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Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage may confirm a meteor did pass over Petersburg in the early morning hours of Sat., Nov. 21. Eyewitness reports placed the fireball at times ranging between 2:22 a.m. to 2:33 a.m. Petersburg Harbor video surveillance footage shows a bright flash of light lasting for two seconds on nearly all its camera feeds at 2:25 a.m. The Petersburg Public Library video camera also captured images of a bright flash of light at exactly the same time. Johnson Space Center NASA scientist Marc Fries points to data that... Full story
Petersburg Borough Assembly members brought up the idea of keeping and expanding the U.S. Coast Guard presence in town after attending the Alaska Municipal League Conference last month. Assembly member Bob Lynn said many coastal communities across Alaska want the same thing. “What I also came away with was everybody right now is scrambling for ways to generate revenues for our communities,” Lynn said. “They would like to have more Coast Guard presence and they’re actually beginning to vie for some of the 154 class vessels in their area....
(Updated November 28, 2015 @ 2:35 p.m.) Amongst the rumors and speculation pulsing through Petersburg’s streets and social media news feeds last weekend, a Johnson Space Center NASA scientist points to data that suggests a falling meteor shook Mitkof Island last Saturday morning, which could mean many Petersburg residents woke up to the flash of a fireball and the blast of a sonic boom. John Havrilek witnessed what he described as a blinding streak of light and the sound of an explosion. ... Full story
Petersburg Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht provided a rundown on the latest details concerning the borough’s boundary dispute along with the comprehensive and waterfront master plans at its November 23 meeting. The plans—documents that guide long-term community planning and growth over the next two decades—are in their final stage and will be formally presented to the assembly in early December. Major additions to the harbor master plan include a condition assessment of the harbor facilities. “That was the big piece that was missing from th... Full story
The Devil's Thumb Shooters brought home a first place trophy from the first annual Juneau Trap Tournament where 31 competitors across Southeast shot clay targets. Petersburg High School Freshmen Varsity shooters Israel Collison and Louden Sandhofer and Mitkof Middle School's JV Franklin Neidiffer competed against teams from across Southeast in the tournament. Collison took second place in the trap and fifth in the wobble, earning him fourth place in the tournament overall. In the team...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved a letter supporting grant funding towards the Alaska Department of Fish and Game local knowledge study of salmon fisheries in southeast Alaska. “The proposed project is important to our community as a means of archiving and disseminating our cultural heritage as it relates to local salmon fisheries and the stocks that sustain them,” the letter states. “We support the collection of local and traditional knowledge that is held among our community members. Documenting this knowledge and making it avail...
Amidst the more commonplace reports of neighbors playing loud music or callers reporting "suspicious activity" in the Petersburg Pilot's police report, another complaint is making a regular appearance. The complaint, or some variation of it, has appeared in the police report nearly every week for the past several months: "A caller reported religious pamphlets littered along the roadway." The litter or pamphlets, as reported, consist of two tracts, about the size of Monopoly money and around 20... Full story
Hammer and Wikan is attempting to purchase land from the Petersburg Borough in order to expand the square footage of their grocery store. The expansion process would double the size of the back room of the store, and move the receiving dock from the front parking lot of the store to the rear of the building. “It would make it a lot easier to get around, it would give us more room,” says Larry Martin, CEO of Hammer and Wikan. “We would be able to put a lot of Costco products in there.” Martin says the Hammer and Wikan board of directors began t... Full story
Petersburg School District administrators and teachers are wondering what's next after the state released results from the new Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) testing assessments. PSD students scored higher than the state average, but scores in every grade were below the median level in mathematics. (Note that median is not a measure of average, but the middle number in any list of numbers and is sometimes more accurate than an average score if data is relatively skewed.) Fifty percent of...
The Clausen Museum Board hired Petersburg local Kathi Riemer as the new Museum Director this month. Riemer, retired administrator from the Juneau School District, said she plans to bring her skills from that position to the museum. "I have a lot of experience with the administrative part and the people," Riemer said. "I'm from here and I know a lot of the history. My kids are fourth generation graduates of Petersburg High School." Riemer spent the past several days moving into her new office,...
The Petersburg School Board delayed a vote on its new memorial policy so board members can receive more feedback from the public. The policy would, in part, limit the display of student memorials to a two-week period. The memorial policy has sparked a variety of reactions from community members, some of whom expressing frustration because previous Petersburg High School student Jake Madsen’s memorial would be taken down should the School Board approve the policy. Madsen passed away after a hunting accident in 2008 and his friends and basketball... Full story
PSD Superintendent Erika Kludt Painter discussed the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) scores—a new state adopted standardized test that students completed for the first time last spring. Kludt Painter said the tests are totally different than what students are used to and they’ve been expecting scores to reflect that. The AMP standards are higher than previous tests and measures English language arts and mathematics for grades 3-10. “It came in pretty much what we thought which is they don’t look the same as they used to,” Kludt Painter s...
Alaska singer songwriter Kray Van Kirk will perform live in Petersburg Friday, November 13 at the Holy Cross House. Kirk plays songs that contain mythic components containing old stories from the British Isles. "A lot of my songs have some mythic components but that basically means I tell a lot of stories in my songs," Kirk said. "Some are just typical tear jerkers about the one that got away." Much of his music is inspired from growing up reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy and other fantasy...
