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The Petersburg School Board voted to continue universal masking throughout the district as part of its COVID-19 mitigation plan Tuesday night. At the beginning of Tuesday's meeting, teachers and parents spoke to the board both in support and against the continuation of universal masking. Those who supported universal masking cited the high number of positive cases nationwide with the spread of the highly infectious omicron variant and their belief that remote learning is more harmful to...
Having tough conversations at work is part of what Ashley Kawashima signed up for when she became a behavioral health clinician at the local hospital. But some of the hardest days come when she has to be honest with a person, looking to her for assistance, about the limited number of resources available. Just imagine, someone seeking shelter and all Kawashima can offer them is a tarp or tent. "That can be very soul-crushing," she says. "And that was a big part of why we wanted to start Humanity... Full story
January 20, 1922 The ladies of Petersburg are considering the formation of a basketball team and submitted an application to the Fire Department on Wednesday night for permission to form the club under the auspices of the Department. Jess Ames was appointed as a committee of one to interview the management of the Sons of Norway Hall to see what arrangements can be made for practice dates. Considerable interest is being shown and a large number of the ladies have signified their intentions of turning out for practice. January 17, 1947 Arne...
To the Editor: My wife and I, Marja Smets and Bo Varsano of Farragut Farm, are the founders and organizers of the Southeast Alaska Farmers Summit. This conference takes place in a different Southeast Alaska community every other year. The original event was held in Petersburg in 2015, it migrated to Haines in 2017 and then to Sitka in 2019. It was supposed to take place again in Petersburg in February of 2021 but was rescheduled (because of Covid-19) for February 2022. Unfortunately, we are sorry to announce that Covid-19 has again forced the...
I’m Ed Wood, and I’d like to discuss the recent completion of the Alaska Mental Health Trust/US Forest Service land exchange, and the impetus since December 2005 behind our group the Mitkof Highway Homeowners Association’s opposition to the proposed timber harvest on the slopes above our homes and property, Mitkof Highway (State Highway #7), and the Tyee hydroelectric utility corridor. These slopes are demonstrably steep and unstable, and logging of any type is likely to exacerbate that instability. “In the event that the Trust elects to purs...
January 12 — A citizen reported a power failure on Haugen Drive. Power & Light was notified and responded. An officer responded to a parking complaint on Valkyrie Street, issued a warning for expired registration, and removed the vehicle from the roadway. An officer responded to a complaint of dogs barking on Mitkof Highway. January 13 — A citizen reported lost property between Hungerford and downtown. A warning was issued for expired vehicle registration on N. Nordic. Officers responded to an alarm activation on S. Nordic and determined the...
The Supporting Health Awareness and Resiliency Education (SHARE) Coalition hosted a Community Café Saturday afternoon on Zoom which centered on the future of child care in Petersburg. The meeting gave members of the community, including representatives from the Petersburg Borough Assembly, Petersburg Medical Center, and the Petersburg School Board, an opportunity to hear about the challenges facing local child care providers and to discuss ways to support children, providers, and parents who...
The Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard reported 20 active cases Wednesday evening and a positivity rate of 24.7% during the previous week. The Petersburg School District reported one case at each school among staff and students Wednesday. PSD is no longer posting the number of people in quarantine. The Petersburg School Board also voted to continue universal masking at all schools during its board meeting Tuesday night. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly presented a draft agenda of its upcoming American Rescue Plan Act funding work session and discussed the items it included during Tuesday's meeting. The assembly is hosting the work session to give members an opportunity to discuss opportunities to allocate their ARPA funds and determine what local organizations or groups are in need of relief. The borough was awarded with $634,382 in ARPA funds that must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and expended by December...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly heard from staff on the borough's procedures when hiring employees and examined documents included in the application process for general employees and for police officers during Tuesday's meeting. The review of the hiring practices followed the firing of Johnny Duane Pickle who began working as a police officer in probationary status with the borough on June 22, 2021 until his employment was terminated on January 3, 2022. Pickle's termination came after an...
