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Sealaska Heritage Institute's book "Raven Makes the Aleutians" was awarded a picture book honor award from the American Indian Library Association. The illustrations in the book were done by local artist Janine Gibbons. The story was adapted for children from the works of the late Nora and Dick Dauenhauer, who transcribed it from Tlingit Elders Susie James' and Robert Zuboff's oral accounts. The book was published in 2018 as part of the Baby Raven Reads series. The books promote literacy to...
(Juneau, AK) – Today, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced his Conversations with Alaskans town hall series, to further engage with the public on their vision of Alaska’s future, beginning Monday, February 3rd. Governor Dunleavy will be holding meetings with community leaders, business groups, non-profits, school districts, tribes, and the general public in communities across Alaska. “I am looking forward to engaging with Alaskans from every corner of our state in the crucial decisions for Alaska’s future,” said Governor Mike Dunleavy.... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center held a town hall meeting last Wednesday where Dan Jardine, of NAC Architecture, presented the findings of a master plan for a new hospital. "The purpose of a master plan is to determine how PMC can remain a viable partner and provide the best possible community healthcare well into the future," said Jardine. Three conceptual layouts were created using data put together as part of the masterplanning. Two of the layouts were placed on a lots on Haugen Dr. between S. 8th... Full story
Last week, the Pilot reported that Parks and Rec. and the Petersburg School District shared the cost of the boiler utilities and water usage in the aquatic center in a 70-30 split, with the district paying a majority of the bill. The Pilot obtained this information from Parks and Rec. Director Chandra Thornburg. This week Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht contacted the Pilot with the correct breakdown of the responsibilities that the borough and school district share. As a result of the misstatem...
Three Petersburg Police Department officers have applied for the vacant police sergeant position, but there hasn't been any outside interest, said Police Chief Jim Kerr at an assembly meeting last week. Kerr said the reason there hasn't been any applicants for the position outside Petersburg comes down to the hourly pay the department can pay a sergeant. According to Kerr, the starting hourly pay for a sergeant is $27.36. After a year on the job, their pay increases to $30.74 an hour. The...
Over 70 people attended the March for Life rally in Petersburg to support life from conception to natural death and protest abortion, similar to the annual event of the same name that takes place in Washington D.C. Just after 1 P.M. on Sunday, the group began walking down Nordic Dr. towards the borough building. At each intersection along the way, the grouped stopped to say a quick prayer before continuing. Those in the crowd held signs reading, "You got to be born to vote" and "Defend life."...
Mertz CPA & Advisors, of Juneau, conducted an audit of Petersburg Medical Center that was presented before the hospital board at their meeting last week that showed no significant issues with the fiscal year financial statements ending on June 30, 2019; However, the firm did make two adjustments and six recommendations. Prior to the audit, Max Mertz, of Mertz CPA & Advisors, said an adjustment was made by the hospital's management that addressed an overstatement in accounts receivable in the 201...
Parks and Recreation has pinpointed the leak in the community pool to a light conduit after draining the pool down to about six feet of water, just below the light. Several inspections proved that the source of the leak was located somewhere in the pool, instead of in a pipe that feeds into the pool. It was determined that water wasn't escaping through a valve at the bottom of the tank, so Parks and Rec decided to lower the water level to a point just below the lights in the pool. As of...
Petersburg and Wrangell both saw an overall increase in population from 2010 through 2019, but while Petersburg's population rose between 2018 and 2019, Wrangell's population saw a drop in the same timeframe, according to data from the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. There were 3,203 residents living in Petersburg in 2010 and in 2019, there were 3,226, according to the ADLWD. Those figures equal to a .08 percent growth for the decade and 1.12 percent growth in the last...
The borough assembly supported sending a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding issues the borough has with the proposed rule to designate critical habitat for Mexico, Central America and Western North Pacific distinct population segments of humpback whales at an assembly meeting Tuesday evening. The letter's main concern is with the critical habitat for the Mexican district population of humpback whales. A large portion of the proposed critical habitat area is in Southeast...
Due to the rising costs of production and numerous electronic options, Alaska Power & Telephone will stop printing phone books after the 2020 edition that is coming out in March. According to Mary Jo Quandt, vice president of customer operations with AP&T, state legislation in 2015 removed the requirement for telecom companies to produce physical phonebooks. AP&T has still been printing phone books over the past five years but now production costs are just getting too steep. "Many telecom...
The borough assembly approved an ordinance that would increase assisted living rental and service rates in its first reading at their meeting Tuesday to be in line with Medicaid and other assisted living facility rates throughout the state. The basic level of services, which covers apartment maintenance, meals and rent, would be raised from $4,700 to $4,880 per month if ordinance #2020-01 is passed in three readings. Level one services, which includes the basic level of services along with...
