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  • Paintings, photos show beauty of Southeast

    Brian Varela|Dec 12, 2019

    Strong colors and erratic brush strokes could be seen in Joe Viechnicki's paintings on display at a joint art show with photographer Mark Kubo at FireLight Gallery & Framing on Friday. All of Viechnicki's paintings depicted landscapes around Southeast Alaska, such as the Stikine River, Duncan Canal and Level Island. Some of his paintings were completed on location, or at least started, while most were done back at his home with the use of photos taken of the landscapes. He named his art show...

  • Borough and Chris Allen dismissed from liability suit

    Ron Loesch|Dec 5, 2019

    Both the Petersburg Borough and former Parks and Recreation Department employee Chris Allen have been dropped as defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the Estate of Molly Parks, one of two women killed in a July 4, 2016 crash on South Nordic Drive. Allen was the driver of the parks and recreation van, which crashed after Allen suffered a seizure while driving with three other persons in the vehicle. Allen is serving a 7-year sentence after entering a guilty plea to a single...

  • Borough assembly votes against supporting, repealing Roadless Rule

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    The borough assembly took a neutral position on the future of the Roadless Rule at Monday's assembly meeting when they voted against a resolution that supported keeping the Roadless Rule intact and a resolution repealing it. Resolution #2019-14 was in support of alternative one of the draft environmental impact statement released by the United States Forest Service regarding the future of the Roadless Rule. Alternative one, or the do nothing option, keeps the Roadless Rule in place. Resolution #...

  • Hoopie Davidson named this year's tree lighter

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    People in Petersburg know her has their school bus driver or driver's education teacher, but on Friday evening Hoopie Davidson was this year's tree lighter during the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Davidson was born in Petersburg, but moved to Squaw Harbor on Unga Island in third grade with her family to catch crab. The family then moved to Kodiak in time to experience the Good Friday earthquake of 1964, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 that hit near Prince William Sound. Later...

  • Brew and Stew Festival: Best in Show

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    Rachel Newport's Peruvian turkey soup and Bev Siercks' crabapple cordial were named best in show in this year's Brew and Stew Festival hosted by the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Petersburg Ragnarök Rollers on Friday. There were 28 submissions in this year's festival, up from the 21 submissions last year. Contestants entered homemade "brews" and "stews" in various categories and were judged by participants in the festival who went around sampling each submission. Though each category had...

  • Borough in talks to continue maintenance of Ernie Haugen area

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    The borough is in the process of renewing an agreement with the state to receive $6,200 annually for the maintenance of the Ernie Haugen public use area, according to Public Works Director Chris Cotta at an assembly meeting on Monday. At an assembly meeting last month, the borough assembly approved letters to Sen. Bert Stedman and Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins asking them to inquire into cooperative agreements between the borough and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for the management...

  • French woman undertakes Northwest Passage

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    Leila Gharbi recounted her journey from Newfoundland to Port Townsend, Washington through the Northwest Passage, while sharing pictures and stories to a captive audience at the Petersburg Public Library last Wednesday. Gharbi was working for a film archive in Paris, one of the most famous archives in the county, when she read the book, "Woman at Sea" by Cathrine Poulain. The novel tells the story of Lili, a French woman who leaves her country in search of adventure and ends up working on a...

  • Local Coast Guard Auxiliary faces disbandment

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    Petersburg's Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla is down to zero members, and if at least five members don't joined by February, the flotilla could be dissolved. Division One Commander F. Stuart Robards and Ketchikan Flotilla Commander Renee Schofield held two meetings this week encouraging members of the public to join the local Coast Guard Auxiliary. From 2015-2018, Ketchikan's flotilla almost disbanded as members retired and remaining members were unable to fill their roles, according to...

