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Despite competing against 4A schools in their first meet of the season over the weekend in Ketchikan, the Petersburg High School track and field team held their own and scored well in the events they competed in. The Vikings competed alongside students from Ketchikan, Juneau and Thunder Mountain. All three schools are categorized as 4A schools, meaning they have more students, while Petersburg is a 2A school. Since Ketchikan, Juneau and Thunder Mountain have larger school sizes, they have more...
The Petersburg High School baseball team traveled to Ketchikan over the weekend to play their first three games of the season, but ended up losing each game to Ketchikan High School. For a month, the Vikings have been practicing at the ballfield and in the gym in preparation for the start of the baseball season. Until now, head coach Jim Engell said he didn't know what the team needed to focus on, but after Friday's and Saturday's games, he knows what to zero in on with the team during...
The borough assembly approved a resolution on Monday opposing Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposed 2020 fiscal year budget that also lists the direct impacts of the budget to the borough. Resolution #2019-06 urges the governor and the Alaska Legislature to adopt a more balanced budget that only includes budget cuts that are backed up with an analysis of the cut's economic and social impacts to Alaska residents. According to the resolution, the proposed budget would do significant damage to the economie...
Between 2013 and 2016, the deer population on Mitkof Island was on an upward trend, according to Stephen Bethune, Unit 4 area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game based in Sitka. It is difficult for ADF&G to survey the exact number of deer on Mitkof Island, so it tracks population trends over a several year period, according to Bethune. To determine the trends, ADF&G uses deer pellet surveys, hunter harvest rates and aerial surveys. Between 2004 and 2008, the deer...
The borough's contract assessors gave the borough assembly, who were acting as the board of equalization, a review of the remaining unsettled property tax appeals between property owner Andrew Cowan and the assessor on April 9. Every four years, the borough's contract assessors cycle through different areas of the borough evaluating current building permits as needed. This year the assessors evaluated the canneries and properties near the borough's cemetery. The assessors received 81 appeals...
During Monday's borough assembly meeting, assistant fire chief Dave Berg presented a petition to the assembly requesting that they fill the vacant emergency medical services coordinator position. The petition had over 25 signatures from members of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. If the borough were to fill the vacant position, then the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department would have a designated person available to train EMS volunteers and free up Fire/EMS director Sandy Dixson's time...
Taking advantage of the sunshine Southeast Alaska has been experiencing this spring, Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter paddled 135 miles in his kayak to Ketchikan by himself as a way to test his endurance. His journey began Friday, March 29 at Banana Point and he arrived in Ketchikan the following Monday. He was greeted by staff at Peace Health Ketchikan Medical Center. Hofstetter said he had been planning to visit the facility and build a relationship with the staff, but flights...
The Petersburg Park and Recreation Center will be temporarily reducing their hours of operation beginning May 1 due to understaffing. Currently, the community center is open Monday through Saturday from 6 A.M. through 9 P.M. and 1 P.M. through 7 P.M. on Sundays. Starting May 1, the community center will only be open from Tuesday through Saturday from 6 A.M. through 9 P.M. According to Parks and Recreation director Chandra Thornburg, the new schedule will allow Parks and Rec staff to keep the...
In its second reading on Monday, the borough assembly approved Ordinance #2019-02, which would create language in the borough's sales tax code regarding internet sales of goods and services. According to finance director Judy Tow, the borough's current tax code doesn't mention internet sales tax, nor does it forbid it. The ordinance would just broaden the language in the sales tax code to include internet vendors not located in Petersburg or Alaska. One member of the public spoke during a...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department Association elected Jim Stolpe as its new fire chief on Thursday following the retirement of the previous fire chief, Doug Welde. Assistant fire chief Dave Berg took on the responsibilities of fire chief until a new fire chief was elected when Welde retired after 50 years with the department. Both Berg and Stolpe were candidates for fire chief position, but the department ultimately elected Stolpe. Berg has since resumed his position as assistant fire chi...
The Alaska Marine Highway System removed the FVF Fairweather from service and transported the vessel to Ketchikan where it waits to be put up for sale. Last week the FVF Fairweather sailed from Juneau to Ketchikan's Ward Cove where it will be stored. Both the FVF Fairweather and the FVF Chenega, which has also been put in storage, will be put up for sale in the coming months, according to Department of Transportation public information officer Aurah Landau of Juneau. "AMHS has determined it...
Rocio Tejera-Elejabeitia will be taking over as financial controller at the Petersburg Medical Center following the exit of the chief financial officer Doran Hammett. After she was hired last month, Tejera-Elejabeitia has been working alongside Hammett and learning the day-to-day controller functions, such as month and quarterly closing. Hammett announced his departure in January after five years with PMC to be closer to his family in Oklahoma. Tejera-Elejabeitia has also been training with...
During Tuesday's Planning Commission meeting, residents gave testimony on the zoning of their property under the borough's new development code, which was passed by the borough assembly late last year, and allowing manufactured homes in residential areas. After hearing public testimony, the Planning Commission instructed borough staff to create a list of all the proposed changes to the development code to allow community members to see each of the amendments and provide further comment. At their...
