Sorted by date Results 1415 - 1439 of 5574
Public health mandate #3, which suspends in person participation of public meetings, was amended by the borough assembly at their meeting Monday to allow assembly, board and commission members the opportunity to hold a quorum in person. The health mandate was issued on April 3 and was extended on June 1 and will be in effect until terminated. While assembly, board and commission members would be allowed to meet in person during meetings, the public and department heads would not be allowed to...
Jake Hammer wanted to wait until he was a little older and better prepared to have kids. He first left Petersburg to join the United States Marine Corps, and then spent some time in California with his wife, Kasey Hammer, camping, surfing and enjoying the state. It wasn't until he was 32 and had bought a house in Bellingham that he had his first child, Isabelle. "You couldn't imagine something so good happening to you," said Jake. During the pregnancy, Jake had already begun his fishing career....
On Tuesday, Petersburg Medical Center staff were ready to start collecting test samples from passengers flying into town as of the afternoon jet to be tested for COVID-19, said PMC Director of Patient Care Services Angela Menish. As passengers get off the plane and exit the tarmac, they are greeted by borough employees. If an individual is arriving from another part of Alaska, then they can enter the community. If the individual is arriving from outside of the state or country, then they are dir...
The borough assembly approved Joatmon Enterprises LLC's request to lease tidelands at Scow Bay Turnaround at their meeting Monday to establish and operate a vessel maintenance business. The business will be built on a 6,400 sq. ft. section of the Petersburg Borough's lot two in the Scow Bay Turnaround Subdivision. In a written statement to the borough, Raleigh Cook said he plans on using the property to build a fabrication machine shop specifically designed for boat repair and building that...
The borough assembly approved resolution #2020-10 at their meeting on Monday, which approves the purchase of two handicap accessible restroom trailers for a total of $92,870. The purchase of the trailers from Comforts of Home Services, Inc. will be covered by the funding the borough received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, according to the resolution. The borough is able to purchase the restrooms with CARES Act funding because they have hand washing capabilities...
The Petersburg School Board reviewed a guidance document released by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development at their school board meeting last week that lays out a framework on planning and strategies for reopening schools in the fall. The Alaska Smart Start 2020 document uses a three tiered risk/color system to allow each school district to react to the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in their municipality. The framework provided by the Alaska Smart Start 2020 document is not m...
The borough assembly revised and extended public health mandate #5 at an assembly meeting on Monday, which now requires all vessels arriving in Petersburg harbor to meet requirements for out of state passengers as laid forth in state health mandate #10. On May 18, the assembly extended the deadline of public health mandate #5 through June 30, but on Monday it was extended through Aug. 31 to correspond with state health mandate #10. The state health mandate affects intrastate and interstate...
King Salmon As of June 15, fishing for king salmon is now open in the majority of our local waters. Due to reduced nonresident harvest in the sport fishery related to COVID-19, the Southeast Alaska regional king salmon bag, possession, and annual limits were increased last week. Updated king salmon regulations as of June 15th are listed below: Alaska resident: • Daily bag and possession limit of 3 king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. Nonresident: • Daily bag and possession limit of 1 k...
An employee with Trident Seafoods has tested positive for COVID-19 on the individual's tenth day of quarantine after arriving to the community, according to a press release from the Petersburg Emergency Operations Center. All Trident Seafoods employees that travel to Petersburg are tested for the virus prior to arriving in town and are quarantined in a bunkhouse upon arrival, according to the press release. The workers are then tested again on the tenth day of a 14 day quarantine. The... Full story
About 160 residents showed up for a vigil on Sunday outside of the Petersburg Courthouse for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who allegedly died during encounters with police, to show their solidarity with protests and movements across the country. Both Floyd and Taylor are African-American. Chelsea Tremblay, one of the organizers of the vigil, said she wanted to create a safe space for people to come and reflect on their thoughts. During the vigil, those in attendance stood in a circle around...
Construction on the Kake Access Project is expected to begin in mid-July and depending on conditions in the upcoming year, the project should be completed by late summer 2021, according to Joseph Kemp, engineering manager for the project. The Alaska Department of Transportation's contractors for the project, Kiewit Infrastructure West, will be arriving in Portage Bay in early July and will start construction on the road in the following weeks, said Kemp. The contractors look to have the project...
