Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 304
The Lady Vikings started off the Region V Tournament with back-to-back victories against the Sitka Lady Wolves on Tuesday and the Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves on Wednesday. In Tuesday's game, the well-matched Lady Vikings and Lady Wolves kept pace with scoring in the first three quarters and strong defensive play kept both teams from putting many points on the board. After three quarters, just one point separated the two teams with the Vikings up 30-29. The game was decided in the fourth quarter...
In their first game in the Region V Tournament in Ketchikan, the Vikings fell to the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves 49-65. About half of the Braves points came from baskets made at the free-throw line, with Mt. Edgecumbe making 30 of 42 baskets from the line. Two Vikings players, Alan McCay and Kayin McCay, fouled out as a result. "We just fouled too much and gave up too many lay-ups. And then we were having to work hard on our end to score," Brock said. The boys were back on the court after two and half...
The availability and affordability of housing in Petersburg Borough and the effects of a changing age composition of the borough’s population were two emerging themes highlighted in a report released Feb. 20 by Agnew Beck, the consulting firm heading up the borough’s new Comprehensive Plan. The report outlines challenges and opportunities in nine key areas that spring from residents’ feedback at the consultants’ last visit to town in December as well as a community-wide survey that closed last month. Over 350 individuals, more than 10 percent... Full story
Petersburg Indian Association (PIA) announced the departure of Tribal Administrator Bobbi Scherrer in a press release yesterday. Scherrer’s position and two part-time positions will be eliminated from PIA due to a budget deficit. “My first act as Tribal Administrator was to formalize an operating budget for PIA,” Scherrer said in the release. “The 2015 finalized budget identified a deficit that required serious cuts.” Scherrer has been serving as the tribal administrator for about one month. In a February interview, she told the Pilot she... Full story
The Mitkof Middle School wrestlers are the 3A champs and they placed second overall in the Region V Tournament held Feb. 20-21 in Ketchikan. Five wrestlers earned champion titles: Brekin Davis in the 90-pound weight class, Israel Collison in the 95, Kole Sperl in the 85, Alex Worhatch in the 100 and Matthew Espeseth in the 210. Head Coach Rob Schwartz said it was both those top placements and the overall performance of all of the 23 wrestlers on the team this year that contributed to the... Full story
After two years of work Petersburg Mental Health Services (PMHS) has earned a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). This is the first such accreditation PMHS has earned from the international accrediting body. “This has been a process we’ve been working on for two years,” said PHMS Executive Director Susan Ohmer. The organization began undergoing the accreditation process in 2013 as part of a state mandate for grantees of behavioral health services. Since then PMHS staff, heade...
The Petersburg High School shop class recently finished making 19 new log books for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) cabins in the area using the computer numerical controlled (CNC) router put into service at the school in the fall of 2013. The shop class, lead by teacher Nick Popp, has been using the CNC router to produce signage for the Petersburg Borough and other organizations around town. The partnership between the USFS and the school began the idea for such collaborations, and also helped...
An enhanced Clausen Museum will reopen to the public March 3 after being closed since mid-January for staff to work on projects. Director Brittany Zenge has been taking inventory of the museum's collection and building new displays, along with making preparations for a new discovery center that will allows kids of all ages to learn more about the natural world of Mitkof Island. Zenge took the director position last October and said the revamp is a response to feedback she's heard about the...
Petersburg High School sophomore Brandy Mulbury will be traveling to Washington D.C. this summer to participate in the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC). The NSLC invites a select group of high schoolers from across the U.S. and around the world to participate in summer programs that develop leadership skills and allow students to further explore their interests while giving them an experience of college life. Mulbury will stay on the campus of American University as a participant of...
Erika Kludt-Painter will be offered a one-year contract to serve as superintendent for the Petersburg School District in the 2015-16 school year. After meeting in executive session, the school board voted to suspend the superintendent search and instead proceed with contract negotiations with Kludt-Painter at the March 17 meeting of the board. "I appreciate the confidence and the support of the board and of the staff and community," she said. "I feel like I've had a lot of support and... Full story
Petersburg WAVE (Working Against Violence for Everyone) will be holding a creative fundraiser this Saturday at the Sons of Norway hall. “We have a lot of local artists that are doing pieces on watercolor paper and some of them will be on canvas. The way that they’ll be priced is $1 per square inch,” explained Carey Case, board president for WAVE. The event–appropriately dubbed Art by the Inch—is very interactive, allowing attendees to size up large works of art and select a portion to be framed. Mats with typical framing sizes from 5x7 to 16... Full story
Findings from the Alaska Snow Survey Report released February 2015 show that snowpack across the state of Alaska is below normal, and snowpack in Southeast is less than half the normal rate. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) releases the report quarterly. Locally, data is collected by U.S. Forest Service hydrologist Heath Whitacre who surveys two sites on Mitkof Island: a 1650-foot high site on Raven's Ridge and a 550-foot high site near the old water reservoir. Whitacre's... Full story
For most of us accessing clean water is as simple as turning on the faucet, but this isn't so in every community around the world. It wasn't until last month that the school children in Phu Kradueng in the Loei Province of Thailand got access to a reliable source of clean water, which came at the hand of a group of Petersburg residents. Despite the nearly 6,500 miles separating Phu Kardueng and Petersburg, the two places are more connected than one might think. Wear Eide-a native of the Thai...
