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The Alaska Department of Fish & Game will be shutting down its Southeast Alaska enhancement program due to an absence of funding, leaving the future of Crystal Lake Hatchery (CLH) in jeopardy, said David Landis, Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association general manager, in a prepared statement. SSRAA operates CLH under a contract with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fishing for a total of $517,300. A portion of the funding that the hatchery receives, $200,000,... Full story
Petersburg School District students are glad to be back at school, despite COVID-19 protocols in place, and have been adapting to the new split schedules, said PSD principals Heather Conn and Rick Dormer at a school board meeting on Tuesday. At Rae C. Stedman Elementary School, one group of students attends class physically in the morning while the second group attends virtually from home. Then in the afternoon, the two groups switch. The group that attended class in-person in the morning is...
Twenty days have gone by since Petersburg has had a positive case of COVID-19 in the community as of Wednesday, Sept. 9. The last confirmed case of the virus was a non-resident who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 14 and recovered on Aug. 21. Petersburg Medical Center has collected a total of 3,456 test samples to be tested for COVID-19 onsite or at outside laboratories as of Wednesday, Sept. 9. Of those test samples collected, 25 are still pending and about 3,418 have returned negative. Jus...
A letter asking state officials to declare Southeast Alaska an area impacted by an economic disaster due to fishery losses was approved by the borough assembly at their meeting on Tuesday. The letter, addressed to Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Julie Anderson, commissioner of the department of commerce, community, and economic development, requests that they take steps to secure relief funding for fishermen in Southeast Alaska. The assembly also requested Dunleavy direct the Alaska Department of Fish...
The borough assembly approved $565,000 from its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund at their meeting on Tuesday for businesses and families who are struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was released with the approval of two resolutions by the assembly. Resolution #2020-16 allocates $500,000 in grants for local businesses that have experienced a loss in gross revenue by 20 percent or $10,000 over 2019. Resolution #2020-17 offers...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly agreed to set aside $608,345 at their meeting on Tuesday from its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund for COVID-19 related costs at Petersburg Medical Center. According to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera, the funds won't immediately be transferred to the hospital. The borough will set the money aside in case PMC needs the funding in the future. While PMC is actively looking for grants and other sources of revenue to cover the costs...
Kake is asking hunters and others not meeting specific travel exceptions to avoid travel to or through the community to avoid the spread of Covid-19. In August, the community established travel restrictions for people traveling to or from Kake. Only first responders, law enforcement officials, Children’s Services officials, medical patient travelers or persons involved with critical infrastructure duties are permitted to enter or leave to the City of Kake, according to an order issued by Mayor Lloyd Davis on August 14. The city requires that p...
Coho Salmon Marine catch rates for coho salmon are now on the decline but freshwater fishing is getting better and better. Anglers can expect freshwater opportunity to continue over the next several weeks as coho salmon return to their natal spawning grounds. Fishing near the confluence of fresh and saltwater with a casting or fly rod is a great way to spend the day fishing this time of year. There is nothing quite like having a chrome coho salmon on the hook and experiencing their renowned aerial acrobatics. Some popular nearshore fishing...
This summer's wet weather set a record for the most summer rainfall ever in Petersburg with 31.6 inches of rain, just barely surpassing the previous record of 31.06 inches of rain in the summer of 2015, according to data from the National Weather Service in Juneau. NWS measures summer rainfall from June 1 through August 31. In June, Petersburg saw 8.15 inches of rain. July had 8.33 inches of rain. August saw another record shattered when 15.12 inches of rain fell in Petersburg, the fourth...
The public will get their chance to ask questions and give feedback on the borough's civil emergency provisions ordinance during a virtual town hall at 4 P.M. on Thursday, Sept. 10. Ordinance #2020-19 makes temporary civil emergency provisions, which are currently in place, a permanent part of borough code. It went before the borough assembly in its third reading on July 20, but the final vote was postponed until Sept. 21. The assembly deferred the third vote to give the public more time to...
Mountain View Manor Assisted Living has begun allowing visitors into the facility under a limited basis, according to acting Incident Commander Sandy Dixson at the COVID-19 community update on Friday. Visitation resumed on Thursday, Aug. 27, and Dixson said the public was eager to see residents at the manor in person again. Apartments are limited to four visitors per visit, and only three apartments can have visitors at one time, said Dixson. Visitors are also screened before entering the...
Scott Burt began his role as the new head coach of the Viking Swim Club this week and brought his passion and dedication for the sport along with him. "Swimming is in my DNA," said Burt. "It's just who I am." He replaces previous VSC Head Coach Andy Carlisle who said he decided to retire from the position after 12 years of coaching the club. He will still continue coaching the Petersburg High School swim team, however. In his retirement, Carlisle leaves behind a strong swim club that Burt said...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors agreed at their Aug. 27 board meeting to ask the Petersburg Borough to set aside $608,345.25 from its COVID-19 fund in the event the hospital can't secure additional funding. The money would go towards payroll, emergency personnel hire, a Cepheid testing machine, an elliptical machine and 10 COVID-19 in home mentoring units. PMC had previously requested $1,004,638.50 from the borough for COVID-19 related expenses, but the state ended up directly...
