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Western Marine's dredging operations in South Harbor are expected to reach completion this week. Access for harbor users has been partially blocked as crews push through the winter weather to dig the final shoreline areas. The next step will be a survey of the most recently dredged areas, and if all looks good Petersburg Harbormaster Glo Wollen can sign off on the work and the US Army Corps of Engineers can close out the administrative details of the project. The dredge work began in early...
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) will offer a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor Course in Petersburg, Alaska, on February 10, 2024, 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., in the Petersburg Parks and Recreation Activity Room. The cost for the class is $125.00 for commercial fishermen and $225.00 for all others. Interested mariners may register online at www.amsea.org or call (907) 747-3287. The class will cover cold-water survival skills; EPIRBs, signal flares, and mayday calls; man-overboard recovery; firefighting; flooding and damage c...
The Medicare reimbursement program for Critical Access Hospitals was a key topic at the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board and Petersburg Borough Assembly annual work session on Jan. 30. PMC is a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) — the designation was created by Congress in the late 1990s to reduce the financial vulnerability of smaller hospitals in isolated rural communities. Facilities that are recognized as critical access hospitals must meet certain qualifying criteria, and they get to participate in a beneficial Medicare r...
Robyn Taylor spent the first six years of her career in the Alaska education system teaching in Petersburg, and the next 18 years elsewhere in the state as an administrator. Currently on year 24, Taylor is excited to return to the Petersburg School District as the next superintendent, in place of Erica Klut-Painter who will depart from the role at the end of this school year. "I'm just so appreciative of the opportunity," Taylor said. "Right timing, right place." Originally from Idaho, Taylor...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved to send a letter to Gov. Dunleavy asking that a fisheries disaster be declared for four fisheries in Southeast Alaska, citing low abundance and financial hardship. If a disaster is declared, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission would distribute funds to applicants to provide relief. For fishing seasons from 2018 through 2022, disaster declarations were issued for 14 fisheries off the interior coast for salmon, red king crab, Tanner crab and cod, according to the letter. Now, the...
Elsie Marie Broschat was born in Sitka on January 5, 2024 at 3:30 a.m. Her parents are Andrew Broschat, a police officer with the Petersburg Police Department, and Elle Broschat, bookkeeper and owner of Southeast Bookkeeping. Being confirmed as the first baby of 2024 born to Petersburg residents, the family are entitled to receive the many gifts from local businesses published in the January 4th edition of the Pilot. The Broschat family moved back to Petersburg from Sitka in November 2023. They...
The Petersburg Police Department released its annual report for 2023, reflecting a continued trend of low crime in Petersburg. Compared to 2022, last year resulted in increased jail time and bookings, dispatch calls for service, charged offenses, arrests, and total calls for service. However, most of those 2023 totals are still lower when compared to 2018 through 2021. In the overall picture, the low crime rate in Petersburg continued in 2023 after the five-year-low seen in 2022. PPD Chief Jim Kerr attributes this outcome to invested police...
When Scott Roberge was in college, he made his way to Petersburg in the late 70s and worked at the cannery, then Icicle Seafoods, with a friend. With a beat up, old aluminum canoe and a couple of days off from work, the pair of pals paddled out from Petersburg and made their way to LeConte Glacier. "It was incredible - to be that close and really immersed into it," Scott recalled. "I love being out there. I didn't want a nine to five job." They camped, something Scott loves to do, in a couple...
Tribal members cast over 100 ballots in the annual Petersburg Indian Association election held on Monday - a voter turnout around four times higher than last year. Four candidates challenged council incumbents for seats, running on a united ticket and winning the race by a large margin according to the unofficial election results. Debra O'Gara received 74 votes and will be the new council president, serving a one-year term. Incumbent president Cris Morrison received 33 votes. When the vote for...
In Sitka, an academic institution called Outer Coast is expanding into a two-year college - marking a major milestone for both the institution and higher education offerings in Alaska. For the last handful of years in operation, Outer Coast has offered post-secondary and gap year programs for highschool graduates, as well as summer seminars for high school students to earn college credit. While the year-long academic year programs and summer seminars cultivated Outer Coast's values and... Full story
The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority recently sold a prized lot at the mouth of Blind Slough near Blind River Rapids in the Trust's Fall Land Sale Auction. The Lot 37 parcel is located at a popular recreation site for sport fishing about 14 miles south of downtown Petersburg. It is one of the many properties on Mitkof Island that the Trust Land Office plans to sell by 2025. In response to what the Trust's plans are for selling the dozens of lots near the mouth of Blind Slough, Allison...
On Tuesday the borough assembly reviewed capital projects needs in Petersburg. Out of 81 requested capital projects across the borough, new and continued, 11 ranked top priority for state funding. The top two priorities are continuing projects for the Petersburg Medical Center replacement. The first is for Phase 4, Main Hospital Construction, seeking $37 million in funding to cover the cost in full. The second is for Phase 5, Main Hospital Interior Build out, seeking $30 million. Hospital project Phases 1 through 3, in the amount of $29...
