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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...
During Monday’s meeting, the Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved two resolutions authorizing the sale of two borough owned parcels on Sandy Beach Road by outcry auction. The resolutions set the time of the outcry auctions at the beginning of the assembly meeting on May 2 at 12 p.m. The resolutions also set the minimum bid price for both parcels. For 700 Sandy Beach Road, which measures 84,942 square feet, the minimum bid price is $77,500. For 1015 Sandy Beach Road, which measures 14,925 square feet, the minimum bid price is $...
During a conference call with reporters on Monday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski spoke on the recent passage of the Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden after the call on Tuesday. The spending bill includes congressionally dedicated spending allocations for Alaska projects including $8 million for the construction of a new Petersburg Medical Center facility. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter has previously said that those funds will help get the project...
Vakker Sted, the income-based apartment building across the street from the Petersburg Medical Center, is finishing up construction and is expected to begin welcoming tenants on April 1 according to Glenn Gellert of Swell, LLC. The 15-unit building's opening date has been pushed back a few times because of the COVID-19 pandemic and winter weather but its completion appears to be in sight. "It's all just kind of coming together here. Everything is on schedule for this final push," Gellert said....
Folk duo The Small Glories will be coming to Petersburg next week to perform at the Wright Auditorium, bringing with them a Canadian flavor of Americana music. Members JD Edwards and Cara Luft first met at the West End Cultural Centre's 25th anniversary celebration in Winnipeg when they were paired up to perform at the event along with other artists from across the province. Both were raised by the charm of folk music-Luft's parents were folk musicians and Edwards listened to a Bob Dylan record...
St. Patty's Day used to be the perfect excuse for Nicole McMurren to get "bombed," almost as if her Irish heritage was a license to tie one on. She'd have a "bump" before the parade, then after it was over, and singing at Longterm Care had concluded, it was time to head for Harbor Bar and into the night's festivities. But this year, McMurren will be celebrating the leprechaun-loving holiday the same as she's done for the last decade-without beer or whisky. "For me, a really good choice was just...
Lori Roberts celebrated her last day of work at OBI Seafoods on December 10 after a 42 year career which saw her work in pretty much every spot in the plant. Roberts began with what was then Petersburg Fisheries in 1974 after being talked into coming up to Petersburg by a few friends. She attended Highline Community College in Washington and worked at the plant during the summers until she eventually decided to stick around. "I was downstairs for 16 years," Roberts said. "I did herring, I did...
Applications are now being accepted for a federally funded financial assistance program for Alaska homeowners. Applications will be accepted through April 4 by the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., which is administering the $50 million program to help homeowners hurt by income loss the past two years due to the pandemic. The aid can go toward eligible homeowners' monthly mortgage payments, and may also be applied to current and past-due property taxes, insurance premiums and utility bills. To...
Assembly Member Bob Lynn and Utility Director Karl Hagerman provided a report on SEAPA activities during the Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on March 7 including details on the Southeast Alaska Power Agency’s updated website and the likelihood of further rate increases. Lynn reported that SEAPA CEO Trey Acteson told the SEAPA board during its February 28 meeting that a 3/4 of a cent rate increase over time is needed to make up for the costs of the debt service for the submarine cable, the 4R improvement plan, the vegetation management p...
The Petersburg School Board unanimously approved a move to optional masking in all buildings during its board meeting Tuesday night as case counts decrease and vaccinations and tests become more accessible. The new protocols will be implemented when staff and students return from spring break on March 21 and while masking will be optional, all other mitigation strategies including quarantine and testing protocols will remain in place. The Petersburg School District has required universal...
While most high schools may take a field trip to the local museum or zoo, a select group of Petersburg High School students get to go somewhere a little bit cooler-LeConte Glacier. Each year, students set out to survey the glacier and record how it has moved over time. They're taking what they have learned in the classroom and are applying it in the field. The survey began in 1983 with high school teacher Paul Bowen's surveying class as an opportunity for the top students to get real world... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to approve an amended proposal increasing the starting pay of police officers and dispatchers in a 5-2 vote with Mayor Mark Jensen and Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh opposed during Monday's meeting. The proposal passed by the assembly aims to improve both recruitment and retention of employees to combat the police department's continued staffing issues which have led to increased overtime and strain on staff. Changes included in the proposals were drawn...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted during Monday's meeting to send two properties owned by the borough along Sandy Beach Road to an outcry auction following a recommendation of sale from the Planning Commission. The two lots, 700 and 1015 Sandy Beach Road, are zoned single-family residential and are neighbored by privately-owned lots with houses. Marc Taylor was listed as the applicant for the 84,942 square foot lot at 700 Sandy Beach Road and Linda Millard and Samuel Bergeron were listed as...
There were multiple accounts with outstanding balances when Sharlay Mamoe took over as director of the Petersburg Children's Center. A board member suggested writing letters to the people. Payments began coming back almost immediately, often with apologies. Those balances attest to the difficulty families face when it comes to paying for childcare. If a couple or a single parent cannot afford the rates at PCC, Mamoe will grab an application for the state-funded Child Care Assistance Program... Full story
An ordinance which would increase rates at Petersburg's municipal harbors was unanimously approved by the Petersburg Borough Assembly in its second reading during Monday's meeting. Ordinance #2022-03, which also passed unanimously in its first reading, would be the first rate increase since 2018 and would increase harbor moorage fees by around 5% among other changes. The ordinance also has the support of the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board and Harbormaster Glo Wollen who said the increase is...
Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium leadership will give a presentation at the next Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board meeting on March 24 according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. The board voted in September to invite SEARHC leadership to speak at a future meeting to give the public an opportunity to hear more information on SEARHC's vision for local health care and discuss Petersburg's need for a new medical facility. Questions from board members and staff at the hospital were...
During the February 21 Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting, Assembly Member Dave Kensinger gave a report on his attendance at the 2022 Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit which included an update on the U.S. Coast Guard's interest in Petersburg, federal funding in Alaska, and other important matters to the assembly. The future of the Coast Guard's presence in Petersburg has been in question since it was announced that only three of the four coastal buoy tenders, the class of ships that the...
The commercial Pacific halibut fishing period is set to begin on March 6 as determined during the 98th session of the International Pacific Halibut Commission and will last until December 7, 2022. This season, the overall Total Constant Exploitation Yield (TCEY) limit was increased by 5.7% compared to last year, bringing the 2022 limit to 41.22 million pounds. For all areas in the United States, the total 2022 limit of 33.66 million pounds is up 5.2% from 2021. The largest percentage increase...
John Bisset, 18, was arrested on multiple charges of alleged sexual assault on February 19 according to the Petersburg Police Department. The charges include four counts of first degree sexual assault and one count of second degree sexual assault which all allegedly occurred on December 4, 2021. According to a press release from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the AWT Patrol Vessel Compliance conducted a commercial fishing boarding on February 19 near Hobart Bay when law enforcement discovered that Bisset, who was aboard, had an active felony...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-1 against Ordinance #2022-02, which would have required sitting assembly members to resign in order to run for mayor, with only Mayor Mark Jensen in support. The ordinance, which failed in its first reading, would have amended the municipal code to require sitting assembly members to tender a letter of resignation prior to filing a declaration of candidacy for mayor unless their term expired in the same election year as the mayoral election. Currently, if...
