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The Alaska School Activities Association announced on Tuesday the cancellation of all 2020 fall state championship events due to the increasing case counts of COVID-19 in Anchorage and around the state. Activities that are currently in season will still be able to finish their season and participate in their regional championships, but only if Regionals can be held before Nov. 22, according to an ASAA press release. At Petersburg High School, volleyball and swim and dive will be affected by the...
Brian and Ola Richards were awakened early Wednesday morning by loud barking and growling coming from their dog Roxy. Ola restrained the pet and through the opened door saw a sow standing near their trash container, which was lying on the ground. The couple made repeated attempts to scare off the bear by making loud noises, but the sow held her ground and rebuffed the homeowners with growls and hisses. Lacking anything but dog toys, Brian chucked toys at the sow until she eventually retreated...
A plan that would have allowed in-person public participation at future assembly meetings failed in a 3-3 vote by the Borough Assembly at their meeting on Monday. Assembly members cited concerns over the possible spread of COVID-19 in the assembly chambers and the need to update the teleconference system as reasons for voting against the plan. Other assembly members felt it was time they returned to in-person meetings to give the public the chance to address them face-to-face. The plan to...
October 6, 2020 Total ballots cast - 997 Borough Assembly Two 3-year terms David Kensinger - 573 Marc Martinsen - 343 Jeff Meucci - 497 Brandi Thynes - 481 School Board One 3-year term Craig Anderson - 297 Katherine Holmlund - 615 Write in - 2 School Board One 2-year term Megan Litster - 837 Write in - 12 Hospital Board Two 3-year terms Jerod Cook - 683 Marlene Cushing - 804 Write in - 8 Planning Commission Three 3-year terms Chris Fry - 684 Heather O’Neil - 768 Write in - 18 Planning C...
The Petersburg Medical Center staff member that tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday is thought to have contracted the virus locally, said Incident Commander Karl Hagerman at the COVID-19 community update on Friday, Oct. 2. The positive case of COVID-19 was detected during PMC's regular asymptomatic testing of its employees, said PMC Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom. The person immediately went into isolation and contract tracing has begun. "That gives us encouragement that...
Unofficial municipal election results show David Kensinger taking one of two 3-year term seats on the Borough Assembly, with Assembly Members Jeff Meucci and Brandi Thynes in a close race for the second seat. Kensinger had 573 votes in the unofficial results, which put him safely ahead of the other three candidates. Meucci has 497 votes and Thynes has 481 votes. There are still four questioned ballots that need to be added in the final number of votes. Plus, the borough has yet to receive 19...
Pilot publisher Ron Loesch won a 2nd place award from the National Newspaper Association for his editorial supporting lifting of the Roadless Rule on the Tongass National Forest. The editorial appeared in the November 21 edition of the newspaper in 2019. Judges commented: "Well written editorial commentary on how federal regulations affect a local population." The Petersburg Pilot also received an honorable mention for its special investigative story about the airport terminal space squeeze...
The Borough Assembly extended its emergency non-congregate sheltering agreement with the Narrows Inn on Monday through the end of the year or until state health mandate #14 is rescinded. Non-congregate sheltering gives homeless populations, first responders and health care workers a safe place to quarantine while they're waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test or to isolate while they recover from the virus. "Hopefully we don't need it before the end of the year, but if we do, we'll be glad...
While one can still expect to wait in a long line at the Petersburg Post Office, residents won't have to wait upwards of an hour to retrieve a package now that customer service hours have increased to four hours a day Monday through Friday from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. Earlier this summer, a long time postal employee retired and another employee resigned. That left Postmaster Kim Aulbach and one other employee with the bulk of the day-to-day duties. Customer service hours were cut back to two hours a...
Petersburg Medical Center has continued their spike in revenue into the second month of the fiscal year, with a total operating revenue for the month of August that was 26 percent above expectations, according to a financial report PMC Controller Rocio Tejera presented to the Board of Directors at their meeting on Sept. 24. PMC had budgeted for $1,619,830 in total operating revenue in August, but instead brought in $2,045,120. A high number of patient days for the month drove up the total...
The weather information transmitter at Cape Fanshaw has been repaired after being out of service for over a year. Cape Fanshaw is located north of Petersburg, along a point of mainland approximately 12 nautical miles north of Farrugut Bay. As of Oct. 6, NOAA and Coast Guard personnel confirmed that the transmitter was now operational. Kip Wadlow, Coast Guard spokesperson, said that the transmitter fell under the domain of NOAA. He later clarified on Oct. 6 that they had a memorandum of...
An employee at Petersburg Medical Center has tested positive for COVID-19 and was identified through the hospital's routine asymptomatic testing protocol, according to a joint press release from PMC and the Petersburg Borough. The employee has been notified and is in isolation. PMC has switched to a red risk level of operations as a result of the confirmed case of the virus, according to the joint release. All non-emergent care patient visits have been canceled and clinic appointments will be... Full story
Petersburg Indian Association donated an SUV to Mountain View Food Services (MVFS) to replace the non-profit organization's unreliable delivery vehicle. The vehicle was purchased through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was only available to tribes, said PIA Tribal Administrator Tracy Welch. There were limitations to what the grant could be used for, but PIA decided to use the grant to assist with elderly food service meals and deliveries in the community....
