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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...
Total expenses exceeded total operating revenue at Petersburg Medical Center for the month of October by $582,842, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. The hospital had expected total operating revenue to reach $1,620,228 in October, but it only brought in $1,384,880. Expenses on the other hand saw an increase of 22.9 percent. PMC spent $1,967,772 in October but had budgeted for $1,600,937. Tejera said the reason for the discrepancy between expenses and total operating income comes from the...
In the 48 hours prior to 11 A.M. on Wednesday, 6.63 inches of rain fell over Petersburg, according to Meteorologist Caleb Cravens with the Juneau Weather Service. An atmospheric river, powered by moisture from the Pacific Ocean, moved in over Southeast Alaska and dumped rain over the region, said Cravens. In Petersburg, the bulk of that rain fell on Dec. 1. A record breaking 4.38 inches of rain came down on Tuesday, according to Cravens. The previous rainfall record for Dec. 1 was set in 2011...
Two more positive cases of COVID-19 were identified in Petersburg on Friday, Nov. 27, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center. The first individual was a Petersburg resident who became symptomatic for COVID-19 while out of state, according to the joint press release. Before returning to town, the infected individual followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for isolation. The individual tested positive for the virus...
In February 1946, the S.S. Yukon ran aground near Seward. The passengers on board were thrown into cold, oily water as they waited to be rescued. One of those passengers was Art Hammer, this year's Christmas tree lighter. Hammer, 99, was born on July 7, 1921. He attended school in Petersburg and graduated from Petersburg High School in 1939. Three years later in 1942, he enlisted with the United States Army and served until 1946. He had just been discharged when the S.S. Yukon went down. Hammer...
Two Petersburg residents are facing charges after accusing a Petersburg Police Department officer of sexual misconduct. James R. Vick and Julie C. Ruhle claimed that Officer Louis Waechter allegedly touched Ruhle inappropriately while arresting her on charges of driving under the influence on Sept. 28, but body cam footage of the interaction does not support the claim, according to the court complaint. Vick and Ruhle now face a misdemeanor class A charge for knowingly giving false information to...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht will be narrowing down the list of finalists for the Parks and Recreation Department director position from five candidates to two or three candidates this week, with help from borough staff and members from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Twelve candidates applied for the director's position, which was left vacant when the previous Parks and Rec. director, Chandra Thornburg, resigned in January. Since then, Giesbrecht has been the acting director. The...
Devon Guthrie is fascinated by cars, but never understood how they worked. Then he saw a picture of an old 1951 CJ-3A Willys Jeep sitting in a lot in Skagway. Now it sits in the Petersburg High School shop where Guthrie works to refurbish it each morning. "I've always been interested in cars, but never been able to learn about them," said Devon. "This is one of the ways I can learn." His dad, Alex Guthrie, also had a Jeep when he was younger. After talking to the owner of the Jeep, who was a...
The Park and Recreation Center's Aquatic Center opened to the public on Nov. 23 following temporary repairs in the boiler room. Initial contractor estimates projected the pool to reopen on a temporary basis in anywhere from three to four months, according to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. He said the contractors were able to find parts and materials much sooner than anticipated, though some had to be air freighted to town from the East Coast. "Slowly, but surely, the parts rolled in," said...
The 2021 preseason terminal run forecast for Stikine River large Chinook salmon is 9,900 fish. The forecast is below the lower end of the Escapement Goal Range (EGR) of 14,000 to 28,000 fish. The 2020 terminal run size was 11,750 large Chinook salmon with an escapement of 10,670 fish. The 2021 preseason terminal run forecast for Taku River large Chinook salmon is 10,300 fish. The forecast is below the lower end of the EGR of 19,000 to 36,000 fish. The 2020 terminal run size was 15,980 large Chinook salmon with an escapement of 15,590 fish....
A performance evaluation of Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht conducted by the Borough Assembly found that the manager meets or exceeds expectations when it comes to his work ethic. Giesbrecht was evaluated on nine different categories of his performance. Several questions were presented to assembly members in each of the categories, and they ranked his performance as "needs improvement," "meets expectations," "exceeds expectations" or "evaluator has no basis for judgment." Giesbrech had a...
Petersburg High School students in David Owens' shop classes came together last week to build a ramp for a student at Rae C. Stedman Elementary school who will be wheelchair bound for the next few months. After school on Nov. 18, Owens became aware of a local family who was in immediate need of a wheelchair ramp. Fifth grader Marley Estes had recently suffered a serious fall and had to have an emergency operation in Anchorage, said her mother, Delia DeMent. Estes has to stay off her injured foot...
The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center confirmed four new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Petersburg, according to three joint press releases between the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center. One case was confirmed on Friday, one on Saturday and two on Sunday. An Alaska resident recently traveled to Petersburg and was later deemed a close contact of a positive case identified on Nov. 14, according to one of the press releases. The individual later tested positive...
The Petersburg Salvation Army put together 75 boxes packed with all the fixings needed for a complete Thanksgiving dinner for local families and individuals in need. Fifty-eight of the boxes went towards families and included turkeys that were donated by the Lutheran Church's women's group. The remaining boxes went to single individuals and included a Cornish game hen. All the food in the boxes were either donated or purchased with donated funds. Major Loni Upshaw said the Salvation Army spent...
A faulty connection between an extension cord and freezer onboard a vessel in South Boat Harbor caused a small fire on Monday afternoon. People were walking by the F/V Aleutian Dream at around 3:40 P.M. on Monday when they noticed an extension cord hanging over the top of the boat's pilot box was on fire. Harbor Department staff quickly shut off power to the boat, said Dave Berg, assistant fire chief with the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. The fire had put itself out by the time any...
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