Sorted by date Results 621 - 645 of 5549
While most high schools may take a field trip to the local museum or zoo, a select group of Petersburg High School students get to go somewhere a little bit cooler-LeConte Glacier. Each year, students set out to survey the glacier and record how it has moved over time. They're taking what they have learned in the classroom and are applying it in the field. The survey began in 1983 with high school teacher Paul Bowen's surveying class as an opportunity for the top students to get real world... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to approve an amended proposal increasing the starting pay of police officers and dispatchers in a 5-2 vote with Mayor Mark Jensen and Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh opposed during Monday's meeting. The proposal passed by the assembly aims to improve both recruitment and retention of employees to combat the police department's continued staffing issues which have led to increased overtime and strain on staff. Changes included in the proposals were drawn...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted during Monday's meeting to send two properties owned by the borough along Sandy Beach Road to an outcry auction following a recommendation of sale from the Planning Commission. The two lots, 700 and 1015 Sandy Beach Road, are zoned single-family residential and are neighbored by privately-owned lots with houses. Marc Taylor was listed as the applicant for the 84,942 square foot lot at 700 Sandy Beach Road and Linda Millard and Samuel Bergeron were listed as...
There were multiple accounts with outstanding balances when Sharlay Mamoe took over as director of the Petersburg Children's Center. A board member suggested writing letters to the people. Payments began coming back almost immediately, often with apologies. Those balances attest to the difficulty families face when it comes to paying for childcare. If a couple or a single parent cannot afford the rates at PCC, Mamoe will grab an application for the state-funded Child Care Assistance Program... Full story
An ordinance which would increase rates at Petersburg's municipal harbors was unanimously approved by the Petersburg Borough Assembly in its second reading during Monday's meeting. Ordinance #2022-03, which also passed unanimously in its first reading, would be the first rate increase since 2018 and would increase harbor moorage fees by around 5% among other changes. The ordinance also has the support of the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board and Harbormaster Glo Wollen who said the increase is...
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium leadership will give a presentation at the next Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board meeting on March 24 according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. The board voted in September to invite SEARHC leadership to speak at a future meeting to give the public an opportunity to hear more information on SEARHC's vision for local health care and discuss Petersburg's need for a new medical facility. Questions from board members and staff at the hospital were...
During the February 21 Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting, Assembly Member Dave Kensinger gave a report on his attendance at the 2022 Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit which included an update on the U.S. Coast Guard's interest in Petersburg, federal funding in Alaska, and other important matters to the assembly. The future of the Coast Guard's presence in Petersburg has been in question since it was announced that only three of the four coastal buoy tenders, the class of ships that the...
The commercial Pacific halibut fishing period is set to begin on March 6 as determined during the 98th session of the International Pacific Halibut Commission and will last until December 7, 2022. This season, the overall Total Constant Exploitation Yield (TCEY) limit was increased by 5.7% compared to last year, bringing the 2022 limit to 41.22 million pounds. For all areas in the United States, the total 2022 limit of 33.66 million pounds is up 5.2% from 2021. The largest percentage increase...
John Bisset, 18, was arrested on multiple charges of alleged sexual assault on February 19 according to the Petersburg Police Department. The charges include four counts of first degree sexual assault and one count of second degree sexual assault which all allegedly occurred on December 4, 2021. According to a press release from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the AWT Patrol Vessel Compliance conducted a commercial fishing boarding on February 19 near Hobart Bay when law enforcement discovered that Bisset, who was aboard, had an active felony...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-1 against Ordinance #2022-02, which would have required sitting assembly members to resign in order to run for mayor, with only Mayor Mark Jensen in support. The ordinance, which failed in its first reading, would have amended the municipal code to require sitting assembly members to tender a letter of resignation prior to filing a declaration of candidacy for mayor unless their term expired in the same election year as the mayoral election. Currently, if...
Laboratory Manager Violet Shimek announced during last week's Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board meeting that the hospital will be bringing back its Community Health and Safety Fair this spring. The fair, which is usually held every two years, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the theme of this year's event is "Getting Back on Track." The fair's in-person event is scheduled for June and an exact date will be released by the hospital soon. Leading up to the in-person...
An annual 200-acre treatment limit on the U.S. Forest Service's invasive plant management program in the 3.7-million-acre Wrangell-Petersburg district has the agency revamping and possibly expanding its efforts to eradicate foreign weeds that could damage the ecosystem and economy. Since 2015, the Forest Service has been pulling, digging and spot-spraying plants like knotweed and canarygrass that are not naturally occurring in Southeast. But project managers say it's not enough and they need to...
During Tuesday's meeting, the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously, 7-0, in support of Ordinance #2022-03 in its first reading which would increase harbor moorage fees by approximately 5%. The proposed fee increase was first presented to the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board during a meeting on February 1 where Harbormaster Glo Wollen said the increase was necessary to keep up with inflation and that fees have not increased since 2018. During that meeting, the harbor board approved a...
