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The St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church caught fire last Thursday, leaving much of the building in ruins and covering Petersburg in smoke. According to a statement from Fire Marshal Ryan Welde, the fire has been ruled accidental in nature and was a result of maintenance work. The fire originated at ground level on the exterior of the building facing Dolphin Street. It then traveled up the wall via rigid foam insulation located behind the vinyl siding and continued to spread into the eaves... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a bid award for a project that would replace approximately 200 feet of sewer lines beneath the Community Center during its July 3 meeting. The project will close half of the Community Center while the floor is ripped up and the main sewer line and lateral lines are replaced. The Community Center has been experiencing sewer problems for the last couple of years, such as toilets not flushing and water fountains draining onto the floor,...
Mountain View Food Services will begin holding in-person meals at Mountain View Manor's dining room this Monday, bringing the elderly dining program one step closer to its pre-COVID state. Since March 2020, the program has exclusively functioned as a meal delivery service due to COVID-19 concerns, but after a board decision on Tuesday, the dining hall will open its doors to the program once again. "Prior COVID, all the meals were to be eaten in the dining room unless someone was considered to...
A potential Southeast Alaska Power Agency (SEAPA) wholesale rate increase has been deferred by at least a year due to record high power sales in Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell this spring, according to Vice Mayor Bob Lynn. “It’s a record, I mean it’s about 5% above any previous sales that we did this past winter, which is pretty significant,” Lynn said during his July 3 report to the Petersburg Borough Assembly about the latest SEAPA Board meeting The SEAPA Board last approved a wholesale rate increase in December 2022, raising the pri...
A private dump truck hit a guy-wire supporting a power pole on the dump hill Wednesday, cutting power to the baler facility and water treatment plant, according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. The outage also affected Sandy Beach Road, North Nordic Drive, Wrangell Avenue, Petersburg High School, OBI, and Petersburg IGA. Petersburg Municipal Power and Light was alerted to the incident near Reservoir Road around 10:10 a.m. and responded. According to Hagerman, the guy-pole that was attached to...
Ness family members from across the country gathered at Ness Point in Petersburg last Saturday to dedicate a bench to relatives Erick, Ragna, Leo, and Carl Ness. Crafted by local artist Josef Quitslund, the bench depicts an early 20th century view of Ness Point-the current location of Eagle's Roost Park-where three houses and a large garden built by Petersburg pioneer Erick Ness previously stood. "[The point] is everything. Even to talk about it brings emotions for me," said Erick Ness'...
They say 'To dare is to do,' and Scott May, 59, did just that when he successfully completed the first known open-water swim across Frederick Sound. May, aided by his wife Bridget Wittstock and Tom Thompson in a boat alongside him, completed the 4-mile swim on Wednesday in about four hours, starting from Horn Cliffs on the mainland and making landfall at Frederick Point. "I didn't think I'd really actually do it and I really didn't tell anybody, but when I said it to a few people then I was...
Following an executive session during Monday’s Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting, the assembly voted 6-0, with Mayor Mark Jensen excused, to approve the new collective bargaining agreement between the borough and the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association. The new CBA will run from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. The biggest change from their last agreement is the introduction of a new wage matrix, which eliminates step increases and replaces them with a longevity pay system. According to the agreement, employees will receive a p...
The National Weather Service in Juneau issued a special weather statement on Wednesday warning of near record high temperatures across Southeast Alaska this week. According to the statement, the high temperatures are expected to occur starting Thursday and continuing through Sunday. Communities in the southern Southeast and those located farther from coastal waters are expected to see the warmest temperatures. The NWS in Juneau is forecasting sunny weather in Petersburg with temperatures rising...
Culvert repairs at 10.8 Mile Mitkof Highway in Petersburg are planned to come to a close this Saturday. Rock-N-Road Construction—the project’s primary contractor—started the project during the last week of May, completely replacing the five-foot culvert which had been damaged by age, erosion, and corrosion. “We went in and replaced it with a seven-foot aluminum culvert, where the previous one was galvanized steel,” said project superintendent Roger Hammer. “[Galvanized steel] tends to have a c...
Millions of people across the United States spend the Fourth of July visiting family and friends, but few who make a holiday homecoming can say they landed at an airport named after them. Jim Johnson, an Alaskan aviation legend who grew up in Petersburg, returned home on Alaska Airlines Flight 64 on Monday. He was greeted at the gate by his family along with a banner from Alaska Airlines. "We came over for the Fourth of July parade and to see all our friends and we're looking forward to it,"...
Petersburg's Crystal Lake Hatchery is set to receive $2.6 million in funding as part of the appropriations made in the State of Alaska's FY24 operating budget, which was approved by Gov. Mike Dunleavy on June 19. The appropriation will fund much needed repairs and upgrades for the hatchery's salmon raceways, a set of concrete canals which house hundreds of thousands of growing salmon and serve as their final home before being released. But before the hatchery staff can fill the raceways with...
