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While Easter typically conjures up images of egg hunts under the sun and tranquil Sunday services, this year saw high winds blow down trees across Mitkof Island, damaging power lines and prompting a response from Petersburg Municipal Power and Light. "It was a very, very strong, very intense windstorm that came through," Utility Director Karl Hagerman said. "We did not see that in the forecast, so it kind of took us by surprise." One tree hit the distribution line near 8.5 Mile Mitkof Highway,...
Rock-N-Road Construction has spent the last week scooping mud from Middle Harbor as part of the ongoing dredge project. The Middle Harbor dredge project is separate from the dredge project being completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Western Marine, which is on hold for the summer. The Middle Harbor project aims to clear out built-up silt causing damage to the harbor and was included in the borough's latest supplemental budget, which will have its third and final reading at the April...
Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School Principal Ambler Moss's contract will not be renewed and he will leave the district at the end of the school year. Moss was hired last summer and signed a one-year contract with the district, which is the standard length for principal contracts. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter wrote that they mutually agreed that he would not continue in the role after this year. She added, "We wish him all the best in his next adventure and thank him for his...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance that would amend the charter to open participation on local boards to borough employees in its final reading. The amendment, which will have to be approved by voters later this year, would let borough staff run for boards except for those that directly administer their employment. That would mean a Petersburg Medical Center employee could run for the assembly or the school board but not the hospital board. A Petersburg...
The Petersburg School District would receive another injection of one-year additional state money under a budget headed toward approval in the Alaska House, falling short of a permanent increase in the education funding formula sought by school districts statewide. Under the House budget, state funding for K-12 public education would increase by about 14% for the 2023-2024 school year. The state’s foundation funding, based on enrollment, covers about 65% of the Petersburg district’s total general fund budget. The Republican-led House maj...
Pointing to high credit card balances, growing student loan debts and inadequate savings for many U.S. households, Anchorage Sen. Bill Wielechowski believes it is important to teach students “to avoid common financial pitfalls and manage their money successfully.” He has proposed legislation that would require Alaska high schools to teach a financial literacy course. His bill also would require that students complete the course to earn their diploma. The course would have to cover managing a bank account, setting a budget, credit card deb...
WRANGELL — Late last month, the Wrangell Borough discovered an oversight in the construction of Heritage Harbor — its steel pilings and piers do not have corrosion-preventing anodes on them. These pieces of oxidizing metal protect pilings from underwater degradation. Without them, the supports underneath the Heritage floats have begun to corrode. The borough plans to work quickly to install nearly $1 million worth of anodes at the harbor to prevent further wear. Near the end of March, the Port and Harbors Department sent a diver to check the an...
HAINES — The Southeast Alaska State Fair board canceled a meeting scheduled for Wednesday to take public input about the scheduling of Juneau Drag for this summer’s fair citing perceived threats from some residents. The scheduling of the event prompted opposition from some who expressed concerns that drag was inherently sexual and inappropriate for a public setting. About 100 people wrote emails to the fair board and staff both in support and in opposition to the act. “We received several concerns from community members about people using...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he does not support a request to add millions of dollars to the state budget to help child care providers, instead announcing the formation of a task force to examine the issue and provide policy recommendations by the end of the year. Child care, expensive and in short supply in Alaska, has benefited from more than $50 million in federal pandemic aid paid as grants to providers since 2020. With the end of federal funding, child care advocates have asked legislators to add $15 million to the state budget to boost...
The Petersburg School District has requested the borough increase its local contribution to the district as it grapples with decreased funding, rising costs, and challenges attracting new teachers. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter and PSD Director of Finance Karen Morrison made their case to the assembly during Monday's meeting, giving a review of the district's financial standing going into FY24 and detailing how school funding has been left behind. Inflation paired with the rising costs of...
It was standing room only at the Helmi Jenson community room of the public library last Wednesday, where the attractions were practically flying off the shelf. Jake the red-tailed hawk and Owlison the great horned owl were in the house, accompanied by avian director Jenn Cedarleaf and avian care specialist Hannah Blanke from the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka. Invited as part of the Rainforest Festival, they had visited Petersburg schools for kids from preschool through high school, appeared for...
The U.S. Forest Service is seeing a nationwide push for new employees as they expand their operations, driven by an increase in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. "So all this additional funding gave us additional work and we need additional people to do that," Petersburg District Ranger Ray Born said. The Petersburg Ranger District is hiring mostly for technician positions including biological technicians to conduct surveys and recreation...
At approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 31, a truck collided with a parked vehicle on South Nordic Drive, which resulted in damage to the memorial park dedicated to Marie Giesbrecht and Molly Parks. According to witnesses, a black pick-up truck hit an unoccupied silver truck that was parked next to the memorial. The crash pushed the parked silver truck off of the road and into the park, causing damage to the benches and railing. The silver truck dropped into the ditch next to the park while the...