Petersburg’s Local Marijuana Regulations Advisory Committee will meet in the coming months after the state released its regulations regarding the marijuana industry. The local committee met twice since Alaska voters chose to legalize the consumption and sale of marijuana almost a year ago. Committee Chair Jeigh Stanton Gregor said the committee decided to adopt a “wait and see” policy. The state regulations address topics such as licensing fees, retail store, cultivation and manufacturing requirements among others. The state’s marijua... Full story
Ongoing vandalism in the ball field is forcing Petersburg Parks and Rec Director Donnie Hayes to consider erecting a locked gate to block vehicle access to the area after hours. Hayes said it appears a vehicle caused roughly $900 worth of damage last Saturday night or Sunday after spinning donuts, losing control and running into the ball field fence. “It’s mangled,” Hayes said. “We’re finally at that point where we are all looking at gating off that parking lot because of the damage that cont... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to give Aaron and Katrina Miller nine months to remove their stored fishing gear and other items from their residential lot at 107 Arness Heights Drive. The decision came after the Borough Assembly voted last week to affirm an appealed Planning and Zoning nuisance order issued against the Millers for storing gear on their lot, which violates the borough’s zoning regulations. According to borough zoning regulations, storing commercial gear on a residential lot is considered “accessory use...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved at its Nov. 2 meeting a resolution that urges the state of Alaska to amend the Mariculture Revolving Loan Fund to allow non-profit shellfish hatcheries to apply for loans with the state. The state’s revolving loan fund provides long term loans for Alaska owned mariculture operations. According to the resolution, the Petersburg Borough Assembly “believes that it is in the best interest of the State of Alaska and the mariculture industry that non-profit shellfish hatcheries be eligible to utilize the fun...
The Alaska State Historical Society awarded the Petersburg Public Library and the Petersburg Pilot certificates of excellence last month for its archival and digitization of Petersburg’s historical newspapers. Petersburg Public Library Director Tara Alcock said the certificate of excellence came as a surprise, and the library finished up the process in 2013 after a contractor scanned newspaper microfilm and converted the files into PDFs. “It’s exciting to see how many people use it,” Alcock said. “We’re dealing with someone in Norway usin...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 5-1 during a public hearing to affirm an appealed nuisance abatement order issued by the borough’s building official against property owners who store commercial fishing gear on their residential lot. Oct. 26’s hearing landed on a long list of interactions between Aaron and Katrina Miller and borough staff and officials dating back to 2006 when the Millers first purchased the lot at 107 Arness Heights Drive where they began storing commercial fishing gear. According to borough zoning regulations, storing co... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly sent a letter to Lt. Governor Byron Mallott requesting state support in asking the International Joint Commission (ICJ) to get involved in mining activity in the Alaska-British Columbia Transboundary Region. The Borough Assembly passed a resolution last October supporting the same thing along with municipalities in Wrangell, Sitka and Juneau. “The transboundary rivers that empty into our region provide the life-blood to our economies and quality of life,” the letter states. “The extensive and somewhat risky... Full story
United Fisherman of Alaska members gather in the Sons of Norway hall this week as it conducts its 2015 Fall Board Meeting. Board members representing 35 Alaska commercial fishing organizations began their meeting Tuesday, Oct. 27 where representatives of Lt. Governor Mallott, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, University of Alaska Anchorage and other independent commercial fishing agencies gave presentations to the board. Much of the time was devoted to internal discussion regarding seafood...
Petersburg recyclers must exclude glass from their comingled bags beginning November 1 after the Petersburg Borough’s recycling vendor found an excess of glass, along with blue recycling bags in the co-mingled stream. Petersburg Public Works Director Karl Hagerman said earlier this year the borough’s recycling vendor Republic Services broke apart a recycling bale to determine a breakdown percentage of each recyclable material. “When we have a large percentage of the blue plastic which is not a... Full story
A team of scientists is analyzing samples from a dead orca whale to determine the cause of death after a moose hunter reported the freshly dead animal beached near Portage Bay on Kupreanof Island last week. Scientists were able to reach the orca Monday between storms where they found evidence of infection in its jaw, but no external injuries, said NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Julie Speegle. The scientists aren't certain the infection was a cause in the whale's death. "The teeth were flattened to... Full story
The Petersburg School Board voted in its first reading a district memorial policy last week—the lack of which caused some confusion and conflict between district staff and members of the public two years ago. The policy would, in part, limit the display of student memorials for a two-week period. Petersburg School District Superintendent Erika Kludt-Painter said her predecessor, along with district staff, removed a memorial to Jake Madsen, a Petersburg High School student athlete who died in a... Full story
Regional hunters brought home 103 bulls this season, but set a new record of highest number of illegally harvested moose as well. Thirteen of the 103 moose failed to comply with local antler restrictions and had ADFG considering whether or not to close the hunt in the third week of the season. No illegal moose were reported to ADFG after the third week. ADFG Wildlife Biologist Rich Lowell said the majority of moose legal and illegal were hunted on Kupreanof Island—a continuing trend from past y...