The U.S. Coast Guard held a Change of Command Ceremony for the new officer in charge of the USCGC Pike at the Sons of Norway Hall Monday morning. Command of the Pike was transferred from Lt. Jak Loewenstein to Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Kay Jones in a formal reading of orders in front of the crew and Capt. Darwin Jensen, the Commander of Sector Juneau. The ceremony was attended by the crew of the Pike, their families, Coast Guard personnel, Petersburg Borough staff, representatives of Sens....
The family of Yenka Faith Ferreira are celebrating her quinceañera this Saturday, and as far as they can recall it will be the first quinceañera celebration ever to take place in Petersburg. "My mom has never seen one in Petersburg...so this will be the first one or definitely the first one to be public like this," says Yenka's mother, Yulett Ferreira. A girl on her fifteenth birthday is known a quinceañera, and her formal ceremony-typically celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countrie...
Alaska State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot visited Petersburg last week to meet with constituents as part of a tour around the Southeast communities she represents in the Alaska House of Representatives. Himschoot, a career educator and former member of the Sitka Assembly, finished her first legislative session in May after being elected to the House last year. She represents House District 2, which spans from Prince of Wales Island to Yakutat and includes Petersburg, Sitka, Kake, and Craig. "It was...
The sun is shining, the days are longer, and bands of people wearing identical jackets are wandering around main street. "Petersburg can expect an uptick in tourism for...this 2023 summer season," said James Valentine, the co-owner of Viking Travel and a cruise line agency representative. "Alaska in general just seems to be a really hot spot for cruise ship tourism and tourism in general." According to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, an estimated 2.5 million people...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone 43 undeveloped lots located at the planned site of the new hospital during its meeting on Monday. The assembly voted 5-1 in favor with Assembly Member Donna Marsh opposed and Mayor Mark Jensen excused from the meeting. The 43 lots are currently zoned as single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, and open space-recreational, but would have to be rezoned to public use ahead of the...
The Petersburg School Board approved the district's FY24 budget at its last meeting of the school year on Tuesday. The uncertainties surrounding education funding in Alaska as well as rising inflation and utility costs have made the budget's development a long and winding road, but advocacy efforts by school officials on both the local and state level have helped ensure stability in the district for another year. "Honestly this is a much better scenario than what I had...predicted, so I mean...
The day after Petersburg Middle School let out for summer, 7th grader Ari Warmack boarded a plane bound for New York City to perform with his guitar at the invitation of Kids Rock For Kids (KRFK), a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that raises money for kid-related charities by producing rock benefit shows featuring outstanding teen musicians from around the world. In March, Ari received a direct message on Instagram from KRFK inviting him to a zoom interview. He discussed it with his parents, Eliza...
Petersburg's American Legion Edward Locken Post 14 held a ceremony at Sandy Beach on June 14 to honor and properly destroy faded and worn flags. Members of the American Legion, Active Duty Coast Guard Service Members, and others in the community were present to see over 150 American, Alaskan, Canadian, British, and POW/MIA flags retired. The Ceremony for Disposal for Unserviceable Flags, typically held on Flag Day, was adopted by the American Legion "to encourage proper respect for the Flag of...
For many, classical music evokes images of evening gowns, baroque concert halls and impassioned, white-gloved conductors. Its mood is reverent, its audiences are serious and ever-so-slightly snobbish. But concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky has set out to buck classical piano's black-tie reputation. The music, he argues, is not only for a knowledgeable few - its beauty can be appreciated by everyone, regardless of whether they know a "madrigal" from a "minuet." Rudnytsky, a professional musician...
Community members are preparing to welcome the crew of the Hōkūle'a when it visits Petersburg this week as part of its Moananuiākea Voyage, a journey that will cover 43,000 nautical miles around the Pacific Ocean over the next four years. According to the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Hōkūle'a, meaning "Star of Gladness," is a deep sea double-hulled voyaging canoe built in a traditional Hawaiian style that can be crewed by about a dozen people. Its voyage will take 400 crew members, who will...
The Planning Commission voted against recommending that the Petersburg Borough Assembly approve the Petersburg Medical Center's application to rezone 43 undeveloped lots on the proposed site for the new hospital facility at its meeting on Tuesday. The 43 lots are owned by the borough and are located north of Haugen Drive and behind the Elizabeth Peratrovich Building. They are currently zoned as single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, and open space-recreational, but the...
Petersburg is ramping up preparations for this year's star-spangled celebration as Independence Day draws near. On Monday, it was announced that "Let Freedom Ring" would be the theme for floats participating in the Fourth of July parade, beating out other contenders "Tour America," "Create Hope in the World," and "Celebrate U.S." The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce is organizing the parade and Administrator Mindy Lopez is encouraging any and all local organizations, nonprofits, churches,...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed an ordinance that will raise the amount that sewer utility rates will increase by in FY24 during its June 5 meeting. In May 2022, the assembly voted to increase sewer utility rates by 3% annually from FY23-FY26, but this new ordinance will double the planned rate increase in FY24, raising rates for one year by 6%. According to an annual rate review of the utility, the 6% raise is needed to keep up with increased costs and expenses to the...
