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Students in Petersburg School District are set to start the school year on August 29, alongside several upcoming additions to faculty staff. New to the district is Thomas Hambley, who will teach fourth grade at Stedman Elementary this fall. "I am excited about joining the team at Stedman Elementary and becoming part of the Petersburg community," he shared. Hambley moved to Petersburg earlier this summer from Glennallen, where he taught fourth grade. He specializes in elementary level teaching...
Jolie Norman, the new first-grade teacher at Stedman Elementary, and fellow first-grade teacher Erin Hofacre pushed a lot of furniture around Ms. Norman's classroom yesterday, and they have more to do before school starts. "In a week, you won't recognize this place. I'm looking forward to making it my own," promised Norman. And in making it her own, she's excited to make it a place kids want to be and a place they want to learn. In addition to her longtime calling to work with kids, Norman...
The Access to Alaska Native Collections grant program is currently open and accepting applications until September 8. The application can be found on the Museums Alaska website. The program responds to the needs of Alaska Native artists and culture bearers for access to collections in museums by supporting research visits to museum collections storage in Alaska. Alaska Native artists and culture bearers are invited to propose a visit to a participating museum with a collection that has a clear benefit to the development of their work....
As the first practical measure taken by Petersburg’s Early Childhood Education Task Force, the PIECE program is nearing the mark of its first year in action. So far, eight childcare provider employees across three services in Petersburg have received a first round of fiscal incentives under the program. For some, the extra benefits have given them a positive boost toward higher education; for others, the bonus check has not provided enough of a platform to launch from. PIECE, short for Petersburg Incentive Education for Childhood Employees, i...
Mitkof Island experienced record breaking rainfall on Saturday, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Petersburg recorded 3.09 inches of rain, surpassing the previous August 12 record of 2.15 inches back in 1961, marking the highest amount for that day since records began in 1924. The rainfall sent a landslide across the road at 27 mile Mitkof Highway. The swath measured an estimated 100 feet wide and 20 feet deep, including 6 to 8 feet of mud plus...
The town's most notorious seasonal visitors are back, and effort is needed to prevent their behavior from getting dangerously trashy. Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins says bears coming to town is "always going to be an issue. We live in the middle of bear habitat ... It's very easy for a bear to follow a shrub area or a muskeg and waltz right into town, and they're more apt to do that if there's readily available food." The annual return of bears to Petersburg can be credited to their...
In September 2022, Superior Court Judge Amy Mead presided over the State of Alaska v. Brandon “Andy” Burrell jury trial. Burrell was acquitted of Burglary in the first degree and Sexual Assault in the first degree; however, the jury found the defendant guilty of Criminal Mischief in the third degree and guilty of the lesser charge of Sexual Assault in the second degree. Judge Mead conducted the sentencing proceedings for those convictions on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. For the conviction of Sexual Assault in the second degree, Burrell was sen...
A crew member on the F/V Legacy, a Petersburg-based seiner, died earlier this month while fishing about 30 miles southeast of Wrangell, according to the Wrangell Police Department. At around 6:15 in the morning of Aug. 1, Paul Anthony Kavon, 64, of Oxnard, California was setting the net along the shore at Point Warde when the 19-foot power skiff he was operating struck a rock, according to captain of the F/V Legacy, Joe Cisney. “The skiff was hung up on a rock off the shoreline … the net kept going with the current … started pulling on the s...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted during its Aug. 7 meeting to schedule a non-compliance hearing to consider issuing an order to vacate 410 Mitkof Highway until it is legally connected to the borough sanitary sewer system. Borough Building Official Ray Wesebaum and Utility Director Karl Hagerman requested the hearing after the building owner, Courtney Johnson, failed to repair the building by hooking it up to the sewer system. According to their report to the assembly, the property was inspe...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to move the Petersburg Indian Association's application to purchase a borough-owned lot at the corner of Haugen Drive and North 12th Street forward during its Aug. 7 meeting. Though the application is moving forward, the assembly did not come to an agreement on how the lot should be sold-either by a public sale or by a direct sale to PIA. The 0.31-acre property, located at 10 N. 12th Street, is undeveloped apart from the Petersburg School District's...
The Head Start program operated in 10 Southeast communities by the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wants to reduce its authorized enrollment by 80 children as the nonprofit adjusts to a tightening budget situation and staffing shortages. Tlingit & Haida is approved to serve 262 children across Southeast but has asked federal officials for permission to reduce the number to 182, according to Head Start Director Christa Green. Federal funding covers almost 80% of the program’s budget. The program provides 20 Head Start...
When U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg's flight from Juneau to Haines was rained out on Wednesday, he changed plans and did what Alaskans have done for decades: He boarded a ferry. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, traveled with Buttigieg and said the last-minute switch in travel plans "was a typical Alaska jump ball." It was an appropriate capstone to Buttigieg's three-day Alaska visit: a trip intended to emphasize the benefits of the Biden administration's infrastructure law,... Full story
JUNEAU - The gray, two-story home with white trim toppled and slid, crashing into the river below as rushing waters carried off a bobbing chunk of its roof. Next door, a condo building teetered on the edge of the bank, its foundation already having fallen away as erosion undercut it. The destruction came over the weekend as a glacial dam burst in Alaska's capital, swelling the levels of the Mendenhall River to an unprecedented degree. The bursting of such snow-and-ice dams is a phenomenon...
