Sorted by date Results 1493 - 1517 of 5553
It took Maura Sullivan about a week to return to Petersburg when the United States Peace Corps began pulling its volunteers out of Zambia on March 16 as COVID-19 was spreading around the world. In the weeks leading up to her forced departure, Sullivan and the other Peace Corps volunteers in Zambia were keeping up with the news on COVID-19, but they weren't aware of how serious the virus was getting. "When you're living abroad, it's kind of hard to grasp the severity of the situation when you're...
Sunday, March 29, started out with a blanket of snow on the ground with more falling from the sky. It wasn't ideal weather but that didn't stop the residents of Petersburg from getting outdoors and going on a "bear hunt." "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" is not only the title of a beloved children's story book by Micheal Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, but also a song that kids are often taught in elementary school and the inspiration for this social media idea. With kids at home from school for over two...
Meg Litster was appointed to the Petersburg School Board in a special meeting on Tuesday. Litster is filling a vacant seat left by Board President Mara Lutomski who stepped down in February. Litster, who had previously served on the school board for two years, will remain on the board until the municipal elections later this year....
Incident Commander Karl Hagerman signed public health mandate #3 Friday afternoon to temporarily suspend in-person participation during borough assembly meetings or any other public meeting of a borough board and commission effective immediately. “Due to the ongoing public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 crisis, it is in the best interest of public safety and health that public gatherings be avoided,” wrote Hagerman in the health mandate. Hagerman notes in the mandate that the con... Full story
The borough assembly unanimously passed public health mandate #1 at a special meeting on Wednesday that orders residents to shelter in place amid the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. The mandate goes into effect at 11:59 P.M. on Thursday, March 26. The health mandate comes three days after the assembly passed a public health alert at another special meeting on Sunday that urged the public to shelter in place. Following an outpour of community support for a mandate...
Longtime Petersburg resident Delbert (Pete) Erickson, 77, died on March 16 in Federal Way, Washington. His is the first recorded death caused by the COVID-19 virus in the State of Alaska. Even though he died in Washington, his death is recorded in Alaska, his place of residency. According to his family, Erickson was being treated for congestive heart failure, COPD and poor kidney function at a hospital in Everett, Washington. His son Pete wrote in an email, "If he had not contracted the virus, w...
As the first cruise ships are expected to arrive in town on May 12, it is still too early to tell how COVID-19 will affect the cruise ship industry in Southeast Alaska, according to Dave Berg, co-founder of Viking Travel. One issue affecting large, foreign cruise ships is the closure of the Vancouver cruise ship port, said Berg. The closure was a result of COVID-19, and the cruise ship port isn't expected to reopen until June 30. While most of the ships that port in Petersburg are small,...
Local canneries are in the beginning stages of developing a plan to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 brought into town by cannery workers that will be hired for the upcoming fishing season. “We have a tremendous responsibility to the communities that we bring workers into,” said a representative from Icicle Seafoods who asked not to be named. The representative said Icicle Seafoods has been screening workers in the past, but the company has stepped up their procedures in light of the COV...
As of Wednesday afternoon, four of the 13 local test specimens that have been sent to state and commercial laboratories have returned negative for COVID-19, according to Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter. The results of the remaining nine tests are still undetermined. "You would know a lot sooner if there were any positives," said Hofstetter, at a daily COVID-19 community update on Wednesday. Statewide, 59 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday evening, with 13...
The Local Emergency Planning Committee held their second meeting in two weeks telephonically, as the borough and local businesses take further precautions to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in Petersburg. To start off the teleconference, Petersburg Public Health Nurse Erin Michael and Petersburg Medical Center's Laurie Miller gave a brief overview of the new developments being taken by local health professions in reaction to the virus. Michael said the public health office and PMC are making...
The Petersburg Borough as enacted a second public health mandate on Thursday afternoon that cancels certain borough boards and commission meetings through April 30 as COVID-19 worries continue. Public Health Mandate #02, which was signed by Incident Commander Karl Hagerman and is effective immediately, prevents the Petersburg Borough Planning Commission, Harbors and Ports Advisory Board, Library Advisory Board and the Public Safety Advisory Board from meeting until April 30, at which time... Full story
The borough assembly awarded the Motor Pool Shop repair design bid to WJE, Associates, Inc. based out of Washington in an amount not to exceed $50,000 at their meeting on Monday. The cost of the design work will be covered by the borough's liability insurance provider. The design process will be the first steps in rebuilding the borough's Motor Pool Shop, which went up in flames in August. The fire displaced motor pool staff to an adjacent garage until the original building can be repaired....
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a declaration of disaster emergency at Monday's assembly meeting in response to the COVID-19 outbreak across the country and state. Additionally, the assembly approved an emergency ordinance that would allow the assembly to declare a quorum by calling into an assembly meeting instead of being present. By declaring a disaster emergency, the borough is putting itself in position to better receive state and federal emergency funding should the borough requir...