During Monday's Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting, Mayor Mark Jensen and Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave a report on the borough's trip to Washington D.C. last week. Jensen, Giesbrecht, and Assembly Members Thomas Fine-Walsh and Scott Newman visited the capital to meet with Petersburg's federal delegation, lobbyists, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and other agencies about major local projects. "We had a pretty busy schedule. Overall, I felt, a good trip,"...
The Alaska House of Representatives voted Monday to increase the amount of money the state pays K-12 schools per student in the 2023-2024 school year. The vote came as legislators opened floor debate on the state’s operating budget for the 12 months that begin July 1. That debate is expected to continue Tuesday. In addition to boosting school funding, the House on Monday voted to restore funding for a proposal that would have the state take over a federal program that regulates construction permits in wetland areas, and it confirmed House l... Full story
Former Petersburg Medical Center Board Member Kathi Riemer, who was last reelected in 2021, resigned from the hospital board last month. PMC Board President Jerod Cook wrote that he accepted Riemer's resignation on March 17. In his email notifying the borough, Cook expressed his gratitude for her contributions to the hospital and her service to the community. The borough is now seeking letters of interest from residents to fill the seat until the October 2023 municipal election. The Pilot...
A 2% statewide sales tax proposed by Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, received its first legislative hearing last Wednesday night, with its sponsor saying he envisions it as a component of a long-term plan to bring state spending and revenue into balance. Other components of that plan, including a tougher state spending cap and a new formula for the Permanent Fund dividend, are also under discussion in the House Ways and Means Committee, which heard Carpenter’s bill. “I don’t take this lightly, of instituting or bringing forward a bill that would... Full story
A state senator wants to direct a larger share of filing fees paid to the court system toward a nonprofit legal aid organization that helps several thousand Alaskans a year with their domestic violence, family law, housing, elder advocacy and other cases. The 56-year-old Alaska Legal Services Corp. “is part of our social safety net,” helping the most vulnerable community members, particularly survivors of domestic violence, said Anchorage Sen. Forrest Dunbar, sponsor of the legislation. Senate Bill 104 would amend state law to direct up to 25%...
In a 2-1 decision, the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the Estate of Molly Parks' wrongful death claim against the Petersburg Borough and William "Chris" Allen last month. The estate had appealed the case to the Alaska Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on Feb. 8, 2022, in an effort to overturn the Petersburg Superior Court's decision to dismiss the case and to reopen the lawsuit against the borough and Allen. On July 4, 2016, Molly Parks and Marie Giesbrecht were killed...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that would adjust the FY23 budget in its first reading during its meeting on March 20. The sizable supplemental budget includes 12 changes that cover a range of items including harbor dredging, attorney fees, vehicles, and more. The ordinance looks to increase the South Harbor dredge project budget by $635,000. The FY23 budget for the project was initially $1.1 million so the addition will bring the borough's budgeted cont...
Similar pieces of legislation to increase state funding for public schools are awaiting hearings in the House and Senate finance committees as lawmakers face a mid-May adjournment deadline and school districts make spending plans for the 2023-2024 school year. The House bill, which was amended and moved out of the Education Committee on March 22, would increase the funding formula by a little over 11% in the first year and 2% in the second year, about half of the bill sponsor’s original proposal. The Senate version, which moved out of its E...
The Petersburg post of the American Legion held its first formal meeting on Tuesday in the Petersburg Public Library, which saw about 20 veterans gather to engage in official business and discuss what they want the future of the post to be. Petersburg's American Legion post is called the Edward Locken Post 14-named for the former mayor and owner of the Bank of Petersburg. The American Legion is a nonprofit veterans organization that has been a driving force for disability and education benefits...
JUNEAU (AP) — Two southeast Alaska men face charges in the beating death of a man who was attacked because of a social media post, according to an investigator’s affidavit. Moses S. Blanchard, 22, and Blaise A. Dilts, 21, of Klawock, face charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and burglary in the death of 80-year-old Lincoln Peratrovich, according to the state’s online court records system. An attorney listed for Dilts did not return a message seeking comment. An attorney was not listed online for Blanchard. The investigation was being c...
Alaska legislators will get a 67% pay raise next January — from $50,000 to $84,000 a year — and the governor and state department heads will receive a 20% boost effective July 1. The wage hikes come after Gov. Mike Dunleavy replaced an independent salary commission that was unable to agree on a pay hike for lawmakers, with the new members convening on short notice to recommend the raises. An entirely new five-member commission met March 15 and added the legislators’ pay increase to an earlier recommendation that the governor, lieutenant gover...
The borough’s FY22 Audit Report was presented to the Petersburg Borough Assembly at its meeting on March 6. According to Bikki Shrestha, an engagement partner with BDO USA, LLP, the borough received an unmodified opinion on its financial statements, federal single audit, and state single audit. Shrestha provided a review of the audit and financials in which he commended borough management’s cooperation throughout the audit process. The audit found no significant deficiencies and no material wea...
