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The Harbor and Ports Advisory Board reviewed a conceptual design document last week for improvements to the Papke's Landing marine facility including the construction of a new ramp, a new float dock, and expanded parking. Alan Murph with Harai and Associates, who drafted the plans, presented the concepts at the meeting and said the project would be broken up into phases for a total estimated cost of $6,410,000. The document depicts a new 255-foot by 215-foot parking lot which would be built on...
Petersburg is expecting a 35% increase in passenger berths from last year as the cruise ship industry rebounds from two summers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. This summer has the potential of seeing 11,000 cruise ship passengers across 107 port calls according to Dave Berg, president of Viking Travel and a ships agent for Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska. Some of the cruise lines that will visit Petersburg this year include Alaska Dream Cruises, American Cruise Lines, National Geographic, and...
The Petersburg Medical Center is bringing back its Health and Safety Fair after a four-year hiatus and is encouraging members of the community to come to the in-person event on June 4 and the blood draws leading up to it. The health fair, which is usually held every two years, was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the theme of this year's event is "Getting Back on Track." The in-person event will be held in the community gym from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. where booths will be set up to...
The state budget plan adopted by the House earlier this month includes an additional $263,000 in one-time funding for the Petersburg School District, an almost 5% boost from a state aid formula that has not increased since 2017. The one-time appropriation for a total of $57 million may be the political compromise to help Alaska's 54 school districts this next year as lawmakers continue to debate a change to the formula in state statute. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter discussed House Bill...
Second COVID-19 vaccine booster doses are available in Petersburg and are primarily being administered at Public Health according to Petersburg Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Bryner. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine last month for those aged 50 or older and for immunocompromised individuals who received their first booster shot at least four months earlier. Though Public Health has taken the primary role of...
Forty years ago, Marlene Cushing was working as the community public health nurse when she attended the first meeting of Women's Aid in Violent Emergencies (WAVE). It was April and the head dispatcher of the Petersburg Police Department (PPD) was there and the assistant director of the children's center showed up, too. And so did a handful of other women looking to volunteer and make a positive impact when it came to dealing with domestic violence (DV) locally. But Cushing says, credit for...
The Petersburg High School jazz and concert bands attended Musicfest in Juneau last week which allowed students to see performances from high school bands from across Southeast and take part in educational clinics. Director Charlie O'Brien said the festival, which was returning after being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was a good opportunity for the 20 students to hear from and perform in front of other musicians. "That's what makes it such a special event and the audience is so support...
As the weather gets better and people begin to spend more time outdoors, those traveling to Sandy Beach will find it neat and tidy thanks to the work of a group of volunteers. Parks and Recreation staff, Petersburg Rotary Club members, and other volunteers gathered at Sandy Beach last Saturday to hold a cleanup event to get the park ready for spring and summer events. Volunteers picked up trash, animal waste, branches, and other clutter along the trails throughout the park. The clean-up efforts...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to approve Resolution #2022-05 during Monday's meeting, signaling its opposition to two bills in the Alaska State Legislature which would make changes to commercial passenger vessel wastewater monitoring. The Ocean Ranger program was created in 2006 when Alaska voters passed Ballot Measure 2 requiring the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to station U.S. Coast Guard certified marine engineers onboard cruise ships to monitor the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to create a task force focused on addressing child care challenges in Petersburg and finding sustainable solutions during Monday's meeting. The creation of the Early Childhood Education Task Force came as a result of the ongoing discussions of child care needs in the community which identified issues with retention and recruitment of employees and the lack of availability of child care for families. Assembly Member Jeff Meucci opened by saying...
With the first statewide use of ranked choice voting in Alaska on the horizon, the Petersburg Borough Assembly discussed holding an information session to inform community members on how the new voting system works. The upcoming special election will use ranked choice voting, which was approved by Alaska voters in 2020, to determine who will fill the late Rep. Don Young's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives until the term expires in January 2023. During Monday's assembly meeting, Assembly...
A woman crashed off Mitkof Highway near Scow Bay Loop Road Saturday around 8:30 a.m. after losing control of a truck according to Assistant Fire Chief David Berg. The driver and her dog were uninjured in the crash but the truck was totaled. According to Berg, the woman said she was driving toward town when she discovered that she could not stop the vehicle. She pulled into the ferry terminal parking lot and made a couple of turns, but did not stop the truck, and got back on the road headed away...
The Alaska Board of Fisheries adopted a revised king salmon management plan during its March meeting in a compromise which will see sport fishery limits set prior to the start of the season based on a tier system instead of changing in-season. The hope is that the 80/20 split between the commercial troll and sport fisheries will be maintained while allowing all non-residents who travel to Alaska to catch king salmon the opportunity to do so. "In this plan the caveat there is when we're at those...
