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Petersburg Medical Center is continuing to balance the books and expand its services, but the budget still will be tight around the edges as it moves forward on some big ticket purchases after recent, costly, repairs. The hospital’s resource committee had met on Sept. 22 to discuss which projects to fund, now and in the future, as members weighed their chances of PMC’s requests appearing higher on the borough’s own capital projects list to be submitted to the state appropriations committee, and therefore be more likely to receive state fundi...
Recently, the Petersburg and Wrangell boroughs helped one another with a 'handshake agreement' that sent Wrangell's bucket truck over to its neighboring municipality for about a week, Petersburg crews worked fast to make the most of their time, preparing to send the vehicle back on the Friday morning ferry. "We're trimming over top of the power lines where the snow builds up and makes problems,'' said Petersburg Line Foreman Scott Newman. "We've got some of it done and still have a lot more to...
Petersburg's hospital won top marks and recently was honored with the Quality Achievement Award, the highest possible, from the Mountain Pacific Quality Health foundation (MPQH), Liz Woodyard, Petersburg Medical Center's CEO, reported, recognizing the efforts of Quality Specialist Shelly Hjort in providing accurate, timely reports. Medical facilities were scored on seven national quality areas, a composite score known as the Appropriate Care Measure. Heart attacks and failures, pneumonia,...
Petersburg Medical Center board members revised the hospital’s Paid Time Off policies during their Sept. 25 meeting, placing a closer cap on how much time off employees can bank away, moving from a previous two-year limit to 18 months. Under the new policy, approved unanimously by board members, PTO accruals would max at 300 vacation hours for two- or less year staff, up to 480 hours for those employed for a decade. Previously, those numbers ranged from 400 to 640 hour limits. “Grandfathered’’ staff, those who were hired at PMC prior to Marc...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Citizens, not the courts, should decide whether the definition of marriage includes same-sex couples, the state of Alaska said in court papers filed Friday. The state is defending in federal court an amendment to Alaska’s constitution that bans gay marriage. In May, five same-sex couples - four married outside of Alaska and one unmarried couple - sued to overturn the ban approved by voters in 1998, saying it violates their rights to due process and equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. In a filing Friday, a...
Subscribers, click link below to access a downloadable PDF file of Home and Garden Edition.................................................................................................................................................................................. http://www.petersburgpilot.com/home edition 2014.pdf...
Petersburg once was host to sound enterprise of commercial shrimp fisheries and processing plants, drawing in hundreds of thousands - even millions of pounds of shrimp, ranging from the tiny pink crustaceans commonly found gracing salads to their larger brethren that are fried, grilled, battered and steamed in cuisine across the world. Most of that ended in 2005, after Trident Seafoods acquired the local venture, Norquest Seafoods, once Alaskan Glacier Seafoods, and shut down its last shrimp... Full story
Long-time Petersburg residents Joey Doyle and Beth Richards were small-town strangers before an unlikely event brought them together last year. "I kind of knew who she was, but we had never really socialized or anything like that," Doyle said. "We're sisters now." Not unlike twins, they solidified their sisterhood in a hospital room. But Doyle and Richards don't share a mother, they share an organ. It was a kidney transplant that brought them together. Joey has polycystic kidney disease (PKD),... Full story
Petersburg voters will head to the polls Oct. 7 to weigh in on seven propositions, the majority of which would impose stricter limitations on the senior sales tax exemption currently in place. The current municipal code exempts individuals 65 years and older from paying Borough sales tax on all items except for alcohol and tobacco, business purchases and purchases made for others not qualifying for the exemption. Proposition 2, if passed, would establish a sunset date, Dec. 31, 2019, after which no new exemption cards would be issued. Seniors... Full story
Petersburg resident Dennis D. Moore, 32, was found dead by an apparent gunshot wound in his Second Street apartment last Saturday afternoon. Police showed up to Moore's apartment in response to a 911 caller requesting a welfare check, said Police Chief Kelly Swihart. The case is still under investigation, but "at this time, police believe Moore was alone when he died," according to a police press release. Moore's body has been transported to the Medical Examiner's office in Anchorage for...
Petersburg Indian Association’s first-ever e-waste program sent 15,000 pounds – a full 40-foot shipping container – of electronics to Seattle to be recycled. The program ran June 30 to Aug. 30 and offered locals free disposal of unwanted electronics in an effort to keep harmful elements found in electronics, like lead and mercury, from contaminating the environment. PIA Tribal Resource Director Jason Wilson said community members brought home electronics like televisions, boat electronics like radios and sonar equipment, and office equip...
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell announced Saturday that Ketchikan-based Vigor Alaska will construct two new day ferries for the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). Construction of both vessels is scheduled to begin in October, and completion is estimated to take four years. Each vessel will be a 280-foot, “roll on–roll off” type passenger ferry, capable of carrying 450 passengers and up to 60 vehicles. The ships will cost $101 million to construct. “I’ve lived in Ketchikan all my life,” said Ketchikan shipyard worker Norm Skan. “It’s such...
WRANGELL — Though the comment period officially ended Sept. 15, the Wrangell Ranger District of the United States Forestry Service is still seeking public input for an upcoming dock project in Anan Bay. “To me it’s kind of an open process,” said Ranger Bob Dalrymple. “We’re open to input pretty much any time.” The district uses this input as it prepares an environmental assessment, which should be available for public comment later this fall. The wildlife observatory is located about 23 miles southeast of Wrangell on the mainland, par...