The Blind Slough Hydroelectric Refurbishment is in full swing as crews prepare the powerhouse for the installation of the new turbine and generator. Blind Slough has produced local hydro power out of Crystal Lake for almost 100 years and provides approximately 25% of Petersburg's power. The project looks to replace the 1955 Pelton wheel turbine and other powerhouse equipment to keep the facility operational and possibly increase power generation. Utility Director Karl Hagerman said a lot has...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board will begin holding their regular meetings in the Petersburg Borough Assembly chambers starting later this month. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter made the announcement during his report to the Petersburg Borough Assembly on Monday, saying “I think it’s an exciting opportunity to provide a little more availability for the community to hear our meetings.” The hospital board, which previously met in the Dorothy Ingle Conference Room, discussed making the move in an effort to make their meetings more visible and accessibl...
Petersburg residents will have one ballot proposition to decide on when they go to vote in this year's municipal election on Oct. 3. Proposition #1 will ask if the borough charter should be amended to allow borough employees to serve on boards or commissions, except for those that directly administer their employment. The change, for instance, would allow a Petersburg School District employee to run for borough assembly or the hospital board but not the school board. The proposed amendment was...
The Petersburg Office of Children's Services (OCS) has hired a new Protective Service Specialist (PSS), OCS caseworker Jennifer Ridgeway told the Pilot at the OCS Petersburg office Aug. 7. Ridgeway was there to help "set up" the new hire, who was three hours into her first day on the job. Once trained, the new PSS will be Petersburg's local caseworker. "She is the PSS," said Ridgeway. "So she is the OCS caseworker." When the OCS Wrangell office reopened in Feb. 2022, the OCS caseworker who had...
At the end of July Megan Smith loaded her car, a U-Haul truck, her nine and twelve year old daughters, and Charles Puddles Kittenworth, a.k.a. Charlie the cat, onto the ferry in Metlakatla for the move to Petersburg where she'll be teaching Pre-algebra, Algebra I, Geometry and Statistics at Petersburg High School. Smith earned her bachelor's degree from Montana State University, Bozeman, in English, with a teaching emphasis. She took her first job on the Kenai Peninsula in Nanwalek, Alaska, in...
Gus Pennington will return to Stedman Elementary School this fall as the new fifth grade teacher. However, Pennington is no stranger to the Petersburg School District. His new teaching role comes on the heels of experience in the district as a substitute and student teacher - and as a pupil in Petersburg, himself. Pennington graduated from Petersburg High School with the class of 2019 and left for college at University of Alaska Southeast. He returned to town later that fall - just before...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to appeal an Alaska Department of Natural Resources decision rejecting the conveyance of 523.44 acres to the borough during its meeting on Monday. The final finding and decision recently issued by ADNR rejected the conveyance of two parcels chosen by the borough as part of its municipal land selections-Prolewy Point, measuring 513.41 acres, and Hood Point, measuring 10.03 acres. Conversely, the decision also approved the conveyance of approximately 2,736.69...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted in favor of an ordinance during Monday’s meeting that would raise the minimum value required for borough personal property and equipment to be sold through public competitive bidding and allow the borough to sell items in online auctions. The assembly voted 4-0 in support of Ordinance #2023-12 in its first reading with Mayor Mark Jensen, Vice Mayor Bob Lynn, and Assembly Member Scott Newman excused. Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson called it a “housekeeping” ordinance as it would update the former city code...
Alaskans can now use larger and heavier recreational off-road vehicles on most state land without a specialty permit, a move intended to accommodate the growth of side-by-side off-road vehicles. In late July, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources issued new general permissions that allow vehicles up to 80 inches wide and up to 2,500 pounds on land managed by the DNR Division of Mining, Land and Water. Old restrictions, based on the size and weight of a 6×6 Argo, allowed vehicles of up to 1,500 pounds, DNR staff said in an explanation of... Full story
Petersburg residents can now file for candidacy in this year’s municipal election, which will be held on Oct. 3, 2023. 20 seats will be up for election this year, including two on the Petersburg Borough Assembly currently held by Dave Kensinger and Jeff Meucci. Both seats on the assembly are three-year terms. Katie Holmlund is the lone incumbent on the Petersburg School District Board up for election this year—also for a three-year term. The Petersburg Medical Center Board will have three seats on the ballot this fall. The seats that are cur...
U.S. Forest Service personnel have spent the summer cutting through debris along the popular Petersburg Lake Trail as part of a trail maintenance project funded by the Great American Outdoors Act. The 10.5-mile trail has been nearly impassable for years due to fallen trees, mud, and rotted out wooden walkways, preventing hikers from accessing the cabin that sits on Petersburg Lake on foot. "The trail has been degrading for a long, long time and the Forest Service, we just haven't had funding to...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The state of Alaska wants the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a federal agency’s rejection of a proposed copper and gold mine in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor in a statement last Wednesday said having a case heard directly by the Supreme Court rather than first in the lower courts is “an extraordinary ask, but it’s appropriate given the extraordinary decision being challenged.” “The EPA’s order strikes at the heart of Alaska’s sovereignty, depriving the State of its powe...
