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The Petersburg Borough gave the Petersburg Medical Center permission to apply for a second Paycheck Protection Program loan totaling $1.8 million at their meeting on Tuesday evening through emergency ordinance #2021-02. PMC applied and received a loan of the same amount in April through the Small Business Administration. Businesses that received a PPP loan had the opportunity to have the loan forgiven if the money was spent on certain expenses like payroll and rent. PMC had its loan forgiven in...
The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center is reporting eight active cases of COVID-19 in town as of Wednesday afternoon after positive test results reached as high as 11 on Jan. 16. At the COVID-19 community update on Jan. 15, Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said despite the recent spike in cases, he didn't see a great risk of the virus spreading. "The cases we are seeing have either done a good job of isolating or they're clusters within the same household," said Hagerman. "I'm feeling pretty...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a structure fire in the 600 block of N. Nordic Dr. Tuesday morning at about 7 A.M., according to PVFD Assistant Fire Chief Dave Berg. Fifteen volunteers responded to a house on OBI Seafoods property near their bunkhouse on PFI Hill that was filled with heavy smoke. The source of the smoke was coming from under a couch in the center of the room, said Berg. Volunteers flipped the couch over expecting to find a burning cigarette or another...
The Petersburg School Board approved a winter revision to the fiscal year 2021 budget that addresses changes in funding and needs mainly due to a decrease in enrollment and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Petersburg School District projected an enrollment of 470 students across all three schools in the district in the 2020-2021 school year, according to Finance Director Karen Morrison; however, there are only 426 students currently enrolled with the school district. That's an 8.83 percent decrease...
Petersburg Indian Association unveiled plans to build a $800,000 multi-purpose transit building at the corner of 12th St. and Howkan St. across from their current location at a Transportation Priority Update meeting on Tuesday. The multi-purpose transit facility and parking lot will be used as a carport to store PIA transit related equipment, provide an indoor workspace to maintain equipment and add additional parking for PIA staff and tenants. The design of the facility is slated to take place...
PMC Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner said at the COVID-19 community update on Jan. 8 that PMC is expecting to have a combined total of about 300 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine to begin vaccinating residents 65 years and older this week. She said most of the local residents who received the vaccine last month have already been vaccinated for the second and final time. According to the Petersburg Emergency Operations Center, 219 vaccines have been administered locally as of Wednesday,...
GCI cable TV customers in Petersburg and across Alaska have lost access to three network channels as negotiations continue over rates the cable company will pay to Vision Alaska and Coastal Television that operate Fox, ABC and CW. Vision Alaska and Coastal Television requested a nearly 40% rate increase this year, according to GCI. In a published statement Heather Handyside, a spokeswoman for GCI, said it's unclear when the companies may reach an agreement. She added that the networks rejected...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht and Utility Superintendent Karl Hagerman have agreed to leave the downtown Christmas tree and main street holiday lights illuminated, perhaps through February. With the concurrence of the assembly members, the manager said he was okay with leaving the decorations up, but worried about the wind, which of late, has reached gusts of over 40 mph. Giesbrecht said if wind damage occurs, the lights and tree will be taken down. A citizen emailed the manager suggesting...
The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center lowered the community risk of COVID-19 transmission from orange to yellow, or level one on Wednesday, according to a joint press between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Although the current active case number in town is nine as of Wednesday afternoon, the EOC said the cases were a part of household clusters and have been isolated from the community; as a result, the EOC is able to lower the overall community risk level. However, an...
In the first round of COVID-19 aid released through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Petersburg received $15.08 million in bailout funds from the federal government. Funds were released through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). A little over 270 Petersburg businesses received a total of $8.46 million in PPP loans, while 268 local businesses received a combined $6.61 million through EIDL, according to covidbailouttracker.com....
A large group of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the United States Capitol Building on Jan. 6 while Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election leaving a wake of destruction behind them. Petersburg residents seem united in their feelings of disappointment and embarrassment at those that entered the Capitol Building and condemnation of their actions. Where they differ is whether or not those that remained outside are just as guilty as those that entered the...
Alaska Natives Without Land now looks to the 117th Congress for the opportunity to acquire land through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act after legislation that would have established five Urban Corporations failed to progress in the previous session of Congress. "With the continued support of our Alaska delegation, our communities, and our shareholders, we will realize a positive result after many years of anguish," wrote Randy Williams, an ANWL representative, in prepared statement. Five...
