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A barred owl named Glaucus (for her gray coloring) and a red tailed hawk named Jake (originally from Kake) are traveling from Sitka to Petersburg Thursday with an ambitious three day schedule of presentations. Their visit is part of the on-going Rainforest Festival and is being funded by a grant from the Petersburg Community Foundation and in collaboration with Partners in Education. Avian Director Jennifer Cedarleaf and Avian Care Specialist Hannah Blanke will escort the raptors. Their first pr...
On a night where ghosts and goblins roam the streets, Petersburg residents had a bigger problem to worry about. A landslide occurred near 5.5 Mile Mitkof Highway on Monday around 4:30 p.m., damaging power lines and taking down trees to completely block the road. The slide left downtown Petersburg without power and a row of cars waiting along Mitkof Highway to see if they could get home for the evening. According to Fire Chief Jim Stolpe, firefighters searched the area around the landslide and... Full story
The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public input on proposed cabin projects in Alaska made possible through funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Of the $18 million allocated to the Forest Service for recreation cabins and historic buildings, $14.4 million will go toward cabin projects on the Tongass and Chugach National Forests. Over 50 cabin projects have been proposed across Alaska. And though only a handful will be funded, projects in the Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger...
The Petersburg School District board unanimously voted to revise its FY23 budget during its Oct. 11 meeting to account for $262,000 in one-time funding allocated to the district by the Alaska Legislature. The one-time funding will make up for cuts to activities, instruction, and support line items made when the budget was first adopted in June-before the legislature approved the funding. The initial budget did not include the $262,000 in one-time funding and was also based on a district student...
Stedman Elementary School students got an education in fire safety last week from members of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department who visited the school to give demonstrations and show instructional videos. The Learn Not to Burn program has been on hiatus for the last couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were able to visit the fire station for some instruction last year, but this was the first time since the pandemic that PVFD members have been back in the school as...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-1 to approve an ordinance adjusting the borough's FY23 budget in its second reading during Monday's meeting with Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh opposed. The assembly unanimously approved of two amendments during the second reading of Ordinance #2022-15. The first, proposed by Assembly Member Bob Lynn, would create a new special revenue fund to account for $1,006,800 million allocated to the borough in new American Rescue Plan Act funding. Finance...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously during its Oct. 17 meeting to nominate Assembly Member Dave Kensinger and Chelsea Tremblay to a new housing task force formed by the Alaska Municipal League (AML). The task force is seeking nominations from member communities and it will also have a child care subgroup. According to a Nils Andreassen, the executive director of AML, the goal of the task force is to gather information from members about their housing challenges and collaborate on...
The results of this year's municipal election were certified by the Petersburg Borough Assembly at a special meeting last Friday. Three ballots-two of which had been postmarked by election day and received by the borough and one questioned ballot-were counted during the meeting which brought the total number of ballots cast to 1,194. After the ballots were counted, the assembly voted 5-0 to certify the election with Mayor Mark Jensen and Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor excused. This year's...
The ice skate pond is expected to be brightly lit during the dark winter months as the lighting project there nears completion according to Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne. "We want all of that installed and the lights functioning up there around the ice skate pond this year... hopefully in another month or so all of that will be done and ready to go," Payne said. The project began last year after Fred Haltiner donated $10,000 to go toward installing permanent lights at the pond...
In many places the Welcome Wagon Potluck at Sandy Beach last Sunday would have been called off due to inclement weather. But organizer Chelsea Tremblay had put up her homemade posters around town inviting one and all to come meet new neighbors and share their local knowledge-rain or shine. So, despite heavy rainfall and the wind blowing in off Frederick Sound, she got a big blaze going in the fireplace, and about fifty people showed up: some new to Petersburg, some who've recently moved back,...
The long-awaited unofficial results of the 2022 municipal election were released Wednesday evening after early and absentee ballots were counted throughout the day. According to the unofficial results, Mark Jensen won the mayoral race with 642 votes and will retain his seat. He was followed by Bob Lynn with 363 votes and Jeff Meucci with 177 votes Incumbents Jeigh Stanton Gregor and Chelsea Tremblay both lost their seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly to newcomers Scott Newman and Donna...