It wasn't her bad knees, a fear of heights, a limp or hundreds of miles of hiking that prevented Hillary Hunter from completing the last 295.5 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. It was the earliest snowfall in Washington in over 100 years that forced her off the trail. On April 17, 2019, Hunter first started her expedition on the 2,226 trail that begins at the border of California and Mexico and runs north just over the Canadian border. While teaching English in Madagascar with the Peace Corps...
The cities of Wrangell and Petersburg both briefly lost power on Friday morning, Jan. 10. The power outage occurred a little before 11 a.m. and lasted about an hour. Both cities typically receive their electricity from a hydro plant at Tyee Lake, near Bradfield Canal. Rod Rhoades, light and power director for Wrangell, said that there was a "phase to phase fault" in the power line between the lake and the two cities. He speculated that this could mean something like a tree branch fell on the...
Beginning last weekend, Petersburg has been experiencing a cold front with temperatures hovering just above zero degrees, but Wes Adkins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau, said there hasn't been any record breaking low temperatures so far this month. "We got close, but records are there for a reason," said Adkins. At the beginning of January, temperatures were falling within the average temperature range of 37 and 27 degrees for the month, according to data from the...
Twenty-one tribal voters elected four incumbents in the Petersburg Indian Association Tribal Council election on Jan. 6, but one 1-year term remains vacant. Incumbent Cristina Morrison was reelected as council president for another 1-year term. Heather Conn, Kayla Perry and Mary Ann Rainey were reelected to serve 2-year terms on the tribal council. All four incumbents ran unopposed. According to Tribal Administrator Tracy Welch, Morrison took over as council president last year after she had...
The Petersburg School Board approved an updated math curriculum for the district and the purchase of related materials totaling approximately $42,000 at the board's meeting on Tuesday. A whole new math curriculum is being adopted at Rae C. Stedman Elementary School that was constructed last year by second grade teachers Becky Martin and Mary Midkiff, according to Elementary Principal Heather Conn. The curriculum teaches math to students in a spiral manner. "We will see the same information...
The Petersburg Fire Department has filled its vacant EMS coordinator position about two months after the borough assembly authorized the department to hire a third staff member following uncertainty in the borough's budget. Josh Rathmann began his first day with the department on Thursday, Jan. 16. He was stationed in Petersburg for just under three years when serving in the United States Coast Guard. During that time, he was a volunteer firefighter with the Petersburg Fire Department, but his...
The community lap pool is closed this week due to an above average amount of water being pumped into the pool to maintain regular water levels. Parks and Recreation Facilities Supervisor Stephanie Payne said the cause of the phenomenon is unknown at this time. A pool dye kit has been ordered that may help staff determine what has been causing the pool to need extra water to keep it at capacity. Payne said she first noticed the problem late last week. Parks and Recreation made the decision to...
After a rigorous 11-week program that pushed the limits of his physical and academic abilities, Captain Randal Holmgrain of the Petersburg Police Department graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy in Virginia on Dec. 20. Holmgrain first applied to the academy in December 2017, which is offered to law enforcement officers throughout the country and world. As part of the extensive application process, Holmgrain had to submit his resume and explain what he could contribute to...
A patchwork of logging roads already exists, and the project would connect those roads to make a 35-mile, single-lane road between Kake and 12-mile Creek north of the city of Kupreanof. The money was allocated in 2012 by State Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, as part of a program called "Roads to Resources" meant to help access to natural resources. "We need to have a transportation system in Southeast," Stedman said in a phone interview. "This road is part of a bigger drive to help stabilize and exp...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration held a public hearing in Petersburg Monday night on their proposal to establish critical habitat areas for humpback whales in Southeast Alaska including areas from the Alaska Peninsula down the coastline to Southern California. Over 80 persons, mostly fishermen attended the standing-room-only meeting at the Assembly Chambers. NOAA's fisheries division, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposes to protect the feeding areas of three...
This action will propose the designation of critical habitat for three distinct population segments of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act. The three distinct population segments of humpback whales concerned--the Mexico, Central American, and Western Pacific distinct population segments--were listed under the Endangered Species Act on September 8, 2016, thereby triggering the requirement under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act to...
While some anglers may hang up their fishing rods until Spring, don't forget about the many angling opportunities that exist throughout the winter. Remember to purchase your 2020 fishing license prior to fishing in the new calendar year. Winter King Salmon King salmon can be found year round in local marine waters although catch rates are typically much slower during the winter time. New regulations have been issued as of January 1, 2020. The current regulations for all marine waters in the...
The borough assembly approved four community projects totaling $63.7 million to be included on the priority list for 2021. The list will be forwarded to the state legislature in hopes one or more of the projects will be funded by the State of Alaska. The projects could also be funded through federal or special grant programs the improvements may qualify for. At the advice of Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht the assembly kept the list short, since lean state budgets will mean few, if any, project...