  • Rosemal-themed jewelry in time for holidays

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    After the tree lighting ceremony on Friday, Erin Kandoll, of Twisted Ginger Designs, revealed a collection of rosemal inspired jewelry at FireLight Gallery & Framing. During the holidays, Kandoll always notices that people around town like to don their Norwegian sweaters to keep warm as temperatures drop. To accompany the town’s holiday attire, Kandoll handmade 135 pairs of earrings, 35 necklaces, 28 rings and four cuff bracelets with rosemal designs. “I really just had fun with it this yea...

  • Local student builds skiff from scratch

    Brian Varela|Dec 5, 2019

    In a couple of months, Petersburg High School senior Kole Sperl has turned a pile of aluminum sheets into a skiff. He has plenty of work left to do before it's seaworthy but Sperl said in its current state, it would float. "There might be a couple leaks that I'd have to patch, but it'll definitely float," said Sperl. "All the main welding is done down by the water line." Sperl spends anywhere from one and a half hours to three hours a week working on his skiff as part of his marine fabrication...

  • Public works repairs 12th Street water leak

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    A public works crew worked from 7 P.M. on Nov. 20 to 2 A.M. the following morning to fix a leak in an 8-inch water main on 12th St. that was spurting out 250,000 gallons of water a day. The leak was first identified when an electronic leak detector was used to determine if there were leaks in any of the pipes throughout the city. The leak detector showed a major leak in the 8-inch water main on 12th St. at Haugen Dr., so Public Works Director Chris Cotta decided to dig into the ground to...

  • Tamico fabricates Christmas street decorations

    Pilot Staff|Nov 28, 2019

    With the two-decades old lighted Christmas street decorations in tatters, both the Chamber of Commerce and the Petersburg Borough scrambled to find replacements this month. New decorations were priced at $500 each, according to Chamber Manager Mara Lutomski, but when board member Carrie Martinsen heard of the cost, she proposed that her company Tamico, Inc. fabricate the decorations for half the price. The original 16 snowflake designed ornaments were made of painted steel and were prone to...

  • Kim Aulbach promoted to postmaster

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    Kim Aulbach has become Petersburg Post Office's new postmaster after the previous postmaster, Mark Eppihimer, transferred to Anchorage. Eppihimer was promoted to labor relations specialist and relocated to Anchorage in August. Once he left, Aulbach applied for the position while she and Nels Nielsen took on postmaster duties. On Oct. 12, she was promoted to postmaster. During her five and a half years with the post office, Aulbach said she would learn new skills every chance she got to increase...

  • PMC net operating revenue exceeds expectations

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    The Petersburg Medical Center saw a 26 percent increase in net operating revenue for the month of October, reported Controller Rocio Tereja at a board of directors meeting last week. PMC expected a net operating revenue of $1,391,250 for October, but instead the net operating revenue was $363,780 higher for a total of $1,755,030. Total operating expenses were at $1,545,742, over the $1,391,250 that was budgeted. Despite coming in over budget, the total operating expenses were lower than the net...

  • PMC receives $100,000 grant

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    Petersburg Medical Center was approved for a $100,000 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation to help offset the costs of a new drug room, CEO Phil Hofstetter told board members at a meeting last week. PMC is remodeling the part of the hospital where the drugs for chemotherapy are prepared to become compliant with standards that regulate the handling of hazardous drugs. Currently, the drugs are prepared in a negative pressure hood. The new drug room will have a negative pressure hood, room and storag...

  • Berry pickers reap bountiful harvest

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    Local berry pickers were treated to a plentiful harvest this year as warm weather helped the berries thrive throughout Mitkof Island. "It was unbelievable," said Marilyn Menish-Meucci. "There were berries everywhere. If you found a spot where there weren't berries, then something was really wrong." The season starts with salmonberries in June and as the weeks go by, other berries begin to ripen, said Menish-Meucci. Some of the berries that ripen after salmonberries, are blueberries, red...

