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The community gymnasium in Hoonah was the venue chosen to host a Koo.éex' for four members of the Tlingit tribe Raven moiety T'akdeintaan (Sea Pigeon) clan who had died during the past few years. Around 400 Tlingit tribal members traveled to the T'akdeintaan home village in early November for what Will Ware describes as a "payoff party" and an opportunity to "acknowledge and recognize our opposites." In the matrilineal Tlingit culture, individuals are born into one of two moieties, either... Full story
During October's hospital board meeting, program facilitators presented a review of the PMC Youth Programs under the Petersburg Medical Center community wellness department - primarily highlighting Kinder Skog's past year as a PMC pilot program. The outdoor-based childcare program transitioned from operating under Petersburg Lutheran Church's Good Beginnings Preschool to PMC in August 2022 after the hospital board agreed earlier that year to establish a pilot childcare program in the Community W...
Rock-N-Road Construction proposed to make needed modifications to the Petersburg Borough’s rock quarry and mud dump access road in exchange for up to 60 thousand cubic yards of borough rock to use for the new hospital site. The proposal benefits the borough by allowing further development of the borough’s quarry, which is currently exhausted with a shortage of accessible rock, and will also save money on the new hospital project. The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved this trade during a regular meeting on Dec. 5. According to Public Wor...
Rosal Concepcion is eagerly awaiting her exit clearance for travel from Manila, Philippines, to Petersburg, Alaska, where she's looking forward to starting an adventurous new chapter of her life working as a middle school and high school special education teacher. Rosal grew up knowing a girl who was born profoundly deaf and unable to communicate. "Because of her, that's how it started. I said, Okay, I really would like to be an instrument, so that the community will understand people like...
Following the devastating landslide that happened in Wrangell the night of Nov. 20, volunteers throughout Southeast have organized several ways to support the town of 2 thousand. Volunteers in Petersburg organized a relief effort in less than 24 hours and shipped donated supplies to the neighboring community. In Wrangell, a crowd of volunteers -including Parks and Recreation Director Lucy Moline-Robinson, Chris and Dixie Booker from C&D Deliveries and fourth-grade teacher Brian Merritt-...
An arrest has been made for the recent string of burglaries of downtown Petersburg businesses. Zachary Bray, 27, was taken into custody by Petersburg Police Department (PPD) on Nov. 22. According to charging documents filed with the court by PPD, an initial warrant to search a package was issued after USPS Postal Inspectors received a report from the Petersburg Post Office of multiple suspicious contacts with Bray seeking to collect a suspicious package, followed by a break-in at the post office. PPD Officer Jared Popp executed that search...
On Nov. 20, the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the sale of borough-owned tidelands to Wikan Enterprises, Inc. at the price of $112,564. The price tag includes the appraised value of the property, the cost of the appraisal, and two years worth of the remaining lease agreement. Wikan Enterprises is a well established business of almost 30 years as a marine repair shop that specializes in diesel engines. Sheri and John Wikan applied to purchase the property located at 103A Dock Street, which they have leased for the duration of their...
At the Fire Hall on Dec. 2, PMC's Community Wellness Specialist, Becky Turland, and Youth Program Coordinator, Katie Holmlund, will instruct a free Youth Mental Health First Aid training course where members of the Petersburg community can become certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. "It's a free training that has potential to save a life," Holmlund told the Pilot. This year, Turland and Holmlund completed a Youth Mental Health First Aid Facilitator Course - a three-day course offered... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Wastewater Utility department will pursue a loan increase from the state of Alaska for the Pump Station 4 replacement project. “The money has already been approved by the voters, the assembly already approved all of this, but how it’s allocated is a change,” Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht told the Pilot. “Now we’re going to have to put more money into Pump Station 4 than we thought we would originally.” In 2019, Petersburg voters passed Resolution 1 and approved $8 million in debt service for water and wastewater...
"I would like to make a motion to stop the acquisition of this land," said Mayor Mark Jensen during the Nov. 6 Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting. Those words spelled the beginning of the end for the Petro 49 building acquisition process that started in 2018. Five years ago, the borough sought to acquire the old Union Oil building and property at 703 S. Nordic Drive from Petro 49, Inc. with the intention to establish a Harbor Department maintenance facility and storage area there in the future....
Late Monday night, a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Sitka crashed on Read Island in Farragut Bay during a search and rescue mission for a nearby fishing vessel -leaving four helicopter crew members in need of urgent rescuing, as well. The prompt response from Petersburg's emergency services played a crucial role in the successful rescue operation that resulted in the survival of all four helicopter crew members. Two members were discharged from the hospital Wednesday morni...
“The Municipal Harbor Facility Grant is the single most significant funding tool available to Alaskan Harbormasters to plan, maintain, and recapitalize port and harbor infrastructure,” states the resolution passed at the Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on Nov. 6. The assembly voted in support of the resolution to urge the Governor and Alaska Legislature to increase the amount of money made available to municipalities in the state’s harbor match grant program in order to adjust for inflation. According to the Alaska Department of Trans...