In her first Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting since becoming the new Parks and Recreation director, Stephanie Payne laid out the goals she'd like to accomplish in the coming weeks and months. Probably her highest priority is reassessing user contracts and memorandums of understanding. In addition to the typical patron who may visit the community gym to work out, play basketball or swim, there are organizations that have agreements with Parks and Recreation to use the facility. Some of...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors held a special meeting on Tuesday to approve the hospital's request to apply for a loan from the Small Business Administration through the Paycheck Protection Program of up to $1.8 million to maintain payroll in the coming months. During the second round of PPP loans, PMC will have to prove that it lost at least 25 percent in gross revenue during one quarter last year when compared to 2019, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. PMC did experie...
The Petersburg School Board approved the sex education curriculum for Petersburg High School at their regular meeting on Tuesday to comply with HB 156. The house bill requires that the sex education instructor and the curriculum be approved each year, according to the PSB. The instructor will be science teacher Alice Cumps and sex education will be part of the overall curriculum for the ninth grade health class. PHS Principal Rick Dormer said the curriculum for sex education at the high school i...
A new case of COVID-19 was confirmed in town on Saturday, and the Petersburg Emergency Operations Center is attributing the positive test result to community spread, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The infected individual had limited community interaction in the days prior to testing positive for the virus, according to the press release. Despite the virus' possible presence in the community, the EOC continues to maintain the... Full story
The Petersburg School District postponed reopening the schools to students on Wednesday following Petersburg Emergency Operation Center's announcement on Monday that it was raising the local risk level for COVID-19 from yellow to orange. Students were set to return to school from winter break on Wednesday, Jan. 6, but the school district decided to switch to remote learning for the first week of the new year. In a message to parents, PSD officials said the school district would typically move...
Last year it may have seemed like a record breaking amount of rain fell on the city. After all, Petersburg had the wettest summer on record, and heavy showers in December caused parts of the borough to flood. According to Meteorologist Caleb Cravens with the Juneau Weather Service, the total amount of rainfall in 2020 was just about normal. "Overall, it may seem like it was a wet year, but it was just those summer months that were above normal that made everyone thinks it was super wet," said...
The Borough Assembly, at their meeting on Monday, approved the Community Risk Communication Plan, which tracks the COVID-19 situation in town and offers guidelines. The Community Risk Communication Plan uses a dashboard that presents the risk level of COVID-19 in the borough, at Petersburg Medical Center and Petersburg School District on a day to day basis. It displays the total amount of COVID-19 tests on the local population and divides the data into different metrics, like the percentage of...
Petersburg Medical Center has administered about 150 COVID-19 vaccines as of Dec. 31 to local residents as the town and state move through the early stages of the vaccine distribution process, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The vaccine has been made available to residents and staff at both PMC Long Term Care facility and Mountain View Manor Assisted Living, according to the joint press release. Critical frontline healthcare works, including EMS, have...
The United States Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman on board the F/V Magnus Martens 80 miles Northwest of Dutch Harbor in the Bering Sea on Dec. 30, according to a USCG press release. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew based out of Air Station Kodiak was deployed on board the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley. The fisherman was initially flown to Dutch Harbor for medical care, but it was determined that he was in need of a higher level of care, according to the press release. He was then...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors awarded a $1.3 million request for proposal to Cerner for a new electronic health records system at an executive meeting on Dec. 22. The electronic health records system is to be paid for with a state grant awarded to PMC for the technological improvement of the facility, according to PMC CEO Phil Hostetter at a regular hospital board meeting in early December. PMC was also able to overhaul its telehealth infrastructure to help with the COVID-19...
Southern Southeast Alaska Aquaculture Association hopes to secure $200,000 to make up for a loss in funding for Crystal Lake Hatchery (CLH) following the expiration of a sport fishing license surcharge SSRAA General Manager David Landis told the Borough Assembly at their Monday meeting. The sport fishing license surcharge needed to be renewed before Dec. 31 by the state legislation, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented lawmakers from acting before the deadline, said Landis. The most recent...
Petersburg Indian Association tabulated the results of their 2021 election on Jan. 5 following a voting period that began in early December. Unofficial results from the election show Christina Morrison, who ran unopposed, taking the 1-year term as Tribal Council president with 59 votes. Five tribal members ran for three 2-year terms as members on the Tribal Council. Jaclyn Lyons and Joseph Stewart tied with 49 votes, and Jeanette Ness took the third seat with 44 votes. Incumbent Brenda Norheim w...
January The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposed establishing critical habitat areas for humpback whales in three distinct population segments located off Mexico, Central American and the Western Pacific. The Petersburg Borough sent a letter of disapproval to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding the proposed critical habitat for humpback whales after residents spoke out against the proposal. The Petersburg Borough authorized the hire of Josh Rathmann to fill the...
