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The Petersburg Fish and Game Advisory Committee(AC) met on April 8 to generate proposals to the state Board of Fish to change the Blind Slough King Salmon management plan. The need for proposals was driven by public outcry following the announced closure of sport fishing this summer in the freshwater of Blind Slough. The AC agreed on and submitted a proposal that attempts to balance the need to protect the return of broodstock king salmon for the Crystal Lake Hatchery, while also providing...
The Mental Health Trust Land Office (TLO) informed the Petersburg Borough that it will look into a feasibility study for constructing a road in the Trust’s proposed South Mitkof Subdivision on the condition that the plat is approved. If a plat is not approved, the Trust confirmed for the Pilot that work on the South Mitkof Subdivision project “will be put on hold for the foreseeable future” and TLO staff “will need to focus work on advancing subdivision efforts in other areas of the state that will generate revenues for the Trust and its ben...
Last month, a new 3D mammography machine —expected to be up to 60% more effective at detecting tumors— began serving patients in the radiology department at Petersburg Medical Center. Mammography uses x-rays to locate and help diagnose tumors in the breast. The newly installed machine can capture a clear, more in-depth image of a malignancy that may otherwise be missed in a conventional 2D mammogram. “This is a project we’ve been working on for a long time as a department,” said PMC radiology manager Sonja Paul. “We knew the machine we had was...
The Petersburg Indian Association is currently exploring several opportunities to potentially grow housing in Petersburg. PIA is looking at and gathering information on potentially expanding the Airport Subdivision -also known in the community as the Tlingit and Haida subdivision- which is located past Hammer and Wikan grocery in a loop off Howkan Street. Similar to when the Airport Subdivision was first developed, PIA partnered with Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority and are "in talks"...
Everett Bennett is set to serve as the new tribal administrator for the Petersburg Indian Association. PIA announced earlier this week that Bennett was officially hired for the job and will start on May 20. "The council is extremely excited to have them started as the new tribal administrator," PIA Council President Debra O'Gara told the Pilot. "They come with a lot of experience ... I could go on and on..." Born and raised in Petersburg, Bennett is a tribal citizen who has served the community...
Petersburg is closer than ever to developing the infrastructure at Scow Bay. Congress passed an appropriations package on March 1 that combined six funding bills for FY2024 - including $4.1 million in Congressionally designated spending (CDS) for a vessel haul out project at Scow Bay Harbor. The money will fund roughly half of the Scow Bay boat haul out project, which is one part of a larger plan to develop the port and harbor infrastructure at Scow Bay. The plan for this project is, primarily,...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) preseason forecast estimates 1,400 adult Chinook returning to the terminal harvest area this summer. The low abundance triggered the department to close the freshwaters of Blind Slough for fishing king salmon this season. The last time freshwater was fully closed for a season was in 2013. ADFG ordered the closure according to the management plan for the sport fishery. It is a conservation effort to protect the broodstock for the Crystal Lake...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed two ordinances in their final readings on March 18. The ordinances amended two different sections under chapter 16.12 of Petersburg municipal code regarding the disposal of borough property. The first ordinance amended the municipal code to increase the assessed property value requirement that voters must approve for disposal of borough property from $500 thousand to $1.5 million. Before this ordinance’s passing, voters in the borough had to approve any sale or trade of borough property with an assessed v...
Over the next five years, the Division of Forestry & Fire Protection (DOF) is proposing to harvest timber on thousands of acres of state lands in southern Southeast Alaska - including 1,213 acres on Mitkof Island. This preliminary plan was revealed in a Five-Year Schedule of Timber Sales (FYSTS) scoping document outlining the timber sale activity on state land in southern Southeast proposed by DOF, which is available for public comment until early April. It can be viewed at the Petersburg...
Fierce Allegiance officially bought the Ocean Beauty bunkhouse at 18 Harbor Way on Friday, March 15. Owner Andrew Mazzella, 37, confirmed that he is set to buy all property Ocean Beauty has in Petersburg. "Friday was a huge day," he said. "I closed on [the bunkhouse property] and the stipulation to close on this ... was that I wanted to buy everything Ocean Beauty has in Petersburg." Mazzella negotiated with Ocean Beauty for eight months and now has entered into a contract to purchase all of...
Hosted every other year to promote health and wellness in the community, the Petersburg Medical Center Health & Safety Fair takes place this weekend -and this year's theme is "Nurture Your Health With Nature." The main health fair event will take place on Saturday, March 23 at the community center. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be over 25 fair booths available to visit in the community gym. "We have a lot of local people, as well as some regional folks coming in from out of town that will be...
Shots fired by a person other than an officer may soon be allowed in the Frederick Point East Subdivision area. As it stands, Petersburg municipal code prohibits the discharge of firearms in the area of Frederick Point East Subdivision - calling it "unlawful for any person, except a peace officer or other state or local official performing a lawful duty, to fire or discharge any firearm within the [area]." The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed an ordinance to amend this section of code in its...