Alaska Marine Lines has announced increases to its general rates and fuel surcharges in Southeast as fuel prices continue to rise. On November 4, 2021, a release signed by Director of Pricing Margretta Grace announced that AML had filed with the Surface Transportation board to increase the general rate for shipments into, out of, and within Southeast by 4.8% effective January 30. The release cited inflation, rising costs, and the labor shortage as reasons for the increases. "Southeast Alaska is...
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery has seen multiple openings over the past week which have resulted in approximately 7,300 tons of herring harvested as of Tuesday according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. After four days of two-hour notice, the first fishery opening was held on March 26. Though there was no herring spawn observed in the aerial survey that day, department and industry vessels observed herring in the sound. The opening occurred from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and...
The Petersburg Medical Center hospital board hosted Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium CEO Charles Clement at its meeting on March 24 to give the public an opportunity to hear from him about SEARHC's current plans and opportunities for collaborations between the two entities. The assembly chamber was packed during the meeting and even more people logged in on Zoom to hear Clement answer questions sent by board members and hospital staff regarding the future of health care in... Full story
Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay gave a report to the Petersburg Borough Assembly on March 21 about a meeting which discussed housing needs in Petersburg and what organizations are doing to support those experiencing homelessness. Representatives from the borough, Humanity In Progress, Working Against Violence for Everyone, the Petersburg Medical Center, the Petersburg Indian Association, and other local organizations were in attendance at the March 10 meeting. "The goal of these meetings is to...
The Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs hosted a ceremony Tuesday in the Petersburg High School gym to welcome home and remember Vietnam veterans. The event marked Vietnam Veterans Day which falls on March 29 and was originally scheduled for 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Forrest E. Powell III with the DMVA opened the ceremony and introduced Chamber of Commerce President Jim Floyd who welcomed attendees. Floyd spoke on the history of Petersburg and of the...
The tugboat Western Mariner ran aground Monday morning while towing the barge Chichagof Provider through the Neva Strait according to the U.S. Coast Guard. At 2:55 a.m. watchstanders in the Sector Juneau command center received a radio call from the Western Mariner stating that the 286-foot containerized barge in tow had collided with the tug, causing the tug to run aground. According to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, a temporary steering failure onboard the tugboat caused...
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium President and CEO Charles Clement is set to answer submitted questions from Petersburg Medical Center Board members and staff during the hospital's board meeting on March 24. Clement will give a presentation to the board which will include information on SEARHC's mergers and affiliations with other health care providers and then answer additional questions from the board. With discussions of the need for a new medical facility in Petersburg and how to...
Alaska Airlines will start sending a Boeing 737-800 southbound to Petersburg this summer, helping more people travel during one of the busiest times of the year according to Scott Habberstad, Alaska Airlines' director of sales and community marketing in the state. Habberstad was the guest speaker at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Banquet last Saturday night where he discussed how Alaska Airlines navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic, development in Petersburg, and the airline's growth goal...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly hosted a work session Wednesday evening to discuss child care needs in the community and ways the borough could be involved in helping find sustainable solutions for providers and families. Child care challenges have been discussed recently at the assembly level, a Community Café hosted by the SHARE Coalition, an ARPA work session, and other public meetings with issues including child care staff recruitment and retention, availability and costs for families, and...
Hammer & Wikan and the Petersburg Pilot were both awarded Business of the Year at the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce banquet Saturday night. Hammer & Wikan received the 2021 Business of the Year award which they were due to receive at last year's banquet before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Will Ware, the vice president of the chamber, recounted the history of Hammer & Wikan from its beginnings as the Petersburg Dairy Company in 1921 to the opening of the new grocery store...
When Russia invaded Ukraine last month, it didn't shock Serhii Dudnichenko, a proud Ukrainian. Dudnichenko, 40, knows all about Russia because he was born into the USSR. And he would hate to see his fellow Ukrainians go back to that way of life, because he remembers his parents being unable to buy food or basic necessities. Dudnichenko and 25 other Ukrainians are working for OBI Seafoods in Petersburg this season. The war forced them all to make a tough choice: stay or leave? "One part of me,... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed Ordinance #2022-03 in its third reading on Monday, finalizing increases to harbor fees. Harbormaster Glo Wollen said the change in rates, which is the first increase since 2018, was needed to keep revenue aligned with the harbor's operational costs and account for inflation. The increase drew the support of the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board and passed in the assembly unanimously in its first two readings. Annual moorage fees and transient...