The Tongass Advisory Committee (TAC) heard presentations from Forest Service and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials and discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with an impending transition to young-growth forest management at their meeting this month in Juneau. The presentations given by the Forest Service and DNR officials helped give committee members a better sense of how difficult the transition process can be, Lynn Jungwirth, committee co-chair, said via e-mail. “You can’t ‘speed up’ young growth sustainable mana...
Marine mammal expert Kate Wynne presented at Rainforest Festival in Petersburg Sept. 6 on a topic that affects all coastal Alaskan communities: sea lions and harbor seals. Wynne works with the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program and studies pinnipeds, the classification for seals and sea lions, as well as other marine mammals like whales. Most of the Steller sea lions in Alaska, those found north of Cape Suckling, are part of what is called the Western stock, Wynne said. This stock extends...
Twenty-six moose were reported taken in the first week of the season that opened on Sept. 15. The numbers from the first week are higher than average. ADFG biologist Rich Lowell said that on average 21 moose are taken in the first week and last year 19 were taken in the first week. He said that this season started off slow for most areas except for the Stikine where 14 moose have been reported so far. That’s double the number of moose taken in the first week last year. Lowell also said hunting areas outside the Stikine are starting to pick u...
A Kake-Petersburg Intertie (KPI) project update was given during this week's Southeast Conference held in Wrangell. The KPI includes a proposed electrical transmission line that would connect Kake to a SEAPA (Southeast Alaska Power Agency) substation in Petersburg. Kake, a community of just over 550 people, is situated on the northwest coast of Kupreanof Island and is working to find cheaper alternatives to costly diesel, which provides the bulk of their power currently. “The Kake-Petersburg Intertie would transmit power at either 69 or 130 kil... Full story
Fishermen are ending this summer's pink salmon season 10 million over the projected harvest. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game's (ADFG) harvest forecast was 22 million pinks and fishermen hauled in 32 million. Sitka-based ADFG biologist Dan Gray said, “Just in terms of straight numbers, we had a pretty good year.” This year's harvest pales in comparison to last year's record-breaking pink harvest where fishermen brought in some 85.5 million pinks. But a more apt comparison would be to past even-year harvests, since harvests have his... Full story
While one Main Street business closed its doors this month, two other businesses celebrated a small-business merger of sorts just down the road. Main Street shoppers said goodbye to Brenda Norheim's Wild Celery framing studio and gallery on Sept. 6. One week later and just down the road, shoppers celebrated the re-opening of Skate of Gear in Sea Monster Video's former storefront. In addition to the existing merchandise, Skate of Gear now offers new release films for rent as the owners Lisa...
The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) will be $1,884 this year, more than double last year's amount. According to a press release issued by Gov. Sean Parnell, 510,721 Alaskan's will have the funds deposited directly into their bank accounts and another 88,186 will receive the funds via a paper check. Both will be distributed Oct. 2. In total $1.1 billion will be paid to Alaskans this year, reflecting a fund balance that has increased some 71 percent since 2009, the year of the Great Recession. That increase represents a recovery from the losses...
By the time the fog finally dissipated Tuesday afternoon, the 56th annual Southeast Conference (SEC) was already underway at Wrangell's Nolan Center. Poor visibility prevented the appearance of the conference's opening speaker, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell, but a number of other interesting presenters took up the slack. This year's speakers included industry figures, tribal leaders, government officials, resident experts, salespeople and civic organizers. Issue for issue they addressed shared regional concerns and possible solutions. At that...
In their first regular board meeting since the school year kicked off, Petersburg school board members on Tuesday discussed new state-required college assessment testing, changes to the advanced placement (AP) grading scale at the high school, and this year's increased student enrollment. New this year, all juniors at Petersburg High School will be required and funded by the state to take a college or career readiness assessment. The state endorses the ACT, SAT and WorkKeys assessment. Principal Rick Dormer said that the implementation of the...
The Petersburg Borough municipal election will be held Oct. 7. Voters will decide who should fill the positions of 37 board and commission slots, as well as weigh in on seven ballot measures. In the coming weeks, the Pilot will publish candidate profiles with information about candidates and their responses about why they're running. This week we profile school board candidates Sarah P. Holmgain, Megan Litster and Jay Lister who are running to fill the board's three open seats and hospital...
At their regular board meeting last week in Ketchikan, Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) approved rebates to member utilities, discussed the progress of the Swan Lake expansion project and approved the Whitman Lake True Up Agreement. “We did approve a rebate to the member utilities based on last year’s financial performance,” said Joe Nelson, Petersburg Municipal Power and Light (PMPL) superintendent. SEAPA Secretary and Treasurer Andy Donato said SEAPA saw record revenues last year, with 183 million kilowatt hours produced for its membe... Full story
The Petersburg Humane Association (PHA) is doing a big push to raise funds for its first stand-alone animal shelter. The organization was established 15 years ago in Petersburg to shelter stray cats and dogs and find permanent homes for them. They also provide scholarships to help offset the cost of spaying and neutering and work to educate the public on issues related to companion animals. To date the PHA and its volunteers have been sheltering homeless cats (and more rarely dogs) in makeshift... Full story