Gears are in motion for the Forest Service to revise its Land and Resource Management Plan - a process that invites public involvement and will take years to complete. The land management plan, or forest plan, provides guidance for future decisions and sets overall management direction. The existing land management plan for the Tongass National Forest was originally adopted in 1997 and amended in 2016. According to the USFS, plans are "strategic and broad in scope" rather than site or project...
The customer line was out the door on opening day at Fire! Bistro - Petersburg's newest restaurant located in the former conference room of Tides Inn. Community members looked forward to eating their fill of gourmet sandwiches, salads, wraps, and smoothies found on a new menu chock-full of flavors missing from the local food scene until Fire! Bistro opened March 5. Owner Chef Juan Herrera is no stranger to the food business. He earned a catering certificate and personal chef certificate from...
A field of snow near the Petersburg Reservoir glistened in the morning sunshine where, at 550 feet above sea level, Forest Service Hydrologist Heath Whitacre jammed a hollow aluminum tube through the snowpack to measure its depth and collect a core sample, making sure to strike the muskeg underneath. The Petersburg Ranger District has monitored two of several snow survey sites in the Southeast region since 1979: The Raven's Ridge site at 1,650 feet above sea level, and the site near Petersburg R...
The USDA Forest Service Petersburg Ranger District announced the final decision for the Thomas Bay Young-Growth Timber Sale on Feb. 22. With the specific goal of the timber industry's transition away from logging old growth to harvesting young-growth timber, the Forest Service weighed the regulations, strategies, public input and environmental considerations and selected a plan that will allow harvest of roughly 561 acres of young-growth forest -amounting to about 12.6 million board feet of...
This week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that four school districts in the country would receive the new Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award, for "their trailblazing and innovative efforts to improve the nutritional quality of meals for their students." Petersburg School District was among those four receiving the national recognition. These awards - part of the Biden-Harris administration's Healthy Meals Initiative (HMI) - celebrate school districts who embrace... Full story
The Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office (TLO) and State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) met with the Petersburg Borough Assembly Monday night for a work session to discuss platting and plans for a large subdivision project created and proposed by the TLO to the borough last fall. According to the TLO, the South Mitkof Subdivision proposes to subdivide approximately 500 acres of Trust land into 100 lots -each averaging 5-7 acres in size- accessed via public access and utility easements...
Alaskan actor L'xeis' Diane Benson plays Bee, an Inupiaq cleaning woman, in the HBO series True Detective. The season finale aired last month, which meant the embargo was lifted and Benson was free to talk about the experience of performing in the show. Benson lives in Petersburg now, but she has lived all over the state. And she's done all sorts of things. She was a professor of Alaska Native Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an activist politician and Democratic candidate for stat...
Last Friday morning Stedman Elementary school students, their teachers, family and friends gathered in the Wright Auditorium for the final round of the school's annual spelling bee. Each classroom in grades two through five sent their top two spellers to the stage. Sue Paulsen, who performed the role of "The Pronouncer," led the students through elimination rounds. At the beginning of each round, Paulsen asked the competitors to stand. Starting with simple, single-syllable words like four and...
Just before the winter storm rolled into Petersburg Saturday night, business owners and members of the community gathered upstairs at Elks Lodge for the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet. During the banquet, the chamber named Rocky's Marine as Petersburg's 2024 Business of the Year. Rocky's Marine is a family owned boat dealership specializing in Yamaha Outboards, serving Southeast since first opening in Petersburg in 1980. Announcing the award from the stage, chamber president Jim...
Tonight at the Sid and Vera Wright Auditorium, Petersburg High School's theater program will debut its production of "Peter and the Starcatcher," directed by Elsa Wintersteen. She described the play as "an exciting show full of heart, humor and a sprinkle of whimsy." The Tony Award winning play is based on the 2004 novel "Peter and the Starcatchers" by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, the play serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie's classic tale, "Peter and Wendy...
When the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved the landmark property sale of borough-owned tidelands to Wikan Enterprises last year, it was said that decision opened Pandora’s box. For decades, rather than sell its tideland properties, the borough selectively leased them to businesses involved in waterfront commercial/ industrial uses, with a priority placed on supporting the commercial fishing industry. About 12 years ago, the borough started directing the revenues generated by leased tidelands to the harbor department’s enterprise fund. Wit...
Petersburg became the 19th organized borough in Alaska on Jan. 3, 2013 after the town’s borough vote was certified. In the early 2000s, the City of Petersburg tried to annex all of Mitkof Island after receiving public pushback on forming a borough. This caused an upset outside of city limits for residents who did not want to pay the same taxes as residents inside the city limits. Eventually, after years of mediation and piles of paperwork, a compromise was made and the Petersburg Borough, which encompasses 3,829 square miles of land and w...
The Associated Teachers of Petersburg (ATP) and Petersburg School District are negotiating the next labor agreement that will take effect in the fall of 2024 and span three school years through spring 2027. Past negotiations between the teachers union and the district, which occur every three years, have largely focused on updating the contract language. This year, however, ATP and PSD are focusing more on when, where and how to allocate what limited money the district has to work with. ATP is...
