Sorted by date Results 1318 - 1342 of 5553
Starting this weekend, the Parks and Recreation Center could see a change to its schedule and availability, though Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, and acting parks and recreation director, said the change may not occur, but if it does, it would be an improvement. Whether or not the schedule changes depends on if the Petersburg School District needs to make adjustments to it. Giesbrecht said PSD can work within the current schedule, but the school district gets the final say. He said a...
The M/V Matanuska's sailings were cancelled through Aug. 20 after five passengers on board the vessel on Aug. 10 tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The ferry is expected to resume service on Aug. 21 out of Bellingham. On Aug. 10, while sailing from Kake to Juneau, the crew of the M/V Matanuska was notified that some passengers were in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person in Kake. Those...
The test result for a non-resident traveler came back positive on Friday, Aug. 14, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual has been in isolation in town and close contacts have been informed. The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center believes the COVID-19 risk to the community is low due to the individual having limited contact with others in the community, according to the press release. As of Wednesday, Aug. 19, the number o...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly chose Sarah F. Fine at their meeting on Monday as the moderator for the Sept. 10 community meeting to discuss the civil emergency provisions ordinance. The third reading of the borough's civil emergency provision ordinance was postponed at an assembly meeting last month until Sept. 21 to allow the public more time to inform themselves about the ordinance and offer feedback. As part of the deferment, the assembly agreed to hold a public meeting sometime before...
The borough assembly passed a resolution at their meeting on Monday that puts a parcel of borough land on Ira II St. up for a competitive bid after two parties expressed interest in the property. The Petersburg Indian Association wants to buy the lot at 705 Ira II St. for the site of their low income housing duplex; however, Kathy Holtzinger, who lives next door at 701 Ira II St. also wants to build a duplex on the property. A 2020 assessment of the 10,000 sq. ft. lot valued it at $36,000. The...
*To register a new student, please stop by the office at 303 Dolphin Street by August 28th *You will need to bring current vaccination record and birth certificate (legible copy ok) *Current students do not need to register, as long as the enrollment survey was filled out *If you have any questions, please call the office at 907-302-2385 Mrs. Willis Kindergarten AM session Noelle Craig, Robyn Chrissley, Carley Littrell, Rosario Lohr, Trygve Marohl, Olivia O'Neil, Helmi Versteeg, Evie Wikan PM...
Construction on the Kake Access Road project was expected to start in early to mid-July, but Joseph Kemp, Alaska Department of Transportation engineering manager for the project, said one last permit is needed before stretches of new road can be built. Permits from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, United States Forest Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers are needed in order to undergo the project. Kemp said he is waiting for a permit from the USACE to be authorized,...
The Petersburg Police Department received over 30 calls in the past week from residents reporting bears in garbage cans or on their property. Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Games, said the bears could be venturing into town in search of food due to a scarcity of salmon and a poor berry crop. "In the absence of natural foods, the bears are foraging in the neighborhoods on garbage, chickens and other human sources of food," Robbins said. Every...
The Petersburg School Board approved schedules for Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High school at their meeting on Tuesday that includes alternate days of in-person instruction at the start of the school year beginning Aug. 31. The students at both secondary schools will be split into two groups, the blue group and the white group. The blue group will have in-person class time on Mondays and Wednesdays and the white group will be in class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During a day when a...
A traveler tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 4 after previously testing negative for the virus, according to a press release from the Petersburg Operations Center. The traveler arrived in town at the Petersburg Airport on July 20, but tested negative upon their arrival, according to the release. A test that was taken on Aug. 4, the day the individual left town, recently returned positive for the virus. According to the press release, the person is no longer in Petersburg and is considered...
Starting Aug. 31, students will return to Rae C. Stedman Elementary School under a schedule that splits the student body into two groups to avoid the possible spread of COVID-19 among students and staff. The Petersburg School Board approved the new schedule at their regular school board meeting on Tuesday in a 4-1 vote. The schedule follows recommendations from the state's Smart Start plan. Discussion on the school district's schedule began at a special school board meeting on Thursday, Aug. 6,...
This year's municipal elections will be held in person at the Parks and Recreation Center on Oct. 6 and some residents have already filed for candidacy. Twenty-six public office seats are up for grabs, including two 3-year term spots on the assembly. So far, only eight residents have registered to put their name on the ballot. The first day residents could apply for candidacy was July 28, and the last day to file is on Aug. 25. As of Monday, Aug. 10, the candidates in the Petersburg Borough...