Trekking up the harbor ramp as the sun set at North Harbor, scores of film production crew members geared up to their chins and strapped with various pieces of equipment made their way back to the Tides Inn after a long day at Little Duncan Bay. A Netflix reality television show called "Outlast" recently filmed its second season on National Forest System lands in the Petersburg Ranger District, around Little Duncan Bay on Kupreanof Island. The series follows 16 individuals as they "survive off...
In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...
Student enrollment in Petersburg School District increased beyond initial expectations, providing a boost in revenues. Student enrollment in PSD increased by 39.1, bringing enrollment to a student count of 469.1. State funding for PSD increased by $1,162,300, arriving at a total of $7,198,073. The State of Alaska funds school districts based on the number of students enrolled, known as the Base Student Allocation (BSA). There is a state-mandated 20-day student count period in October that establishes a district’s enrollment number as something...
"Landless" legislation passed a new milestone on December 14 after winning approval of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee. The bill still has a long way to go to become law. But if it does, it would return land to the original occupants of five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska. Those communities were left out of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. Senator Lisa Murkowski, who sponsored the bill, said in a statement that the omission was "hampering their...
The Cedar Social Club opened Dec. 11 as Petersburg’s first adult day program. This four-hour day program provides personal care, social activity and meal service in a homelike environment for adults who could benefit from spending time in a safe space with trained staff and licensed nurses. “Right now, we’re really at the ground zero. We are building this and creating it,” said Home Health Clinical Manager Kirsten Testoni. “We need to tailor it to everybody’s likes and wants…” While serving as an alternative to assisted living or long-term ca...
Power rates in Petersburg will not increase next year, says SEAPA. The Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) board voted to hold wholesale power rates steady for 2024, according to the report from the Nov. 30 SEAPA meeting. Assembly member Bob Lynn, who represents Petersburg on the SEAPA Board of Directors, presented the report during the assembly meeting on Monday. “From a wholesale power standpoint, there is no increase. There’ll be no rate increase for 2024,” said member Lynn. “There will probably need to be a quarter cent increase in 2025...
Trident Seafoods issued a press release on Tuesday, Dec. 12 announcing a “comprehensive restructuring initiative” that will put the seafood giant “on a path toward streamlining its Alaska operations.” They announced plans to seek buyers for their shoreside processing plants in four locations: Petersburg, Ketchikan, False Pass, and Kodiak. “Our Kodiak operations are integral to the Gulf of Alaska fisheries,” said Jeff Welbourn, Senior Vice President of Alaska Operations at Trident Seafoods in the company’s press release. “They are highly effi...
On Dec. 12, the Petersburg Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously agreed to recommend the sale of borough-owned tidelands property to Island Refrigeration, LLC. The property -Lease Parcel B and the Port Authority Storage Area- is located off Dock Street, behind Wikan Enterprises and the U.S. Coast Guard, and is approximately 35 thousand square-feet; it is currently used for storage. If sold, the proposed use of the land as stated in the application is to "establish a marine refrigeration...
Between April 2019 and December 2021, State and Federal Investigators conducted a lengthy investigation of Rocky Point Resort and its fishing guides and owners after receiving a complaint alleging that Rocky Point owners and guides committed a number of sport fishing violations including not reporting halibut under the Guided Angler Fish (GAF) program, and taking over limits of fish, according to charging documents filed by the Alaska Attorney General’s office at the Petersburg District Court on November 14, 2023. This investigation resulted i...
On Dec. 16, local avian enthusiasts will set out on a quest — not to hunt birds, but to count them as participants in the National Audubon Society’s 124th Christmas Bird Count. The nationwide Christmas Bird Count event is a coordinated citizen science data collection effort that Petersburg started participating in around 1988. “There used to be a custom in the United States of going out on Christmas day and seeing how many birds you could shoot,” said Brad Hunter, who coordinates the local effort on Mitkof Island. “And this was started [...
The Petersburg School District recently enhanced security measures at Stedman Elementary, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School. As of Nov. 27, the front doors of PHS and MMS lock after classes begin at 8:05 a.m. Doorbells with cameras and an intercom system are installed on the front doors, alongside signage to clearly direct people who may try to access the building. Office staff can now see who is ringing the doorbell, which allows them to assess and approve people before allowing them to enter for better security. During the Nov....
"This groundbreaking is a symbol of unity, commitment to the well-being of our community," PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter addressed ceremony attendees. "It's a cornerstone that represents the future of healthcare. And with the WERC building ... it represents a stronger workforce and economy across generations, and serves as a pivotal moment for the quality of care, the quality of life, from community members to our long-term care residents." Petersburg Medical Center invited the community to the new...
PIA is planning to create more housing in Petersburg by constructing residential rental units for both tribal and non-tribal members. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously agreed to move forward with PIA's application to purchase 7.88 acres of borough-owned land located on N. 8th Street beside the Mort Fryer Ball Field Park during a meeting on Dec. 4, approving for the Borough Manager to negotiate directly with PIA. The area in question is part of a larger piece of property (US Survey 1168...
