participants’ eligibility. The state Division of Public Assis...
WRANGELL — While ground work is underway at the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) subdivision upland from Shoemaker Bay, borough officials are at work researching options for how the residential lots — as many as 42 — will be sold. The sale is expected by next summer or fall. “People are excited about it,” said Kate Thomas, the borough’s economic development director. The community has never seen so many building lots come up for sale at one time, she said in an interview Friday, Oct. 6. “This is a new opportunity for us.” Borough officials...
The unofficial results of the Petersburg 2023 Municipal Election are in. When the voting window closed at 8 o'clock Tuesday night, 1250 voters had cast their ballots. The preliminary results amounted to a strikingly close race for positions in the Borough Assembly and Public Safety Board - with a difference of five votes between assembly candidates and nine votes separating public safety board contenders. 24 absentee ballots remain uncounted, along with four questioned ballots. Borough Clerk...
October 3, 2023 Total ballots cast - 1250 Assembly (Two 3-year terms) Rob Schwartz – 695 Rick Perkins – 593 Jeigh Stanton Gregor – 588 Jeff Meucci – 540 Hospital Board (Two 3-year terms) Jerod Cook – 891 Marlene Cushing – 798 Don Koenigs – 441 Write-in – 8 (One 1-year term) Mika Hasbrouck – 597 Jim Roberts – 519 Write-in – 6 Public Safety Advisory Board (Two 3-year terms) Mark Tuccillo – 641 Stanley Hjort – 409 Jacob Slaven – 400 Tony Vinson – 388 Russell Thynes – 324 Library Board (Three 3-...
Alaska Airlines would like to improve passenger flow at its Wrangell and Petersburg airport terminals. The idea of making any changes to the buildings was put on hold during the pandemic. "We've got to find a way to improve the passenger flow in both those terminals," Scott Habberstad, the airline's managing director for Alaska, said last week. The tight space for people waiting to board after they clear TSA security screening creates a logjam on heavy traveler days that can slow down the...
In the final moments of Dave Kensinger's last Borough Assembly meeting Monday, September 18, lighthearted joking capped the session just before adjourning. It was time for assembly member comments when vice-mayor Bob Lynn spoke up to address something very important: "Well, since this is member Kensinger's last meeting, I gotta thank him for everything he's done. But the one area he hasn't really done a really good job - I think he was our representative with the Alaska Ferry System," a light la...