  • 2019 Music fest

    Nov 28, 2019

    Brooklyn Dormer, a soprano, was selected to perform in the all-state mixed choir at the All-State Music Festival in Anchorage on Saturday. She was the only student at Petersburg High School that was chosen to participate in the festival. She submitted an online audition in late September and then spent weeks practicing six songs in preparation for the festival. PHS music instructor Matt Lenhard was also awarded the music educator of the year by the Alaska Music Educators Association at the...

  • Local man indicted on two controlled substance counts

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    Garitt Johnston, 30, was indicted by a Grand Jury on Nov. 21 for his involvement with Eric Jennings, who had received a package with heroin, methamphetamine and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in it on Nov. 9. Johnston was indicted on one count of aiding or abetting the manufacturing or delivery of a schedule IA controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver and one count of aiding or abetting the possession with intent to manufacture or deliver any amount of a schedule IIA or IIIA...

  • Color, shape, take form in solo exhibit

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    Ashley Lohr let her artistic instincts and habits guide her in eight new compositions on display in a solo exhibit at the Clausen Memorial Museum. Lohr's pieces are abstracts that are dominated by elements of color and shapes. She held a similar exhibit last year, but this year, she decided to include circles in her art. The circles manifested through artistic instincts, the cycle of motherhood and her schedule. Two of her compositions show a cosmic influence. Lohr said she just let her...

  • Group seeks to remove Frederick Point East from service area

    Brian Varela|Nov 28, 2019

    A group of residents and property owners in Frederick Point East are trying to remove the undeveloped subdivision from service area one. The main reason the group is trying to remove Frederick Point East from service area one is that they pay a full 12.3 millage rate, but don't receive any services. The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of a property's assessed value that is used to calculate taxes within the borough. "There has been no services provided, nor has there been an intention of...

  • Wet winter ahead for Petersburg

    Brian Varela|Nov 21, 2019

    The heavy rainfall this month has been pushing precipitation levels closer to the normal 109.23 inches of rain that normally falls in Petersburg each year, according to Wes Adkins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. The total amount of rainfall this year in Petersburg is at 82.30 inches, as of Nov. 15. Over the weekend, precipitation levels surpassed the normal 12.22 inches for the month of November. The Climate Prediction Center forecasts a tilt towards higher than...

  • Tracked package leads to controlled substance arrest

    Brian Varela|Nov 21, 2019

    A Grand Jury indicted Eric Jennings, 39, on three of the five counts set before them on Nov. 14. Jennings was indicted on misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree, tampering with physical evidence and criminal mischief in the third degree. The two other counts, misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree and misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree, were withdrawn. On Nov. 7, Kevin Home, a United States postal inspector,...

  • New manager hired at Hammer and Wikan

    Nov 21, 2019

    Jim Floyd, 52, assumes the general manager position at Hammer and Wikan this week. Most recently Floyd managed the Fred Meyer store in Juneau. He was there from 2015 until October of this year and took the store through a remodel during his first year. Later, he navigated the store through a 25% increase in business after Walmart closed their store. While in Medford, Oregon to move his mother-in-law into a retirement community, he heard about the Hammer and Wikan opportunity. Floyd said the...

  • Vote supporting Roadless Rule in Tongass postponed

    Brian Varela|Nov 21, 2019

    A resolution supporting alternative one of the draft environmental impact statement for the exemption of the Roadless Rule in the Tongass National Forest will go before the borough assembly at their first meeting in December after the assembly pushed the vote back by two weeks at their meeting on Monday. The United State Forest Service released the findings of its draft environmental impact statement earlier this month that showed the United States Department of Agriculture supported...

  • Additional pump station project funds approved

    Brian Varela|Nov 21, 2019

    The borough assembly approved an ordinance to transfer $194,695 from the wastewater fund to the Scow Bay Pump Station One project in its third reading and awarded the bid for the project to Rock N Road Construction. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation originally approved a loan of $550,000 to the borough to fund the pump station project, but that wasn't enough to cover costs. The $194,695 transferred from the wastewater fund will cover the rest of the costs associated with the...

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