Activities Director Jaime Cabral gave a report to the board on how school districts around the state handle drug testing for students involved in sports and other activities. Around Southeast, Sitka, Juneau-Douglas, Thunder Mountain and Ketchikan High Schools all have a random drug testing programs in place for students participating in activities sanctioned by the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA). Cabral said during his tenure in Sitka about five percent of students who were actively participating in activities were randomly...
The Lady Vikings ended their regular season with two victories over the Lady Wolves at home on Monday and Tuesday night. Strong defensive play on both sides kept the score to 9-7 at the end of the first quarter of Monday night's game. A scoring run in the second quarter put the Lady Vikings up 22-12 at half time while the Lady Wolves tried to play catch up in the third, narrowing the gap slightly to 34-27. Head coach Dino Brock said Sitka's full-court press made his team work hard all night....
The Vikings split games on the road last week against the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves and Sitka Wolves. Wednesday and Thursday's games pitted the Vikings against the Braves for the second time in a week. The opponents' familiarity with one another led to a defensive battle between the two teams. A low scoring first quarter by both teams was followed by a strong offensive run by the Vikings in the second quarter of Wednesday's match up. "We were actually able to hold them to one point in the second...
Petersburg Public School officials are looking at ways to move forward with an interim plan to address issues with the kitchen facility including the need for a new ventilation system to bring the facility into compliance with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Though the district-wide food service renovations for the school landed in the top ten list of capital improvement projects for the state Department of Education, that funding source remains uncertain. The project was also listed on last year’s capital improvements l...
Petersburg Public Library is in the middle of Words for Whiskers, a fundraising partnership program with the Petersburg Humane Association (PHA) and the Friends of Petersburg Libraries. For each book, movie or audio review entered by library users, the Friends will give a $1 donation to the Humane Association. The Friends will donate up to $500, which will be used toward building a new cat shelter for PHA, a nonprofit that cares for sheltered animals while trying to find them permanent homes. “We encourage classrooms, families and workplaces t...
Two teams represented Petersburg at the 19th annual Tsunami Bowl competition Feb. 6-8 in Seward, both placing in the top ten. The regional competition, comprised of three rounds, determines which Alaskan team will go on to the National Ocean Science Bowl competition. Team Eider Do or Don’t—comprised of Summer Morton, Kyle Hagerman, Tucker Hagerman and Chauncy Sandhofer—took first place in the projects portion of the competition for the presentation of their research on how decreasing Arctic sea ice affects the Spectacled Eider, a seabi...
Petersburg resident Mark Weaver, 59, has pled guilty to one of two felony charges brought against him following an explosion last July in the rock quarry behind the airport. Weaver faced two counts of Possession of Unregistered Destructive Devices, which included Tovex, the commercial-grade explosive used at the scene in an improvised explosive device (IED), and seven hand grenades recovered in a subsequent search of Weaver's property. The second charge, related to the grenades, will be dropped... Full story
The Petersburg offices of Alaska Longline Company will be moved to Seattle by April 1. The three employees at the office have opted not to take their equivalent positions at the Seattle offices, ending their time with the company that’s been based out of Petersburg since the mid-80s. Larry Cotter—CEO of APICDA, of which Alaska Longline is a subsidiary—said that juggling two offices along with high health insurance costs are the driving forces behind the consolidation of offices in Seattle. “It’s increasingly difficult to maintain two offices,... Full story
Bobbi Scherrer began her work as the Petersburg Indian Association's (PIA) tribal administrator late last month. Scherrer is returning home to Petersburg after working for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) in Juneau for the last three years. Her background is in healthcare where she's worked for 16 years managing revenue cycles for hospitals. In addition to her financial background, Scherrer said she also has experience in human resources. She said the transition from SEARHC... Full story
After being named the U.S. Chocolate Master, Dan Forgey, a 1996 Petersburg High School graduate, will represent the U.S. in the 2015 World Chocolate Masters Competition in Paris this October. The contest includes the top 20 chocolatiers from around the world. Forgey won the national title last fall, after ten years of honing his skills in regional chocolate competitions. To earn the U.S. title, Forgey was assessed on a portfolio of his work, including past showpieces, as well as samples of...
The first-ever Southeast Commercial Growers Conference will be held in Petersburg Feb. 27 - March 1. The event will bring together commercial food and flower growers from across the region to swap ideas and information about how to run a successful venture in a tricky microclimate. Marja Smets and Bo Varsano, owners of Farragut Farm, are organizing the event. Smets said one of the reasons she wanted to put on a conference was to spread local farming knowledge that's not available in other forms....
The varsity boys won two hard-fought games against the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves this weekend at home. In Friday night's game, the Vikings stayed out in front of the Braves for the first three quarters, despite a high number of turnovers. "I was concerned with our unforced turnovers," Coach Rick Brock said. "We had too many in the first half." Going into the second half the Vikings tightened up their passing game, but the Braves also came out playing a stronger game and took the lead as the fourth...