Saturday morning a group of concerned Petersburg residents met at the Wright Auditorium to participate in the second Childcare Community Café to address the childcare crisis affecting the local workforce, businesses, families, and economy. The meeting, hosted by the SHARE (Supporting Health Awareness, Resilience, and Education) Coalition, began with a viewing of a 23-minute video entitled "Voices for a Better Future: Community Impacts of Childcare in Petersburg," followed by a community... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center Board unanimously voted to select architecture firm Bettisworth North to design the new PMC facility project during its Sept. 29 meeting. Bettisworth North, a firm with offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks, names the YKHC Paul John Calricaraq Clinic and Hospital renovation, the North Pole Veterinary Hospital, and the ANTHC Healthy Communities Building among some of its previous healthcare facility projects. According to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter's report, the hospital... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to appoint 14 people to the Housing Task Force during Monday's meeting. Members of the task force include Gary Aulbach, Jay Barnard, Annette Bennett, Joyce Cummings, Darcie Ewert, Larry Hofstad, Sarah Holmgrain, Ashley Kawashima, David Kensinger, Malena Marvin, Jeff Meucci, Erin Michael, Jalyn Pomrenke, and Jeigh Stanton Gregor. The assembly also chose Stanton Gregor to act as the group's facilitator after a unanimous vote. The group was...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance which would adjust the FY23 budget for known changes in its first reading Monday. The assembly voted 6-1 in favor of Ordinance #2022-15 with Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh opposed. The supplemental budget accounts for some funding received from state grants, items that could be purchased, and repair work that was not included in the original FY23 budget. The adjustments to the budget are as follows: • Accept $123,158 in state l...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to send a letter to the Wrangell Borough Assembly seeking to open a discussion on the possible expansion of the Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) to serve the two communities. The IFA currently runs between Hollis and Ketchikan daily and is composed of two ships-the M/V Stikine and the M/V Prince of Wales. The letter comes after former Gov. Frank Murkowski visited Petersburg on Sept. 22 to discuss the current state of transportation in Southeast...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted to spend $20,000 to find out the estimated costs to develop multiple subdivisions during its Sept. 19 meeting as it looks to open up more lots to address the housing crisis. The total expenditure was approved in two parts and the estimations will be completed by PND Engineers. Both expenditures passed in 5-1 votes with Assembly Member Bob Lynn opposed. First the assembly approved spending $4,000 to revise the estimated costs of the Fram Street and Hungry Point subdivisions, which was also completed by PND...
This Saturday evening Humanity In Progress (HIP) is hosting Empty Bowls, a fundraiser working to end hunger one bowl at a time. From 6 - 8:30 p.m. a donation of ten dollars per person will get supporters into the warmth of Sons of Norway Hall, where they’ll be given a bowl of soup and a roll, and invited to listen to live music while they browse the temptations of the silent dessert auction. If they’d like to take a bowl home, a beautiful selection of handmade and donated bowls will be ava...
Dr. Mark Tuccillo has practiced family medicine in Petersburg since 1993 and soon plans to taper toward retirement starting at the end of October 2022. Growing up in New Jersey, his grandfather glorified Alaska, where he had crash-landed as an aviator with the Army Air Core, forcing him to walk over a week to the nearest village. "He had us all hooked talking about dogsledding and polar bears," Tuccillo remembers. "It was sensationalism, but it stuck with me." Certain he would become a doctor, t...
The five candidates running for the two seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly participated in a candidate forum on Monday in the assembly chambers hosted by KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, Donna Marsh, Scott Newman, and Kurt Wohlhueter were presented with the same questions and were each given one minute to respond in a random order. The first part of the forum saw candidates answer questions asked by members of the media...
The borough is reprinting the ballots for this year's municipal election after Scott Roberge's name was erroneously left off according to a public notice released by the borough Tuesday. In the public notice it states that Roberge's name was "inadvertently omitted" during the initial preparation of the ballot but has now been included. Roberge is running for one of the two seats on the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board along with Raliegh Cook, Casey Knight, and John Murgas. He had registered for...
With plans on the horizon for the Petersburg Medical Center to assume control of Assisted Living at Mountain View Manor, the Petersburg Borough Assembly has recently taken steps toward separating the Assisted Living and Elderly Housing departments. During its meeting on Sept. 6, the assembly voted unanimously to hire Michelle Lopez as Elderly Housing Director, a new position, with a salary of $62,000. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said the borough and PMC have had multiple meetings on the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved Ordinance #2022-13, which would put a property obtained by the borough in a tax foreclosure proceeding up for sale, during its first reading at the Sept. 19 meeting. The property, parcel number 02-285-140, was previously owned by Allen Hudson and Billy Harding and is located in the Wrangell Narrows Subdivision. If approved in three readings, the ordinance would affirm that there is no public need for the parcel and that it would not be...
Voters will be faced with three ballot propositions during the municipal election on Oct. 4 which, if approved, would amend Petersburg's home rule charter. The three ordinances which sent the three propositions to the ballot were unanimously passed by the Petersburg Borough Assembly earlier this year. During Monday evening's assembly meeting, Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson led a review of the three propositions during a discussion requested by Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor. Proposition 1 would...
Last Sunday there was a familiar Petersburg scene at the Lutheran Church's Holy Cross House: a table laden with open-faced sandwiches, shrimp and macaroni salad, delicate krumkake, spritz, and the signature kransekake (wreath cake). This time, however, the celebration was for an uncommon, maybe even unprecedented event: a 75th wedding anniversary–a milestone so few couples accomplish that there is no statistic for it, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The room was packed and loud with h... Full story
