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The Clausen Museum is set to open a community photography show on Saturday called "Transported" with pictures centering on traveling both near and far. The show will be the museum first focused solely on photography in a long time according to Museum Director Cindi Lagoudakis who said the show's theme centers on travel during a time where that has been lessened due to the pandemic but is up for interpretation for every photographer. "The theme 'Transported' came to me as something that could be...
The Petersburg School Board voted unanimously to amend its COVID-19 mitigation plan Tuesday night which now allows for limited optional masking in yellow status depending on cases within each building. Some parents and teachers spoke at the beginning of the meeting against the continuation of the mitigation plan approved in January, which required universal masking and had no provisions for optional masking, saying universal masking was counterproductive and inhibited learning. During last...
Over 200 cars, trucks, and other vehicles assembled Sunday afternoon to take part in a "Freedom Convoy" around Petersburg to voice their opposition to COVID-19 mandates and to advocate for "personal individual rights." The convoy was similar to others that have taken place, most notably in Canada where truckers drove to Ottawa, the Canadian capital, to protest COVID-19 restrictions. The vehicles flew U.S. and Canadian flags along the route and honked their horns as they passed onlookers. Some...
During the Petersburg Borough Assembly's meeting on Monday, Mayor Mark Jensen reported that he and Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht recently took part in a conversation with two representatives from the U.S. Postal Service about the ongoing problems at the post office. The assembly has previously discussed staffing issues and the resulting long wait times at the post office which culminated in the passage of a resolution requesting a formal discussion with the USPS about solutions and...
Cultural Richness of Petersburg To the Editor: Petersburg’s inaugural Séet Ká Festival happens February 10-16. This is such an exciting thing to see! It’s an incredible opportunity to learn about the Tlingit culture that has been present on these lands for thousands of years and will be for thousands more. Whether they are new to you or deep in your blood, Tlingit social and artistic practices are available to you in person or by Zoom during this festival. Take full advantage! Like so many of you I had the benefit of being born and raised in Pe...
The Viking Swim Club held its November Rain meet last week, hosting the Glacier Swim Club from Juneau over two days of competition. Across the 88 events, the 32 VSC swimmers and 12 GSC swimmers fought the clock in their last shot to record qualifying times for the Alaska Swimming Age Group Championships which will be held in Fairbanks from February 18-20. Friday and Saturday's meet was originally scheduled in November but was delayed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Petersburg. "It was just so nice...
A COVID-19 outbreak at the Mountain View Manor Assisted Living Facility has resulted in at least 10 positive cases and one fatality that had COVID-19 as a contributing factor as of Monday evening according to Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht. The large outbreak, which has affected both residents and staff, has prompted testing and other mitigation protocols as well as a suspension of all congregate gatherings until further notice. According to Giesbrecht, Administrator Shelyn Bell and the staff... Full story
Chad Wright is set to become the new tribal administrator of the Petersburg Indian Association next week according to PIA Council President Cris Morrison. His hiring follows Tracy Welch's departure from the position after two and a half years to become the executive director of the United Fishermen of Alaska. "He possesses the necessary skills as outlined in the job description, and he has a breadth of experience that we feel he would be able to perform the essential job functions as the tribal...
As of Tuesday night, the Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard reported 10 active cases in Petersburg with 16 new cases in the previous seven days. The Petersburg School District recorded seven total cases among staff and students Wednesday afternoon. Rae C. Stedman Elementary School numbered the most with five followed by one at Mitkof Middle School and one at Petersburg High School. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the state recorded 4,147 new cases...
The borough's contract with the State of Alaska to provide funding for COVID-19 travel testing expired at the beginning of February. But, for now, the Petersburg Medical Center plans to continue free testing for travelers arriving to Petersburg according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. The state allowed PMC to purchase antigen test kits with the remaining funds before the contract expired which Hofstetter said will be made available to travelers. PMC ordered 80 boxes of kits which contain 48 tests... Full story
Superior Court Judge William Carey is set to retire later this month after finishing his final trials in Petersburg and Ketchikan. Carey has served as a superior court judge for the area since 2009 after being appointed to the position by Governor Sarah Palin and in that time has presided over trials across Southeast Alaska. Originally from Massachusetts, Carey earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Brown University in 1976 and a law degree from the University of Denver in 1980....
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board discussed the hospital's current staffing situation and turnover as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect its operations during its meeting on January 27. The meeting packet featured a report provided by Human Resources Director Cynthia Newman which included a list of new hires, terminations, and the numbers of other employee statuses at the hospital in 2021. During the previous year, PMC welcomed 26 new employees but had 37 terminations. The... Full story
The Petersburg High School boys and girls varsity basketball teams are set to travel to Juneau and Haines this weekend to play their first matches in two weeks. The Vikings will first face Thunder Mountain on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. before both teams travel to Haines to play on Friday and Saturday. The teams did not play last week after they were unable to go to Craig but plan to make up those games at the end of the season according to Vikings Head Coach Rick Brock. Craig had also previously planned a trip to Petersburg in early January...