Petersburg School District switched over to a low risk level of operations, or green level, on Monday. Rae C. Stedman Elementary School will be in session from 8 A.M. to 1:45 P.M. in person Monday through Friday, said Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter at the COVID-19 community update on Friday, Sept. 25. Teachers will stay with their classes throughout the day and limit interaction with other teachers and pods. Students will still get recesses, lunch and other breaks while in school. Mitkof...
This year's borough assembly candidates took the stage on Sept. 24 to answer questions ranging from the borough's COVID-19 response to the tourism industry in this year's candidate forum. The candidates answered questions from representatives of KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Marc Martinsen, Dave Kensinger and incumbents Jeff Meucci and Brandi Thynes were each asked the same questions and had two minutes to respond. The order of the candidates changed with each question that was asked. The forum...
The Pilot asked Katherine (Katie) Holmlund and Craig Anderson, who are both running for a single 3-year term seat on the Petersburg School Board, six questions related to the Petersburg School District. Due to a production error, Holmlund's closing statements didn't run in last week's paper with the rest of her responses. Below is her last response as she submitted it to the Pilot. Anderson's last response is not included, because he didn't submit one. Provide a brief statement on any school...
A new 20-ft. x 40-ft. tent has been erected at the Petersburg airport to provide shelter for hospital employees providing COVID testing services for passengers arriving at the airport each day. Emergency operations center director Karl Hagerman said the new tent encompasses the same size footprint as the three tents and trailer that were in place this summer. "The tent survived the wind test this weekend," according to Hagerman. The airport experienced wind gusts up to 40 mph and sustained...
Mitkof Middle School was recognized as a 2020 National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education for its overall academic performance. MMS was one of 367 schools nationwide that were selected for the award. Recipient schools were recognized for either their overall academic performance or progress in closing the achievement gap among students. The middle school was the last school in the Petersburg School District to receive the award. Petersburg High School was honored...
A mother bear and her three cubs were seen near Rae C. Stedman Elementary School on Tuesday, which put staff and teachers on high alert; however, Principal Heather Conn said in an email to parents that the students were safe throughout the day. "I wanted to let you all know the story behind what happened as I know that for some kiddos this was a scary event," said Conn in the email. "Some it was way cool, and some had no idea it even happened." At around 1:15 P.M. all the students were brought i...
This year's moose harvest is on track to match 2018's harvest, with a combined moose count of 44 for Unit 3 and Unit 1B as of Wednesday, according to Fish and Game Area Biologist Frank Robbins. Around this time of the season in 2018, 42 moose were harvested in both units. The average moose count between 2014 and 2017 at about halfway through the season was 58. Last year's moose harvest broke the five year average with 64 moose harvested around the halfway point of the season. Overall, last...
A contractor at Southeast Alaska Power Agency's Tyee Lake hydroelectric facility accidentally entered an incorrect control system input, resulting in a power outage in Wrangell and Petersburg Saturday morning, said SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson. SEAPA staff were conducting a training session associated with recent control upgrades when the error was made. Tyee Lake generation was lost at 9:15 A.M. on Sept. 26, said Robert Siedman, an electrical engineer with SEAPA. Power was restored 25 minutes later...
The borough assembly approved Ordinance #2020-19, which amends borough code chapter 3.72 to provide for civil emergency provisions, in its third reading on Monday after postponing the final vote by two months. The emergency ordinance transfers civil emergency provisions from the City of Petersburg Code to Petersburg Borough Code while adding language to guide local officials through an emergency. The additional language caused a division in the community and led the Borough Assembly to delay...
Although this year's Southeast Alaska salmon season produced a record low run, crabbers enjoyed the second highest summer harvest on record, according to Joe Stratman, lead crab biologist for region one with Petersburg Fish and Game. In Registration Area A, which includes all the inside waters of Southeast Alaska, 5.81 million pounds of Dungeness crab were harvested by 192 permit holders in the 2020 summer season. This year's summer season alone exceeded full season harvests for every previous...
Petersburg has gone 34 days since a case of COVID-19 was confirmed to be in the community. The last confirmed case of the virus was a non-resident who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 14 and later recovered on Aug. 21. As of Wednesday, Sept. 23, Petersburg Medical Center reported 3,887 test samples have been collected to be tested for COVID-19 on site or at outside laboratories. Of those test samples collected, about 3,829 have returned negative and 45 are still pending. According to PMC, Ne...
For Kaleb Baird, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to hunt a billy from a secluded rocky mountain goat herd on the Cleveland Peninsula earlier this month. The hunt had been closed for about 16 years and only two tags were given out through a lottery system. About 150 people put their name in the hat for a chance to hunt the covenant herd and Baird's name was drawn. Now he is looking at a chance to set the record for the largest mountain goat taken down by a bow and arrow. "I'm...
