Sorted by date Results 1344 - 1368 of 5587
Petersburg Medical Center started off the 2021 fiscal year by exceeding financial expectations, according to a financial report PMC Controller Rocio Tejera gave to the Board of Directors at their meeting on Aug. 27. The hospital ended July, the first month of the fiscal year, with a total operating revenue of $1,859,444, which was 12 percent higher than expected, had a positive income from operations and a bottom line of $310,973. PMC had originally planned on earning $1,660,797 in total...
After over a decade of filing applications, Doug Leen can begin building a micro hydro project this month on both private and federal property. The micro hydro project's turbine and powerhouse will be placed on Leen's property, but a six inch wide, 458 foot long plastic pipe will run from the powerhouse to an unnamed stream on U.S. Forest Service land. The stream forks into an east and west branch where intake boxes will feed water to the powerhouse to turn the turbine. Leen said the turbine...
Two bids were made for a vacant, borough owned lot at 705 Ira II St. in a virtual competitive bid hearing on Wednesday. Kathy Holtzinger placed a bid of $40,101 for the lot, and Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority bid $40,501 for the lot. The minimum bid for the parcel was $36,500, according to a public notice. A 2020 assessment of the 10,000 sq. ft. lot valued it at $36,000. The borough assembly will decide who to award the bid to at their meeting on Sept. 8, said Borough Clerk Debbie...
Vessels arriving in Petersburg Harbor with non-residents onboard will have to continue to seek approval from the borough public health officer before docking through Dec. 31 under public health mandate #5, which was extended in a special meeting on Monday by the assembly. Public health mandate #5 requires interstate travelers aboard vessels, including passengers and crew, be screened to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 prior to arrival. Borough Public Health Officer Mark Tuccillo will...
Despite the gloomy weather last week, nine students explored the natural world in this year's summer science camp. Every year, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Sea Grant and the Petersburg Marine Science Center host a summer camp for middle school aged kids in town to expose them to career opportunities in science right here in Petersburg. Normally, the weeklong camp includes hikes, camping trips and whale watching, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic Sunny Rice, of the Alaska Sea...
While the number of bear sightings made to the Petersburg Police Department have gone down, Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said bears will likely be a common sight in town until winter. Earlier this month, Robbins cautioned the public to secure their garbage cans and put away human and pet food. It is the availability of human sources of food in town that is bringing the bears out of the forests, said Robbins. Since then, he said he has...
The most recent confirmed case of COVID-19 in the community was declared recovered last Friday, Aug. 21. At the COVID-19 community update on Friday, acting Incident Commander Sand Dixson anticipated the individual, a non-resident tested positive for the virus on Aug. 14, would later that day be declared recovered. Public Health Nurse Erin Michael said in order for an individual who has tested positive for the virus to be deemed recovered, the person should not have any symptoms or have had...
Twenty-one residents filed for candidacy in the Oct. 6 municipal election before the deadline on Tuesday at 4:30 P.M. A total of twenty-six public office seats are up for reelection this fall, including two 3-year term seats on the borough assembly, which are currently held by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci and Assembly Member Brandi Marohl. The municipal elections will be held in person in the Parks and Recreation Center. The first day residents could apply for candidacy was July 28, and the last...
Starting this weekend, the Parks and Recreation Center could see a change to its schedule and availability, though Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht, and acting parks and recreation director, said the change may not occur, but if it does, it would be an improvement. Whether or not the schedule changes depends on if the Petersburg School District needs to make adjustments to it. Giesbrecht said PSD can work within the current schedule, but the school district gets the final say. He said a...
The M/V Matanuska's sailings were cancelled through Aug. 20 after five passengers on board the vessel on Aug. 10 tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The ferry is expected to resume service on Aug. 21 out of Bellingham. On Aug. 10, while sailing from Kake to Juneau, the crew of the M/V Matanuska was notified that some passengers were in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person in Kake. Those...
The test result for a non-resident traveler came back positive on Friday, Aug. 14, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual has been in isolation in town and close contacts have been informed. The Petersburg Emergency Operations Center believes the COVID-19 risk to the community is low due to the individual having limited contact with others in the community, according to the press release. As of Wednesday, Aug. 19, the number o...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly chose Sarah F. Fine at their meeting on Monday as the moderator for the Sept. 10 community meeting to discuss the civil emergency provisions ordinance. The third reading of the borough's civil emergency provision ordinance was postponed at an assembly meeting last month until Sept. 21 to allow the public more time to inform themselves about the ordinance and offer feedback. As part of the deferment, the assembly agreed to hold a public meeting sometime before...
The borough assembly passed a resolution at their meeting on Monday that puts a parcel of borough land on Ira II St. up for a competitive bid after two parties expressed interest in the property. The Petersburg Indian Association wants to buy the lot at 705 Ira II St. for the site of their low income housing duplex; however, Kathy Holtzinger, who lives next door at 701 Ira II St. also wants to build a duplex on the property. A 2020 assessment of the 10,000 sq. ft. lot valued it at $36,000. The...