An updated version of Gov. Dunleavy's state health mandate #10 took effect early Saturday morning and set new guidelines for residents and visitors who are entering Alaska from the lower 48 or another country. According to the revised mandate, travelers into the state will have to meet one of four requirements upon arrival to avoid having to self quarantine for 14 days. They can be tested for COVID-19 before traveling, or they can be tested in Alaska when they arrive. If the individual has...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance in its third reading at a special meeting last week that creates a new special revenue fund for the first distribution of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding to the borough in the amount of $2,216,502. The borough received the first distribution of CARES Act funding on May 1, with two more distributions expected on July 1 and on October 1. The borough will receive a total of $3,978,894 in CARES Act funding. The third...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a trailer fire at the 5.3 mile mark of Mitkof Highway just before 8 A.M. on Saturday. Assistant Fire Chief Dave Berg said as of Monday afternoon, the cause of the fire was still under investigation, but the fire started in the ceiling directly above the bathroom. By the time the fire department had responded to the scene, the fire had made its way out of the bathroom, through the house and out the front door. Berg said there was also thick...
Following the retirement of the previous local magistrate judge in May, Rachel Newport has taken on the role after serving as clerk of court for two years. Newport began working at the Petersburg Courthouse in April 2018 as the clerk of court under Magistrate Judge Desi Burrell. After Burrell retired in May of 2019, the deputy clerk also retired shortly after. Newport has since been assuming both duties as clerk of court and that of the deputy clerk. Debra O'Gara became the next magistrate...
Outdoor activities will possibly resume at Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School on July 13, said Activities Director Jaime Cabral at the Petersburg School Board meeting on Tuesday. School districts throughout Southeast Alaska put together a document with guidelines from the Alaska School Activities Association and the state on how activities can safely resume. While some schools throughout the region have already resumed activities, others haven't, said Cabral. The reason the Petersbu...
Since the mid-80s, Pacific Wings has been offering air taxi service for tourists and locals alike throughout Southeast Alaska, but economic hardships that the company has been facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the business to shut its doors. "This COVID thing hit us pretty hard," said owner Tyler Robinson. "Between the COVID thing and all the travel mandates, we pretty much lost all our springtime visits." Pacific Wings had been anticipating a busy spring and summer this yea...
For 33 years, Cole Rhoden has been flying for Pacific Wings, but due to a loss in business as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is shutting down. After his last flight on Friday, Rhoden said he was forced into retirement. About 30 people gathered at the Petersburg Airport Friday afternoon to greet Rhoden as he completed his last flight with Pacific Wings. While those in attendance cheered as Rhoden got off the Cessna 185 aircraft, for Rhoden, the moment was a bittersweet end to his...
Ocean Beauty Seafoods LLC and Icicle Seafoods, Inc. will be merging their wild salmon and Gulf of Alaska groundfish operations effective June 1, the two companies announced in a joint-statement on Friday, May 29. Both companies will each own a 50 percent stake in the new company, which will be called OBI Seafoods LLC. The company looks to modernize processing facilities and combine marketing product expertise. The merger has been in the works since the fall of 2018, said Mark Palmer, president a...
The borough assembly approved the Emergency Operations Center to answer a survey from the Alaska Municipal League regarding the presence of cruise ships in Alaska and also heard concerns over cruise ships arriving in port. The assembly had the option to hold a special meeting to provide input on the survey, but the assembly members felt comfortable with the EOC answering the questions. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said the communities at a recent AML meeting were cautious and showed...
With the upcoming expiration of the state's health mandate that requires anyone arriving in the state to quarantine for 14 days, Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said at the COVID-19 community update Wednesday that the borough hasn't received much information from the state on what will happen next. Last Friday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced plans to change state health mandate #10 in a press conference. He mentioned that the Petersburg and Wrangell airports would be supported by state...
Nels Nielsen spent last Friday at the Petersburg Post Office like it was any other day. He helped customers retrieve long awaited packages and mail letters. The only thing that was different were the balloons hanging throughout the lobby congratulating him on his retirement after 28 years with the United States Postal Service. Originally from northern California, Nielsen arrived in Petersburg in 1978 to work at Petersburg Fisheries. After 14 years working at the cannery, he began working at the...
The borough assembly passed the borough's fiscal year 2021 operating budget in its third reading on Monday, which has $9,702,871 in both total revenues and total expenditures. The first draft of the budget showed expenditures for the general fund totaling $9,838,846, but was balanced out equally by $9,838,846 in revenues. The total amount of revenues and expenditures change throughout the three readings of the budget as a result of the seven amendments made to it. The most recent amendment was...
Petersburg Medical Center has spent about $430,000 in costs related to COVID-19, as of Friday's Board of Directors' meeting, according to PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. Tejera said much of April was spent dealing with COVID-19 related activities and searching for financial aid. In April alone, PMC spent $321,000 in COVID-19 related expenses, such as overtime, supplies and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to cover 75 percent of the hospital's COVID-19 related costs,...
A lack of skilled trade workers has caused both the borough and businesses in town to struggle to fill open positions, which can result in a loss of income and an increase in the time it takes to get a project done. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said when the borough advertises a job it first looks in-house for anyone who wants to move up to another position. After several weeks, the borough will advertise city wide, before advertising the position throughout the state. Despite the borough...