Seafood is Alaska’s biggest export by far, and state legislators want the federal government to get tougher on trade policies that they say unfairly hurt global sales. Two resolutions (Senate Joint Resolution 16 and SJR17) were advanced last week by the House Fisheries Committee that address Russia’s ban on buying any U.S. foods since 2014 and also punitive seafood tariffs by China since 2018. Meanwhile, the U.S. is importing an increasing amount of seafood from both countries. Both resolutions were introduced by Kodiak Sen. Gary Stevens and...
The state is working through a couple of challenges in its plan to distribute tens of millions of dollars of federal relief funds to municipalities and businesses. Applications for grants to local governments far exceeded the available funds, while grant applications from eligible tourism-related businesses and others fell far short. The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development is looking for answers to both questions: How to decide which cities and boroughs will receive how much of the limited money to replace their lost tax...
Rae C. Stedman Elementary School called for aid, and Petersburg answered. The school was threatened with the closure of four classrooms in February and March as some teachers were set to take leave while there were no available substitute teachers before four Petersburg residents stepped up to fill the need. Casey Knight will fill in for Hillary Mullen's Kindergarten class on February 3-4, Erin Streuli will step in for Erin Willis' Kindergarten class from February 28 to March 9, and two classes...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly held a work session Monday afternoon to brainstorm ideas for how funds received through the American Rescue Plan Act can be used. The assembly invited representatives of various community organizations to discuss their needs and ideas for how the $634,382 can be distributed. The work session came as a result of numerous discussions at regular assembly meetings on the desire to find ways to spend the money received through ARPA and members of the community reaching...
A well deserved recognition To the Editor, This letter is recognition of Sammy Parker and Lee Newton who announced the retirement of Petersburg Business Services in last week’s Pilot. I’m proud to have been a regular customer at your Beech Boy hamburger joint in the 1970’s, when your Big Boy burger, large fries and cola were under 2 bucks, to have worked with Lee at the barite mine in Duncan Canal and enjoyed Sammy’s wonderful cooking for the hungry 20+ crew of miners. Thank you for your time as chef at Mountain View Manor, and for 50 years o...
According to the Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard, Petersburg had an active case count of 11 as of Wednesday evening with 20 new positives within the previous seven days. PMC is asking residents to notify the hospital if they test positive with an at-home COVID-19 test so they can keep an accurate count of cases in the community. The hospital is also urging people to receive their booster vaccination as soon as possible in order to significantly decrease the chances of serious...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team took home the winner's trophy after going undefeated in last weekend's basketball tournament hosted by Su Valley in Talkeetna. The Vikings won all three of their games in a tournament that they almost did not make it to after the team's flight from Petersburg last Wednesday was delayed. They flew out later that day, but by the time they reached Juneau their connecting flight had already left. After spending the night in the capital, the team...
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team traveled to Talkeetna for the Rally at Denali tournament last weekend, making it to the championship match where they fell to Wrangell in their first meeting of the season. The six teams who traveled were broken up into two groups at the tournament which Head Coach Dino Brock said was a good environment to play against competitive teams outside their conference. "I thought that the weekend showed us that we really need to work on," Brock said....
WRANGELL – The kids gathered atop the sledding hill across from Evergreen Elementary, next to a small fire in which they burned face masks. They carried signs reading "Unmask Wrangell Youth!!" and "Unmask our children! Let them be kids!" They chanted, "Burn the masks!" It was part of a walkout in which children and parents frustrated over wearing masks during school hours voiced their opposition to the districtwide rule. About 14 elementary and middle school students left the grounds at 10:30 a...
Where do most Alaska fishermen live? Which Alaska region is home to the most fishing boats? The answers are in an economic report by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for 2019/2020 that includes all regions from Ketchikan to Kotzebue. Nearly 40% of Alaska’s more than 31,000 fishermen live in the Southcentral towns of Anchorage, Kenai, Cordova, Seward, Homer, Valdez and Whittier. They earn more than half of their paychecks from fisheries outside of the region, with the Bristol Bay driftnet fishery their main source of income. S...
Doris Gregg Smith passed away from Covid on December 25, 2021, Christmas Day, at North Cascades Health & Rehabilitation Center in Bellingham, WA. She was 101 years old, just a month shy of 102. Doris was born Doris Ruth Gregg in Oak Park, Illinois on January 26, 1920. She graduated from Denison University as a Registered Nurse, then served in the Army in France as a nurse in WWII. She was a Lieutenant. She met her future husband in France, Tarleton (Tee) Smith, also a Lieutenant, from Waco, Texa... Full story
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...