The Estate of Molly Parks v. Petersburg Borough, et al. went before the Alaska Supreme Court for oral arguments earlier this month in an effort to overturn the Superior Court's decision to dismiss the case and reopen the lawsuit against the borough and Allen. The wrongful death claim stems from a van crash in 2016 which killed Molly Parks and argued that the borough should be held civilly liable for her death while the borough argued that workers compensation is the sole source remedy since the...
The state of child care availability in Petersburg remains a central concern for the community. During Tuesday's regular borough assembly meeting Assembly member Jeff Meucci remarked that "child care in Petersburg is the cornerstone to economic development in town. Without dependable child care in Petersburg, we can't get back to normal." But he added that understanding the fluid state of child care is challenging. As the conversation continues locally about how to meaningfully support this...
The Mountain View Manor Assisted Living Facility is reporting one active case of COVID-19 as of Wednesday according to Mountain View Manor administrator Shelyn Bell. Since February 10, 14 cases have been identified at the manor, two of which were in the past week, and there has been one fatality where COVID-19 may have been a contributing factor. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht briefed the Petersburg Borough Assembly on the state of the outbreak during Tuesday night’s assembly meeting According to Giesbrecht, all staff are wearing full PPE i...
An award-winning film chronicling the Metlakatla boys basketball team's run to the 2018 state championship will make its Petersburg big screen debut next week. "Alaskan Nets" plays at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3, at Wright Auditorium. Tickets are $20. Californian Jeff Harasimowicz, director and producer of the documentary film, said he got the idea in 2017 when he was scrolling sports stories, which he loves, on ESPN.com and came across a 2016 photo story by photojournalist Samuel Wilson about...
A COVID-19 outbreak at the Mountain View Manor Assisted Living Facility has resulted in at least 12 positive cases as of Wednesday afternoon according to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. Of the 12 cases, four are unvaccinated and eight are vaccinated according to Mountain View Manor administrator Shelyn Bell. There has also been one fatality where COVID-19 may have been a contributing factor. The large outbreak, which has affected both residents and staff, has prompted testing and other...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the start of the 2022 Southeast Alaska commercial Tanner crab fishery which opened on February 11 at noon after registration for the season closed. According to the announcement, core areas will be open until February 18 at noon for a total of seven fishing days, non-core areas will be open until February 23 at noon for a total of 12 fishing days, and exploratory area will be open until March 9 at noon for a total of 26 fishing days. All three are...
A local doctor initially spoke to Paul Bowen about a new program aimed at allowing older community members to maintain their independence and continue living at home. Bowen was hesitant at first, but once the topic came to the attention of his daughters, who were already aware of CAPABLE, they immediately began encouraging their father to give it a try. He did and now he has no plans of leaving his home. "I'm glad I had a chance to do it and I'm glad I stayed with it," Bowen says. "It's been a... Full story
The Clausen Museum is set to open a community photography show on Saturday called "Transported" with pictures centering on traveling both near and far. The show will be the museum first focused solely on photography in a long time according to Museum Director Cindi Lagoudakis who said the show's theme centers on travel during a time where that has been lessened due to the pandemic but is up for interpretation for every photographer. "The theme 'Transported' came to me as something that could be...
The Mitkof Middle School robotics team traveled to Anchorage to compete in the state tournament on February 5, and though they did not place, the experience gave the team some insight into what state level competition looks like. The team got the opportunity to compete in the state competition after placing first in the innovative project category for their presentation on a cargo transport system at the local Alaska Marine Lines facility during the regional tournament in December. Those who...
Parks and Recreation has distributed community center membership passes to borough board members and to the staff of nonprofit child care providers as a way to thank them for their service to the community. The idea to give passes to board members was suggested to Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne who said it could serve as a way for the borough to show its appreciation for the service people provide by serving on those boards. She discussed it with Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht w...
The Petersburg School Board unanimously approved the calendar for the 2022-2023 school year during its meeting on February 8. The 2022-2023 calendar greatly resembles this year’s calendar and can be viewed on the Petersburg School District website. “We took the feedback that we have received throughout the year related to in-service dates and conferences and vacations and all those things and it is very similar overall,” Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said. The first day of the next school year will be on Tuesday, August 30, 2022 and the l...
The Petersburg School Board voted unanimously to amend its COVID-19 mitigation plan Tuesday night which now allows for limited optional masking in yellow status depending on cases within each building. Some parents and teachers spoke at the beginning of the meeting against the continuation of the mitigation plan approved in January, which required universal masking and had no provisions for optional masking, saying universal masking was counterproductive and inhibited learning. During last...