Dave Ellis showed up at our office last Friday suggesting a mistake had been made in our Yesterday’s News column that appears on page 2 each week. Dated March 18, 1970, the Petersburg Press reported Petersburg Public Schools announced the establishment of a $100 per year scholarship for a graduating senior planning to go to vocational school. The scholarship was provided by Ellis Machine, a local machine shop and Detroit Diesel dealer in Petersburg. Ellis said the scholarship was for $1,000/year, not $100. He added that no one ever applied f...
The borough assembly failed to pass a letter to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner John MacKinnon requesting DOT revise their plans for the Kake Access Road project to end the road directly across from Petersburg on Kupreanof Island instead of at Twelvemile Creek. Mayor Mark Jensen, who requested the letter be put on the agenda, said ending the road at Twelvemile Creek was not a good plan and it should end closer to Petersburg in the Wrangell Narrows. "I...
This year's Petersburg High School senior baccalaureate service and scholarship ceremony will be held separately on the same night, as opposed to last year when both ceremonies were conducted one right after the other. On Tuesday, May 19, the senior baccalaureate will start at about 6 P.M. in the Wright Auditorium. Once the graduating seniors have each been honored, a brief intermission will be held in the high school commons. The seniors will then be awarded their scholarships back in the...
The Five Finger Lighthouse Society went into detail on their plans for the future of the Five Finger Lighthouse at a presentation last Thursday and gave an overview of the lighthouse and its history. The non-profit organization, which took over the lighthouse from the Juneau Lighthouse Association last year, looks to preserve the historic value of the lighthouse, make access to the island easier for visitors and educate the public on the lighthouse's significance. The Five Finger Lighthouse was...
The borough assembly passed an ordinance that would establish a new Parks and Recreation Advisory Board in its second reading at Monday's assembly meeting. If ordinance #2020-05 should pass in all three readings, the assembly would begin accepting letters of interest from the public and then appoint five members onto the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Those appointed to the board would serve until the borough election in October wherein duly elected members will serve on the board. Since t...
The borough assembly unanimously passed an emergency ordinance at a special meeting on Friday, March 20, that would allow the assembly and certain staff members of the borough to put civil emergency provisions in place in the event of a civil emergency. Ordinance #2020-08 authorizes Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, Incident Commander Karl Hagerman and the Petersburg Borough Assembly to issue any or all orders laid out in the ordinance deemed necessary to preserve public health, safety and... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved public health alert #01 at a special meeting on Sunday, March 22, which strongly urges the public to "shelter in place" to prepare for and mitigate the severity of a possible COVID-19 outbreak. The health alert does not mandate that resident shelter in place, it only encourages the public to do so. The borough assembly received about 40 letters from the public requesting the assembly support the health alert, but a majority of the letters also requested... Full story
Members of the Local Emergency Planning Committee, as well as community leaders and local business representatives, got together last Thursday to discuss the COVID-19 virus and how entities throughout the community have been taking precautions against it. "There's a bunch of information going around," said Sandy Dixson, chairperson of the Local Emergency Planning Committee. "We just want to make sure we're all on the same page ... It's not if, it's when it gets to our community, and we do not...
The borough's sales tax has brought in $2,362,621 for the 2020 fiscal year so far, which is about $90,000 higher than what was brought in this time last year, according to Finance Director Jody Tow. Some businesses in town have been seeing the increase in spending, showing that the borough is in for a prosperous calendar year. The Petersburg Borough has seen a slight upward trend in the amount of money it has been collecting through sales tax since the 2016 fiscal year; however, the sales tax...
The Petersburg School Board adopted a policy on Tuesday in its second and final reading that addresses the Petersburg School District's pandemic and epidemic emergency readiness. Board policy 6114.4 was recommended to the school board by the Association of Alaska School Boards. Since its first reading in February, School Board Vice President Sarah Holmgrain said parents have had some concerns over the extent that the district would be able to quarantine students; as a result, language within...
For at least the next year, Bobbi Neason will be the interim pastor of the Petersburg Presbyterian Church, though she anticipates her stay in Petersburg to extend for another year. Neason comes to Petersburg from a similarly sized town in Southeast Oregon called Bandon where she served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church for eight years. The Petersburg Presbyterian Church has been trying to find a permanent pastor since June 2018 when long-time pastor Bob Carter retired. Originally from...
The Petersburg School Board held a special meeting on March 2 to formally accept Mara Lutomski's resignation as board president, which she submitted to the board on Feb. 26. Lutomski said her decision to step down as board president wasn't because there was conflict within the board or she was overwhelmed. She said she just wants to dedicate her time to other endeavors around town. "I am pursuing other opportunities in town that I cannot do while on the school board," said Lutomski. She...