The Viking Swim Club scored second place in Juneau this past weekend at the 2019 Southeast Championships behind the Glacier Swim Club of Juneau which has 10 times as many swimmers as Petersburg. Brooklyn Whitethorn, Olivia Hinde, Lexie Tow and Abby Worhatch competed in the 200 yard freestyle relay in the 10 and under age group and came in first place. The group went on to come in second place in the 200 yard medley relay. On the boys side, Jonas Baekkelund, Noah Pawuk, Logan Tow and Logan Haley...
Over 35 people were in attendance at the Petersburg Public Library on Saturday where the Friends of the Petersburg Libraries kicked off National Library Week by recognizing three community members for their dedication to Petersburg's libraries and young readers. "Today we celebrate our libraries and our kids, they are excellent readers," read Friends of Petersburg Libraries vice president Marilyn Menish-Meucci from a statement written by president Sue Paulsen. "It takes a village to raise these...
The borough assembly appointed the Public Safety Advisory Board to rewrite and craft an updated fireworks ordinance that includes fines and allows fireworks to be set off in service area one during certain dates and times each year. The current fireworks ordinance doesn't have the option to issue fines to residents violating the ordinance; as a result, the Petersburg Police Department has to file criminal charges of disorderly conduct instead. Police Chief Jim Kerr stated in a letter read by bor...
At an assembly meeting on Monday, members of the borough assembly discussed the possibility of instituting a fish box tax on fish charter customers who leave Petersburg with boxes of locally caught fish. The discussion topic was requested by assembly member Jeff Meucci who stated that a fish box tax wouldn't be charged to locals who wanted to take boxes of fish down south with them. "The idea here is to charge a fee for folks who come to town and off load 20 or 30 boxes of fish and take it to...
The borough assembly approved ordinance #2019-02 in its first reading on Monday that would update the borough's sales tax code to include language regarding internet sales of goods and services. Although the current tax code doesn't mention internet sales tax, it doesn't forbid it, according to finance director Judy Tow. The ordinance would just broaden the language in the sales tax code to internet vendors not located in Petersburg or Alaska. According to Tow, until the state has a unified...
Don Jarrett of McMillen Jacobs Associates gave the borough assembly a presentation on the status of the Blind Slough Hydroelectric project and recommended a refurbishment of the powerhouse and penstock. McMillen Jacobs Associates performed a condition assessment of the project and came up with a list of recommendations for the work that needed to be done in order to keep the project operational through the remaining term of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, which is up in 2034....
The borough assembly approved an amended letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Monday requesting that he travel to Southeast Alaska to speak on his 2020 fiscal year proposed budget and give an open-forum style meeting without involvement from Americans for Prosperity. On March 18, Dunleavy announced a statewide road show to discuss his FY2020 budget proposal. The locations included Kenai, Anchorage, Nome, Fairbanks and Mat-Su, with dates ranging from March 25 through 29. The road tour was sponsored...
Harbormaster Glo Wollen presented a list of possible sites for a new maintenance shop to the Harbor and Port Advisory Board on Friday that showed Petro 49, Inc.'s warehouse, that the fuel company wants to trade to the borough, as the best site. Nine properties were presented on the list that showed advantages and disadvantages of each location. Estimated costs for some of the properties were over $1 million. One possible location was at Scow Bay, but it only had one advantage, the property is...
About 500 parking tickets were issued by the Harbor Department between May and September 2018, which is consistent with 2017 and 2016, but only 375 tickets have been paid, according to Harbormaster Glo Wollen Vehicle owners tend to pay off their parking tickets before reaching their sixth ticket which is when a wheel clamp, or boot, is placed on the offending vehicle. In the South Boat Harbor, where most of the tickets were given, there is a seven day parking period. After the seventh day, a $15...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors approved a request for proposals to Jensen Yorba Lott, Inc. for the design and administrative oversight on the renovation of a portion of the hospital. To become compliant with standards that regulate the handling of hazardous drugs, PMC will be remodeling the part of the hospital where the drugs for chemotherapy are prepared. Currently, the drugs are prepared in a negative pressure hood. The completed project will have a negative pressure hood,...
The Petersburg School Board approved $39,996.28 from the capital fund at their monthly meeting last week to replace Rae C. Stedman Elementary School's fire alarm system. The current panel was installed around 1990, according to director of facilities and maintenance Dan Tate. Every year the panel passes inspection, but about two years ago, Tate was warned that parts for the panel may soon become unavailable. Last year, parts for the fire alarm system were no longer available. "It's pretty...
To provide a cleaner environment to students, teachers and staff free of germs and bacteria, the Petersburg School District has begun using a disinfectant spray that wraps 360 degrees around an object. Known as the Protexus, the cordless, gun-shaped device sprays magnetically charged droplets that allow the disinfecting spray to wrap around objects and get to hard to reach places. The custodial staff uses the Protexus daily to sanitize classroom furniture, bathroom fixtures, drinking fountains...