Alaska is ranked last among the 50 states in its response to the 2020 United States Census, as of Tuesday, Aug. 11. Only Puerto Rico is behind Alaska in its response to the census, according to Jeanette Duran Pacheco, media specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau regional office in Los Angeles. According to data from the United States Census Bureau, as of Tuesday, 50.1 percent of Alaskans have completed the 2020 Census. Petersburg residents are aligned with the state's participation rate, with...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors agreed to request $1,004,638.50 at a special board meeting on Friday from the Petersburg Borough's COVID-19 fund should grants from the state fall through. About $800,000 of the requested funds can be covered by grants the hospital has applied for from the state for COVID-19 relief, said PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. The hospital should be notified in the coming weeks on whether or not the state will release the grants. "This is in case we don't...
Passengers onboard Dennis Rogers' charter boat, Northern Song, were treated to a rare surprise last Thursday, Aug. 6, when they witnessed a white killer whale hunting with two other orcas near Kake. "Everyone was ecstatic," said Rogers. "It's always a treat to come across killer whales, and then to have a white killer whale, which is super rare, was an extra treat." Rogers said he looked up the whale in a killer whale catalog produced by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and learned...
Alaska State Troopers continue to investigate a fatal accident that claimed the lives of four seine boat crewmembers sometime after 10 P.M. on Monday, July 27. A Ford Excursion driven by Siguard Decker drove off the roadway near the 27-mile marker of Mitkof Highway at a high rate of speed, according to Alaska State Troopers. Megan Peters, communications director with the Alaska Dept. of Public Safety said Siguard Decker, who was driving, seems to have had lost control of the vehicle and then...
Public Works Director Chris Cotta presented the assembly with a summary of the findings of a recent rate study on the borough's recycling program at their regular meeting on Monday that suggested possible rate increases to go along with four different scenarios for the program. Rate studies for the borough's water, wastewater and sanitation departments were conducted by FCS Group, based out of Washington, and cost a total of $42,000, said Cotta. The borough had been waiting for the results of...
Starting Aug. 11, non-residents entering the state of Alaska will have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result that was received within 72 hours prior to departure or proof that test results are pending. Pending test results that were taken within 72 hours prior to departure, will require the traveler to quarantine until receiving the results, according to Alaska's COVID-19 website. In addition to a negative or pending test result, non-residents can also pay $250 for a COVID-19 test upo...
The Petersburg Borough assembly passed a resolution at their meeting on Monday that transfers $778,000 from the borough's Coronavirus Aid, Revenue, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund to the Petersburg School District. As the school district prepares to reopen under a split in person and distance learning education schedule, the funding will go towards COVID-19 related expenditures, such as personnel costs, personal protection equipment and technology. "Implementing both the systems a...
Alaska Airlines announced on Wednesday that starting Aug. 7 all passengers ages two years and older must wear a face covering at all times while in the airport and onboard their aircraft, according to an Alaska Airlines press release. If a guest is unwilling or unable to wear a face covering while at the airport, they will not be permitted to travel, according to the press release. If a passenger on board a plane refuses to wear a face covering, that person will be suspended from future...
Petersburg Medical Center may receive a second cepheid testing unit that would increase the hospital's capacity to test for COVID-19 onsite from two tests per hour to six tests per hour, according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter at the PMC Board of Directors Meeting on Thursday, July 30. Because the rapid testing machine had yet to arrive at the hospital as of last week's board meeting, Hofstetter declined to go into detail about the machine or say definitively PMC would receive the machine. The...
Petersburg Medical Center ended its 2020 fiscal year with a gross operating revenue of $20,325,510, which is one percent over what the hospital had anticipated at the start of the fiscal year, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera at the PMC Board of Directors meeting on July 30. When deductions from revenue adjustments and allowances are made to the gross revenue, PMC still has a net operating revenue of $17,072,677 for the fiscal year. That number was two percent higher than what PMC had or...
The borough assembly agreed at their regular meeting on Monday to hold a remote town hall meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 4 P.M. to inform the public on the details of the civil emergency provisions ordinance and allow members of the community to ask questions about the ordinance and suggest changes to it. The assembly was expected to pass ordinance #2020-19 at their regular meeting on Monday, July 20, which would have made the temporary civil emergency provisions a permanent part of borough...
King Salmon The entire Petersburg and Wrangell area is now open to marine king salmon fishing. King salmon bag limits were increased as of July 15th. The following regional king salmon regulations issued are in effect from now until August 15th: Alaska resident: • Daily bag and possession limit of 4 king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. Nonresident: • Daily bag and possession limit of 2 king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. • Annual limit of 6 king salmon. Anglers are remin...
Four individuals died in a car crash that occurred late Monday night or early Tuesday morning on Mitkof Island when their SUV drove off the roadway near the 27 mile marker of Mitkof Highway at a high rate of speed, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Two of the passengers were Wrangell citizens Siguard Decker, 21, and Helen Decker, 19, according to the ADPS press release. Another passenger was identified as 29-year-old Ian Martin of Petersburg, according to...
