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Fram Street flooded Tuesday evening when thousands of gallons of water poured out of the ground and created a stream after an old part of a water main ruptured. First-hand accounts said the ankle-deep water flowed out onto Fram Street, above 8th Street, and mostly flowed into the ditches. According to the borough utility department, nearby site work for the new hospital project is not believed to be responsible for the rupture. The problem section of the pipe was isolated without any loss of ser...
Assembly members voted on the proposed FY25 borough budget for the first time on Monday, as well as two additional ordinances related to revenue — unanimously passing all of them in their first readings. Alongside the first draft of the next Petersburg Borough budget for fiscal year 25 (FY25), two ordinances regarding the borough’s transient room tax were introduced. One clarifies the uses of the fund, and the other would raise the 4% TRT rate to 7%. Transient room tax is essentially a “bed tax” paid by patrons of hotels and lodges. “This i...
On Monday, Assistant State Fire Marshal Mark Brauneis traveled to Petersburg to announce that Captain Daniel Bird of Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department is the recipient of the 2023 Ken Akerley Fire Service Leadership Award. Recipients of this statewide award are nominated by their peers from among Alaska's 8,000 firefighters. The criteria to be deserving of this award, Brauneis said, the candidate "must exhibit an extraordinary commitment to leading in their fire department and earning the tru...
"I want to thank the crew serving today, and all who served aboard Anacapa over these many years, for their dedication and service to our country," said Rear Admiral Charles Fosse, commander of United States Coast Guard District 13, during the decommissioning ceremony for USCG cutter Anacapa on April 26 in Port Angeles, Washington. Commissioned in 1990, Anacapa spent 32 of its 34 years homeported in Petersburg, and the last two years in Port Angeles. The 110-foot Coast Guard Cutter carried a... Full story
The USDA Forest Service is starting the process of revising the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan, which will shape local and regional management for years to come. Over the past 27 years since the Forest Plan was developed, the land and lifestyle in Southeast Alaska has changed significantly. As a result, the Forest Service is seeking input from the public to ensure that the revised plan reflects the evolving needs and concerns of the community. The current Forest Plan was developed... Full story
All mud dump fees for the new hospital project will be waived. Although the fees would have amounted to about $186,000 in revenue for the borough, the Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved the request to waive the fees because it will be an in-kind contribution, which can help PMC secure additional funding for the project, and improvements made by work on the project is saving the borough about $160,000 in expenses. At the assembly meeting on Monday, assembly member Thomas Fine-Walsh...
Petersburg Municipal Power and Light invites the public to celebrate 100 years of hydropower in Petersburg by attending an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Blind Slough Powerhouse this Thursday, May 16, from 1 to 3 p.m. "As part of the Mayfest celebration, we're going to ... show the community the new plant," Utility Director Karl Hagerman told the Pilot. At the open house, visitors get to see the revitalized facility -complete with a new turbine and generator- and learn about the...
In January, Petersburg resident Sondra Hurst learned that seniors at a retirement home in her hometown of Springville, Utah had worked together for three months to piece together the world's largest commercially available jigsaw puzzle. Hurst decided to round up helpers in Petersburg to try and do the same, and on Sunday, May 5, dozens of community members who took part in the effort gathered in the community gym to see the puzzle be completed. She recalled to the gathering how her husband had d...
The U.S. Forest Service plans to build six new cabins and a new campground in Southeast Alaska and wants to hear from the public on proposed fees for the facilities. One of the new cabins, the Woodpecker Cabin, will be on Mitkof Island, accessible by road and a 300 ft trail, about 30 miles away from downtown Petersburg. The site features a south-facing view of Sumner Strait. It has a fish-bearing stream nearby, and is in close proximity to a marine boat launch. It is likely to be used...
Around 20 Petersburg residents marched downtown on May 5 in observance of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Day. It was a small affair, but marchers were determined to show up in support of Alaska's stolen relatives - rain or shine. It was a typical clammy spring afternoon in Petersburg. The fragmented rain showers and temperatures in the 40s had driven many in town indoors; but the seventeen people gathered under the awning of one of the local grocery stores were undeterred. They...
"Progress on the new facility site is steady and going well," PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter reported to the Hospital Board last week. "The new site is steadily being backfilled with rock from the city quarry with good progress." Workers encountered a substantial amount of bedrock when excavating the area for both the Wellness, Education & Resource Center (WERC) building and the Main Hospital and Long Term Care building. In order to position the two buildings and utilities as planned, blasting at the...
A brief regionwide blackout across Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg last week started with a spark. When a power pole in Ketchikan caught fire due to a failed insulator, the line was isolated so the fire could be extinguished - but removing the large load of Ketchikan's power from the grid overloaded two major hydroelectric facilities in Southeast, causing them to go offline and resulting in a complete loss of power in all three communities. Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg get much of...
"...Don't say the C word..." Cris Morrison remembers telling her husband "...It's a blockage..." It was 2018, and she had been dealing with severe constipation for the second month in a row. "I didn't know that it had to do with cancer. I just became constipated..." Her symptoms escalated to incredible pain, and after an overnight stay at Petersburg Medical Center, Morrison was medivaced to Anchorage for emergency surgery to install a colostomy bag for the bowels to empty into and take a sample...