*To register a new student, please stop by the office at 303 Dolphin Street by August 28th *You will need to bring current vaccination record and birth certificate (legible copy ok) *Current students do not need to register, as long as the enrollment survey was filled out *If you have any questions, please call the office at 907-302-2385 Mrs. Willis Kindergarten AM session Noelle Craig, Robyn Chrissley, Carley Littrell, Rosario Lohr, Trygve Marohl, Olivia O'Neil, Helmi Versteeg, Evie Wikan PM...
Construction on the Kake Access Road project was expected to start in early to mid-July, but Joseph Kemp, Alaska Department of Transportation engineering manager for the project, said one last permit is needed before stretches of new road can be built. Permits from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, United States Forest Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers are needed in order to undergo the project. Kemp said he is waiting for a permit from the USACE to be authorized,...
The Petersburg Police Department received over 30 calls in the past week from residents reporting bears in garbage cans or on their property. Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Games, said the bears could be venturing into town in search of food due to a scarcity of salmon and a poor berry crop. "In the absence of natural foods, the bears are foraging in the neighborhoods on garbage, chickens and other human sources of food," Robbins said. Every...
The Petersburg School Board approved schedules for Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High school at their meeting on Tuesday that includes alternate days of in-person instruction at the start of the school year beginning Aug. 31. The students at both secondary schools will be split into two groups, the blue group and the white group. The blue group will have in-person class time on Mondays and Wednesdays and the white group will be in class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During a day when a...
A traveler tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 4 after previously testing negative for the virus, according to a press release from the Petersburg Operations Center. The traveler arrived in town at the Petersburg Airport on July 20, but tested negative upon their arrival, according to the release. A test that was taken on Aug. 4, the day the individual left town, recently returned positive for the virus. According to the press release, the person is no longer in Petersburg and is considered...
Starting Aug. 31, students will return to Rae C. Stedman Elementary School under a schedule that splits the student body into two groups to avoid the possible spread of COVID-19 among students and staff. The Petersburg School Board approved the new schedule at their regular school board meeting on Tuesday in a 4-1 vote. The schedule follows recommendations from the state's Smart Start plan. Discussion on the school district's schedule began at a special school board meeting on Thursday, Aug. 6,...
This year's municipal elections will be held in person at the Parks and Recreation Center on Oct. 6 and some residents have already filed for candidacy. Twenty-six public office seats are up for grabs, including two 3-year term spots on the assembly. So far, only eight residents have registered to put their name on the ballot. The first day residents could apply for candidacy was July 28, and the last day to file is on Aug. 25. As of Monday, Aug. 10, the candidates in the Petersburg Borough...
Alaska is ranked last among the 50 states in its response to the 2020 United States Census, as of Tuesday, Aug. 11. Only Puerto Rico is behind Alaska in its response to the census, according to Jeanette Duran Pacheco, media specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau regional office in Los Angeles. According to data from the United States Census Bureau, as of Tuesday, 50.1 percent of Alaskans have completed the 2020 Census. Petersburg residents are aligned with the state's participation rate, with...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors agreed to request $1,004,638.50 at a special board meeting on Friday from the Petersburg Borough's COVID-19 fund should grants from the state fall through. About $800,000 of the requested funds can be covered by grants the hospital has applied for from the state for COVID-19 relief, said PMC Controller Rocio Tejera. The hospital should be notified in the coming weeks on whether or not the state will release the grants. "This is in case we don't...
Passengers onboard Dennis Rogers' charter boat, Northern Song, were treated to a rare surprise last Thursday, Aug. 6, when they witnessed a white killer whale hunting with two other orcas near Kake. "Everyone was ecstatic," said Rogers. "It's always a treat to come across killer whales, and then to have a white killer whale, which is super rare, was an extra treat." Rogers said he looked up the whale in a killer whale catalog produced by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and learned...
Alaska State Troopers continue to investigate a fatal accident that claimed the lives of four seine boat crewmembers sometime after 10 P.M. on Monday, July 27. A Ford Excursion driven by Siguard Decker drove off the roadway near the 27-mile marker of Mitkof Highway at a high rate of speed, according to Alaska State Troopers. Megan Peters, communications director with the Alaska Dept. of Public Safety said Siguard Decker, who was driving, seems to have had lost control of the vehicle and then...
Public Works Director Chris Cotta presented the assembly with a summary of the findings of a recent rate study on the borough's recycling program at their regular meeting on Monday that suggested possible rate increases to go along with four different scenarios for the program. Rate studies for the borough's water, wastewater and sanitation departments were conducted by FCS Group, based out of Washington, and cost a total of $42,000, said Cotta. The borough had been waiting for the results of...