The borough’s human resources department provided a progress report about the municipality’s newly implemented safety measures during the Borough Assembly Meeting Nov. 6. In September, Alaska Public Entity Insurance (APEI) representatives presented a safety review of the Petersburg Borough during a regular assembly meeting. Assembly members and human resources staff left that meeting with actionable recommendations to address safety concerns within the borough. Part of that was the establishment of a formal Borough Safety Committee. Becky Reg...
In the past three weeks, four downtown Petersburg businesses have reported burglaries. The Petersburg Police Department confirmed all four incidents are the subject of active investigations. The Blomster Hus flower shop was the most recent incident, with staff arriving Monday morning this week to find the cash register had been pried open by a burglar over the weekend. A week earlier, security cameras captured footage of a burglar searching for cash after breaking into the Petersburg Moose Lodge. “Security camera footage from the Moose Lodge h...
The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) named Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter as Alaska's 2023 "Community Star." Hofstetter is being recognized by the national organization for his dedication to enhancing rural healthcare and addressing the health needs of the Petersburg community through wellness and prevention activities, education, collaborative partnerships, and accessible at-home care. "Phil and PMC have advanced local healthcare through numerous...
The Petersburg Borough and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) agreed to increase wages for union workers in the most recent ratified contract approved by the Petersburg Borough Assembly on Nov. 6. The Petersburg Municipal Power & Light department (PMPL) has struggled for over a year to hire an Electrician/Operator and a Journeyman Lineman, which burdens the few workers that are there. Sam Caulum spoke at the Nov. 6 borough assembly meeting, representing himself and a majority of IBEW members at PMPL. He said the prolonged...
An investigation by the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs task force (SEACAD) led to the indictment and arrest of six Petersburg residents last week. A press release from the Juneau Police Department reported that a Juneau Grand Jury indicted Petersburg residents Palmer Thomassen Jr., Gabriel Volk, Dazzlin Frentz, Edward Rayborn, Amanda Loucks, and Austin Strickland on Oct. 26, 2023 for various counts of Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the Second and in the Third Degree....
During a regular meeting on Nov. 6, the Petersburg Borough Assembly passed a resolution in its first reading to approve an application for Skylark Park LLC to purchase borough land. The purchase includes five lots on Odin Street, of Skylark II Subdivision, and one parcel, Government Lot 21, near Skylark Way. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the assembly approve the application during the commission's most recent meeting on Oct. 10. Skylark LLC requests to purchase the six...
From atop the helicopter pad at Five Finger Lighthouse station, visitors experience a nearly unobstructed 360-degree vista of Alaska's Inside Passage. The air is rich with the scent of saltwater, the calls of the island's abundant birdlife, and echoes of humpback whales breathing and breaching in Stephens Passage throughout the summer feeding season. A narrow path leads between the station's 120-year-old boat house and carpenter shop and gently traverses the less-than-three-acre island's green... Full story
After a yearlong public process, the U.S. Forest Service has announced eight potential sites for new recreational cabins in the Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger Districts. After considering the environmental impacts and accessibility of hundreds of sites suggested by members of the public or identified by staff, the district picked the ones that are most likely to see substantial traffic and compete for federal funding, and announced them in a draft decision published Thursday, Oct. 19. There are...
The final report of the Petersburg Borough Housing Needs Assessment was completed on Sept. 30. In January of this year, the Borough Assembly contracted consulting firm Agnew::Beck to conduct this assessment and determine the housing needs in Petersburg, at an estimated cost of about $55,000 with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The assessment took place from February through September. Information was gathered from 366 community survey responses —about 10 percent of the population, which the project team considered a good response r...
Representative Rebecca Himschoot will visit Petersburg November 8 – 11. She will host a Constituent Connection at Glacier Express from 9 – 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 9 and at the Salty Pantry from 7 – 9 a.m. on Friday, November 10. Please stop by and say hello. For more information, call (907) 465-3732....
Jaime Cabral, Dean of Students and Activity Director of Petersburg Middle/High School, recently received statewide recognition for his commitment to kids. Nominated by Katie Holmlund and Becca Madsen of Kinder Skog, Cabral rose to the top of 22 other nominations from across the state to become Petersburg's first ever recipient of this award. Earlier in the year, Holmlund and Madsen had been named Afterschool Superheroes by the Alaska Children's Trust. When the call for nominations came out for...
The air in town is crisp, leaves continue to fall and the mornings are turning frosty. Even with the bright sunshine seen in Petersburg this week, the season is certainly shifting. The transition of summer to winter brings more than a change in weather; seasonal industries shift, and the change prompts reflection. How did this summer go? Several of Petersburg's new tourism businesses look back on their 2023 season. VIKING TRAVEL James and Madeleine Valentine are the owners of Viking Travel, a...