There were more attendees than usual at the Petersburg School District Board meeting last week as over a dozen teachers observed discussion about critical issues surrounding district finances. A few attendees testified before the PSD School Board, expressing shared concerns related to the district's tight budget and ongoing certified teacher negotiations between PSD and the Associated Teachers of Petersburg (ATP) union, which have struggled to reach an agreement on a three-year contract amidst... Full story
To free up preschool classroom space, Petersburg Children's Center (PCC) hopes to build a parking lot and a new building to house the Eagle's Nest after-school program. The Petersburg Borough Assembly is considering a rezoning ordinance proposed by PCC, passing it in the first of three readings April 15. If approved by the assembly two more times, the ordinance will rezone four lots that are currently leased by PCC, changing the zoning for the areas from residential to public use. PCC wants to b...
This Friday, the Petersburg Police Department and the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department are turning up the heat for the annual Guns and Hoses Chili Cook-off fundraiser. This will be the third year Don and Julie Spigelmyre have hosted the cook-off. The event was dreamed up by the couple on an airplane ride from Michigan to Petersburg. "We got to talking about how much we appreciate the volunteerism with the fire department," Don told the Petersburg Pilot. The Spigelmyres decided they wanted to...
Last weekend art students and teachers from nine Southeast Alaska high schools arrived in Petersburg by floatplane, Alaska Airlines, and jet boat to participate in the 28th Annual Region V Art Fest. This is the third time Petersburg High School has hosted the event. PHS art teacher Lisa Shramek, an Art Fest alumna, spearheaded the three-day event that brought sixty-eight students and sixteen instructors together for thirty hours of intensive art instruction and a lot of creative fun. The first...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the sale of a property on borough-owned tidelands to Island Refrigeration, LLC. at the price of $360,000, plus $5,171.76 in procedurally incurred expenses. Island Refrigeration, owned by Brock Snider, is a young business that does marine refrigeration and electrical services for the Petersburg fleet. The parcel is just under 30 thousand square-feet of vacant waterfront property located off Dock Street, behind Wikan Enterprises and the U.S. Coast Guard....
The Petersburg School District Board unanimously agreed to join the Coalition for Education Equity of Alaska (CEE) at the board meeting Tuesday night. One reason the district board is joining the coalition is because of its "unique" ability to "use legal avenues to ensure the state and legislature carry out constitutional responsibilities regarding education." Founded in 1996, CEE is a statewide member-based nonprofit that champions access to quality, equitable and adequate public education in...
Last July, Petersburg was covered in smoke when the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church caught fire. "This fire can consume our building, but not our hearts," parish priest Fr. Jose Thomas had said at the time. The flames ultimately destroyed the building, which was demolished later that fall. While the lot remains empty, the parish of St. Catherine of Siena has continued its church services, which are currently held at First Presbyterian Church. Fr. Jose said losing the former building was "...
Petersburg High School's musical ensembles traveled to Stika last weekend for 2024's Southeast Alaska Music Fest where their hard work was commended by audiences and judges alike. Over the course of the three-day event, PHS's choir, concert band, and jazz band performed in solo and group ensembles, viewed performances from schools across Southeast, and attended music clinics with other students, soaking in as much of the experience as possible after preparing their setlists for months. "Last yea...
Children and staff lined the halls of Stedman Elementary School Friday morning to celebrate Principal Heather Conn's recent recognition as "Alaska Elementary Principal of the Year." The Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals (AAESP) selected Principal Conn as National Distinguished Principal for 2024 for her exemplary educational and community leadership. "I feel very honored, humbled, excited, and emotional all at the same time," Conn told the Pilot in an email. A life-long...
The Petersburg Fish and Game Advisory Committee(AC) met on April 8 to generate proposals to the state Board of Fish to change the Blind Slough King Salmon management plan. The need for proposals was driven by public outcry following the announced closure of sport fishing this summer in the freshwater of Blind Slough. The AC agreed on and submitted a proposal that attempts to balance the need to protect the return of broodstock king salmon for the Crystal Lake Hatchery, while also providing...
The Mental Health Trust Land Office (TLO) informed the Petersburg Borough that it will look into a feasibility study for constructing a road in the Trust’s proposed South Mitkof Subdivision on the condition that the plat is approved. If a plat is not approved, the Trust confirmed for the Pilot that work on the South Mitkof Subdivision project “will be put on hold for the foreseeable future” and TLO staff “will need to focus work on advancing subdivision efforts in other areas of the state that will generate revenues for the Trust and its ben...
Last month, a new 3D mammography machine —expected to be up to 60% more effective at detecting tumors— began serving patients in the radiology department at Petersburg Medical Center. Mammography uses x-rays to locate and help diagnose tumors in the breast. The newly installed machine can capture a clear, more in-depth image of a malignancy that may otherwise be missed in a conventional 2D mammogram. “This is a project we’ve been working on for a long time as a department,” said PMC radiology manager Sonja Paul. “We knew the machine we had was...