Petersburg Medical Center started off the 2021 fiscal year by exceeding financial expectations, according to a financial report PMC Controller Rocio Tejera gave to the Board of Directors at their meeting on Aug. 27. The hospital ended July, the first month of the fiscal year, with a total operating revenue of $1,859,444, which was 12 percent higher than expected, had a positive income from operations and a bottom line of $310,973. PMC had originally planned on earning $1,660,797 in total...
After over a decade of filing applications, Doug Leen can begin building a micro hydro project this month on both private and federal property. The micro hydro project's turbine and powerhouse will be placed on Leen's property, but a six inch wide, 458 foot long plastic pipe will run from the powerhouse to an unnamed stream on U.S. Forest Service land. The stream forks into an east and west branch where intake boxes will feed water to the powerhouse to turn the turbine. Leen said the turbine...
Two bids were made for a vacant, borough owned lot at 705 Ira II St. in a virtual competitive bid hearing on Wednesday. Kathy Holtzinger placed a bid of $40,101 for the lot, and Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority bid $40,501 for the lot. The minimum bid for the parcel was $36,500, according to a public notice. A 2020 assessment of the 10,000 sq. ft. lot valued it at $36,000. The borough assembly will decide who to award the bid to at their meeting on Sept. 8, said Borough Clerk Debbie...
Vessels arriving in Petersburg Harbor with non-residents onboard will have to continue to seek approval from the borough public health officer before docking through Dec. 31 under public health mandate #5, which was extended in a special meeting on Monday by the assembly. Public health mandate #5 requires interstate travelers aboard vessels, including passengers and crew, be screened to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 prior to arrival. Borough Public Health Officer Mark Tuccillo will...
Despite the gloomy weather last week, nine students explored the natural world in this year's summer science camp. Every year, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Sea Grant and the Petersburg Marine Science Center host a summer camp for middle school aged kids in town to expose them to career opportunities in science right here in Petersburg. Normally, the weeklong camp includes hikes, camping trips and whale watching, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic Sunny Rice, of the Alaska Sea...
While the number of bear sightings made to the Petersburg Police Department have gone down, Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said bears will likely be a common sight in town until winter. Earlier this month, Robbins cautioned the public to secure their garbage cans and put away human and pet food. It is the availability of human sources of food in town that is bringing the bears out of the forests, said Robbins. Since then, he said he has...
The most recent confirmed case of COVID-19 in the community was declared recovered last Friday, Aug. 21. At the COVID-19 community update on Friday, acting Incident Commander Sand Dixson anticipated the individual, a non-resident tested positive for the virus on Aug. 14, would later that day be declared recovered. Public Health Nurse Erin Michael said in order for an individual who has tested positive for the virus to be deemed recovered, the person should not have any symptoms or have had...
Twenty-one residents filed for candidacy in the Oct. 6 municipal election before the deadline on Tuesday at 4:30 P.M. A total of twenty-six public office seats are up for reelection this fall, including two 3-year term seats on the borough assembly, which are currently held by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci and Assembly Member Brandi Marohl. The municipal elections will be held in person in the Parks and Recreation Center. The first day residents could apply for candidacy was July 28, and the last...
Starting this weekend, the Parks and Recreation Center could see a change to its schedule and availability, though Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, and acting parks and recreation director, said the change may not occur, but if it does, it would be an improvement. Whether or not the schedule changes depends on if the Petersburg School District needs to make adjustments to it. Giesbrecht said PSD can work within the current schedule, but the school district gets the final say. He said a...
The M/V Matanuska's sailings were cancelled through Aug. 20 after five passengers on board the vessel on Aug. 10 tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The ferry is expected to resume service on Aug. 21 out of Bellingham. On Aug. 10, while sailing from Kake to Juneau, the crew of the M/V Matanuska was notified that some passengers were in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person in Kake. Those...
The test result for a non-resident traveler came back positive on Friday, Aug. 14, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual has been in isolation in town and close contacts have been informed. The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center believes the COVID-19 risk to the community is low due to the individual having limited contact with others in the community, according to the press release. As of Wednesday, Aug. 19, the number o...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly chose Sarah F. Fine at their meeting on Monday as the moderator for the Sept. 10 community meeting to discuss the civil emergency provisions ordinance. The third reading of the borough's civil emergency provision ordinance was postponed at an assembly meeting last month until Sept. 21 to allow the public more time to inform themselves about the ordinance and offer feedback. As part of the deferment, the assembly agreed to hold a public meeting sometime before...
