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The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is predicting an average pink salmon harvest of 28 million fish in 2021, according to an advisory announcement. While the point estimate for the harvest is 28 million fish, the range of the forecast is between 19 to 42 million fish. Andy Piston, Fish and Game Southeast Alaska pink and chum salmon project leader, said that such a wide forecast range is a reflection of the uncertainty in the forecast. "Twenty-eight million sounds pretty good compared to...
Petersburg Medical Center received 220 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday and has since begun vaccinating those who are most at risk, according to local health officials at the COVID-19 community update on Dec. 18. The vaccinations arrived on the afternoon jet from a cold storage facility in Anchorage, and almost immediately afterwards, PMC staff set to work. Mamie Nilsen, a registered nurse in the hospital's long term care facility, was the first person in Petersburg to receive th...
The Borough Assembly again voted on a memorandum of agreement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center for the asymptomatic testing of staff at Mountain View Manor Assisted Living. After it was made clear that testing would be voluntary, the borough assembly approved the agreement unanimously at their meeting on Monday. According to the MOA, PMC will provide the staff, equipment and materials needed to perform asymptomatic testing at no cost to MVM AL. Both parties will...
At the COVID-19 community update on Friday, Dec. 18 Incident Commander Karl Hagerman reminded the public to visit the borough's COVID-19 dashboard and risk communication plan and send any questions or comments to the Emergency Operations Center. The dashboard monitors the community's COVID-19 situation and the risk communication plan offers mitigation protocols that reflect the local risk level. "We want the plan to be well vetted by the public before we put it to the assembly for approval,"...
An ordinance adjusting the fiscal year 2021 borough budget for known changes, including the reallocation on COVID-19 funds, passed in its third reading on Monday by the Borough Assembly. Ordinance #2020-24 takes the remaining $275,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Support Act funds set aside for a one-time $500 utility credit for households struggling financially as a result of the pandemic and transfers it to three other COVID-19 related programs. Of the $275,000, $100,000 will go to...
A short film by Kelly Bakos documenting the lifespan of the Rainforest Festival's Ephemeral art show has won two awards from the Best Shorts Competition. The prestigious film competition awarded Bakos' film "Ephemeral" the Award of Merit Special Mention in the documentary short category and in the nature/environment/wildlife category. According to the Best Shorts Competition, award winners have gone on to win Oscars, Emmys and other big name awards. Over 15 local artists are featured in the...
Petersburg School District students took a Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment test this fall that gauged reading fluency and math and reading growth among students, which found those skills had developed since last year. Kindergarteners through third graders were given a MAP Reading Fluency test for the first time this fall. The test assessed students on word recognition, listening comprehension, picture vocabulary and phonological awareness. Students in grades three through nine...
For about the last 10 years, Erin Kandoll has hand-made jewelry out of metal, but her Twisted Ginger Trunk Show on Dec. 16 was her last art show for the foreseeable future as she enters the next phase of her life centered around natural healing and self-reflection. About 100 necklaces adorned with crystals and about 75 pairs of earrings made by Kandoll were on display at her show at FireLight Gallery & Framing last week. Although her art is taking her in a different direction, Kandoll said...
Nearly 5,800 birds were counted and 55 species of birds were identified this year during the Christmas Bird Count on Saturday. Brad Hunter, the organizer of Petersburg's bird count, said while the 55 species of birds spotted this year are above the 49 species average, a higher number of species and birds could have been recorded. The rain and wind made it difficult for both the birds and birders to navigate outdoors. About 1,000 gulls and 2,000 long-tailed ducks were counted on Saturday, but on...
Donald Trump Jr. was in Petersburg this month with his son and several friends, according to a video posted to his Facebook page on Dec. 20. In the three and a half minute clip, Trump is seen leaving Petersburg Harbor onboard a fishing vessel loaded with several ATVs. He takes note of the low temperatures, little daylight and "pretty serious" rain and wind in Southeast Alaska. "In December, it is even more rugged than it is normally," said Trump in the video. "It's always a pretty rugged place....
WRANGELL - Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska's chief medical officer, called in to a special meeting of the Wrangell Borough Assembly last Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, to give a brief update on the COVID-19 situation across the state. In her update she said that she is "cautiously optimistic" about the future, with vaccinations being rolled out and a slowdown in rising case numbers. "Across the state, as a whole, we're starting to see a tentative decline in the acceleration, which has been fantastic," she...
Water from this month's heavy rainfall ripped at deformities in a culvert that runs underneath the Public Works yard, opening up a portion of the pipe and causing a landslide near Hammer Slough. The culvert diverts water from a creek that runs parallel to Kiseno St. to Hammer Slough. When 6.63 inches of rain fell over the town on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, water in the creek became backed up as the culvert struggled under the volume of water, said Public Works Director Chris Cotta. The gushing water...