Applications for relief funding opportunities which could help local businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic are set to open soon according to Community and Economic Development Director Liz Cabrera. In a recent email sent out by Cabrera, she reported that additional funding will be coming through Round 2 of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration CARES Act Fisheries Relief, Phase 2 of Child Care Provider Stabilization Grants, and Round 2 of ARPA Nonprofit Recovery Fund...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed Ordinance #2021-22 in its third and final reading Tuesday evening, increasing the FY22 budget. Passing unanimously in its first two readings, the ordinance sets out to increase the budget for dredging the South Boat Harbor by $271,600. The ordinance also accepts an additional $553,081 in Fisheries business Tax Revenue and transfers $353,081 of that to the Harbor Fish Tax revenue fund. The ordinance would also see the borough accept $1,222,750 from the...
The Petersburg High School junior varsity basketball team took on the Sitka Wolves on Friday and Saturday in its first home games of the season, giving young players their first taste of high school athletic competition. Last weekend's action was originally set to see the Petersburg boys and girls varsity teams play against Craig but that was canceled due to high COVID-19 case counts on Prince of Wales Island. After the cancelation, Activities Director Jaime Cabral invited the junior varsity... Full story
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Political parties “have no right to be gatekeepers to the ballot,’’ an attorney argued Tuesday in urging the Alaska Supreme Court to uphold a voter-approved electoral system that would end party primaries in the state and institute ranked-choice voting in general elections. Scott Kendall, who helped write the ballot measure, argued on behalf of the group behind the initiative, which narrowly passed in 2020. Laura Fox, an attorney for the state, joined Kendall in asking that the court uphold a lower court ruling in favor of...
Kodiak fishermen are getting an advance price of $8.10 per pound for Tanner crab in the fishery that opened Jan. 15. High crab prices have led all other seafoods during the COVID-19 pandemic as buyers grab all they can to fill demand at buffet tables, restaurants and retail counters around the world. “Our strategy was to get a price before the season even started. It’s simply bad business to go fishing without a price,” said Peter Longrich, secretary of the 74-member Kodiak Crab Alliance Cooperative which negotiated the deal with local processo...
Several Coast Guard personnel will be in Petersburg from February 2nd to the 5 th to conduct dockside safety exams on commercial fishing vessels. Anyone interested in obtaining a dockside examination should sign up at the harbormaster’s office. These exams are free, take about an hour, and help ensure vessels are being operated safely and legally. Vessels passing their exam will be issued a decal that is good for two years. Prior to the exam, vessel owners are encouraged to visit www.fishsafewest.info, where they can create a customized c...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The former head of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. claims her firing was “political retribution” by board members appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy, a Republican seeking reelection, denied any involvement in Angela Rodell’s removal last month, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The corporation’s board has provided no explanation for Rodell’s Dec. 9 dismissal. The vote was 5-1, with the lone dissenting vote cast by the only board member not appointed or reappointed by Dunleavy. Rodell was a commissione...
WRANGELL - SEARHC's announcement last week that it was shuttering the 21-year-old Alaska Crossings program in Wrangell, a wilderness therapy program for at-risk children that the health care provider took over in 2017, disappointed much of the community. The news release cited rising costs. Spokesperson Maegan Bosak, senior director of lands and property management at SEARHC offices in Sitka, said Friday she didn't have an operating cost for Crossings but would ask the finance department for the information. "Health care systems throughout the...
The following was mistakenly omitted from the obituary in last week’s Pilot: Myles (Mike) Harai passed away peacefully on December 21, 2021 in Petersburg from congestive heart failure....
Morgan Falter has been named to Southern New Hampshire University’s Fall 2021 President’s List for maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or above. Brynn Lister was named to the President’s List at Montana State University for maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Brennan Skeek was named to the Dean’s List at Montana State University for maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or above....
WRANGELL – The Alaska Department of Transportation is contracting with Allen Marine to run one of its vessels “as needed” between Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg this winter, though no runs are scheduled and any operations likely would depend on whether the state ferry Matanuska finally comes out of winter overhaul as now expected on Jan. 31. Delays caused by extensive repair work to the 58-year-old ferry forced the Alaska Marine Highway System to cancel several sailings between the three communities in December and January. The Matanu...