After an anxious three months, the rocky mountain goat Kaleb Baird shot with a bow and arrow on the Cleveland Peninsula has been certified by Pope and Young, a conservation club, as the largest billy ever taken down with a bow in the world. "It was a killer animal and a great goat," said Baird. "It's neat that he gets to be recognized as number one." The mountain goat had a final score of 53 1/2 inches, according to Pope and Young. Baird said an official scorer took ten different measurements...
Dr. John Hoyt, medical director at Northwest Pathology in Bellingham, explained the science behind PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests and how the molecular diagnostic tests are the gold standard in COVID-19 testing at the COVID-19 community update on Dec. 11. According to Hoyt, the RNA in test samples is converted into DNA and placed into a sample well. It then goes through cycles of heating and cooling to amplify the sample. As it expands, probes that were placed on the sample also begin to...
As of Wednesday, Petersburg Medical Center had collected 6,359 test samples to be tested for COVID-19 onsite and at outside laboratories. Of those test samples collected, 6,268 have returned negative and 55 are still pending. There are currently zero cases of COVID-19 in the community, according to the Petersburg Borough. Incident Commander Karl Hagerman cautioned businesses and the public at the COVID-19 community update on Dec. 11 about Julebukking this year. The Emergency Operations Center...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht has recommended Facilities Supervisor Stephanie Payne to fill the vacant Parks and Recreation director position. The Borough Assembly will vote whether or not to ratify the decision at their meeting on Monday, though Giesbrecht said there's a good chance they'll support his decision. Payne was originally hired by Parks and Rec. as the program director in March 2019 and was later promoted to facility supervisor three months later. Her duties increased when the...
Photos capturing the beauty of Southeast Alaska and watercolor paintings concealing hidden details were all a part of Hillary Hunter's art show, which opened on Friday, Dec. 11 at FireLight Gallery & Framing. Seven photos were on display, but other photos can be printed out by the gallery. Two of the photos were panoramas that featured the Northern Lights and Devil's Thumb and the surrounding mountain range. When creating a panorama, Hunter said she takes several photos and stitches them...
Sport fishing guide businesses operating in Southeast Alaska salt waters will be required to use eLogBook to report their sport fish guiding activity starting in 2021. Under the new 2019–2028 Pacific Salmon Treaty and corresponding Southeast Alaska King Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 47.055), the Southeast Alaska sport fishery is to be managed in season to meet its’ allocation, increasing the need for timelier fishery data. The goal of the eLogBook program is to decrease processing time and improve accuracy of logbook data. After an initial tra...
The Borough Assembly failed to pass a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the borough and Petersburg Medical Center to provide COVID-19 asymptomatic testing at Mountain View Manor Assisted Living at their meeting on Monday. On Nov. 18, PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter sent an email to the borough and the Petersburg School District, suggesting the asymptomatic testing of employees at MVM AL and at PSD by the hospital. Hofstetter cited rising COVID-19 case numbers in congregate settings across the state...
With bright and colorful lights strung up around town and Christmas music playing inside businesses, there is no doubt that the date is approaching Dec. 25. Before it gets any closer to Christmas, the United States Postal Service is urging residents to mail their packages and presents to loved ones as early as possible. "This would be the right year to mail early," said James Boxrud, a spokesperson with the USPS. Post offices around the country are already seeing an increase in mail traveling...
Petersburg's Emergency Operations Center has released the draft of its risk communication plan and COVID-19 dashboard, which will monitor the status of the virus in the community and offer mitigation strategies based on the current risk level. The dashboard utilizes four risk levels ranging from green to red to gauge the local COVID-19 status. It also monitors the risk levels at Petersburg Medical Center and Petersburg School District. Data on the dashboard shows COVID-19 tests numbers and any...
The Borough Assembly passed an ordinance in its second reading on Monday that adjusts the fiscal year 2021 budget for known changes, which allocates unused funds from the borough's utility subsidy program to pay first responders and Emergency Operations Center staff with Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Support Act funds through December. The Borough Assembly previously budgeted $500,000 for a one-time $500 utility credit to households that were struggling financially as a result of the...
For six days, 25 of Pia Reilly's most recent oil paintings, which were beaming with color, were on display at FireLight Gallery & Framing. Reilly said watching the colors pop out of the canvass in her paintings has been a sort of therapy for her this past year. When she is working on a watercolor piece, she will take the time to visualize an idea and sketch it out. With her recent oil paintings, Reilly said she just let her creativity flow and watched what her art turned into. "I just start in...
Cecilia Tavoliero, with Alaska Natives Without Land, addressed the Borough Assembly at their meeting on Monday to answer questions brought up by the community about recent legislation that would transfer local lands to an Urban Corporation. The Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act would amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) to allow native residents in Haines, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg and Tenakee to form Urban...
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