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The Petersburg High School cross country team competed Saturday in the 2021 Sitka Invitational meet. The girls team finished fifth with 129 points and an average time of 25:31.83. The boys team placed fourth, amassing 104 points and averaging a time of 19:05.92. "I think our boys are kind of coming into their own as far as what they need to do to be successful," Head Coach Tom Thompson said. Uriah Lucas returned to the boys team and finished third overall with a time of 17:30.20. His finish is s...
The Borough Assembly voted in support of Ordinance #2021-16 Monday during its second reading. The ordinance would allow the borough to place liens on properties for the purpose of securing payment for utility fees and the abatement of nuisances. It serves to update local language based on legislation passed by the Alaska Legislature giving municipalities the power to create liens for such purposes. There was a public hearing for the ordinance during the meeting, but no members of the public spok...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported twenty positive COVID-19 cases as of Friday afternoon. The effects of community spread can be mitigated by testing early, identifying positive cases early, and isolating early. Asymptomatic testing will be available Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at PMC next door to Public Health and only people without symptoms should test at that location. PMC urges people to notify their close contacts if they are positive as contact tracing by Public Health has been... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 28 positive COVID-19 cases Tuesday morning with 24 test results pending. Two cases were identified over the weekend and seven were reported Monday while one case is no longer active. The Petersburg School District release a statement Tuesday morning announcing Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School will move to remote learning for the rest of the day. Stedman Elementary School remains in person. School officials are conducting contact tracing for... Full story
The Petersburg School Board voted to amend COVID-19 regulations set by the district's Moderate Risk Plan during Tuesday's meeting. The amendment eased the school's masking policy and made changes to color designations, travel policy, and quarantine rules outlined in the plan. The amendment passed with a vote of 4-1 with Cheryl File opposed. Most of the changes were made to the yellow status of the Moderate Risk Plan. Indoor masking is required for all K-12 students regardless of vaccination...
Medical professionals spoke at the Petersburg School Board meeting Tuesday night about the impact that COVID-19 is currently having on the state of Alaska. Dr. Jennifer Hyer with the Petersburg Medical Center provided a medical update to the board. She agreed with the board's number one stated goal of maintaining in person learning and said Petersburg is fortunate to have a low number of cases and proceeded to provide context for the rest of the state. "I wish I could deliver better news but...
The anti-vaccination politics rolling across the country — much like a pandemic — have gotten so bad that the Alaska state Senate could not even manage to pass a bill last Friday allowing more telemedicine without lawmakers amending it into a debate over personal liberty. Much of the discussion had no connection whatsoever to patients and doctors working together online to diagnose and treat ailments often totally unrelated to COVID-19. The Senate amendments were targeted at blocking businesses, state agencies and local governments from req...
Well finally hate mail....rather some opinionated opposite view. Mr. Mackay is this vaccine the second coming? Are vaccinated people safe now? Maybe, but really it's only been a few months, maybe, I hope it works. Rather than believing what the CDC, WHO or Dr. Fauci are telling us let's look at actual documented history. Israel was way ahead of the curve with 80% of the adults vaccinated. That country thought they had the virus beat in July. Through the rest of July and August to now things have turned around with record cases,hospitalizations...
Joe Bertagnoli celebrated his retirement at the end of August after 30 years of service with the borough, most recently as the building official and code enforcement officer. Bertagnoli has spent most of his life working in construction. He first came to Petersburg in 1979 for what was originally going to be a three month visit after he worked building houses in Michigan. "Going to be home by Christmas, didn't make it until the following Christmas, went back to visit my parents," Bertagnoli...
The Petersburg High School volleyball team has begun practicing for its upcoming season and the players are hungry after a year impacted by COVID-19. In a region known for its strength of volleyball teams, the PHS team is comprised of 32 students and eight seniors. They experienced some competition last year according to volleyball coach Jaime Cabral who said last season also left a bitter taste. Their finish as the second-best team in the region would have qualified them for state if it had...
The Annabelle Baker Memorial Art Show was held at the Clausen Museum Friday as part of the Rainforest Festival. The event, honoring artist and former member of the Rainforest Festival Board Annabelle Baker who passed away in 2012, displayed artwork from local artists. "She and I used to hang this show together all the time and so when she passed we just kind of named it after her. She was a wonderful person," Pia Reilly said. The theme of this year's show was Nature and You, which is meant to...
Alaska's Bering Sea crabbers are reeling from the devastating news that all major crab stocks are down substantially, based on summer survey results, and the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery will be closed for the first time in over 25 years. That stock has been on a steady decline for several years and the 2020 harvest dwindled to just 2.6 million pounds. Most shocking was the drastic turn-around for snow crab stocks, which in 2018 showed a 60% boost in market sized male crabs (the only ones...
WRANGELL — Social distancing and masking requirements will continue to stay in place at Wrangell public schools. At the school board meeting on Monday night, Superintendent Bill Burr updated board members on a change in some language in the district’s COVID-19 mitigation plan, but students and staff will still be required to wear masks and stay apart. The board in August agreed to review the mitigation plan and masking requirement monthly. “There were a few additions we had to [the mitigation plan],” Burr said Monday, which will ease the tes...
There are two active cases of COVID-19 in Petersburg as of Wednesday according to the Petersburg Medical Center’s COVID-19 Dashboard and no new positives in the past seven days. 691 new cases were reported in the state of Alaska on September 13 according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The statewide alert level remains high as 202 hospitalizations and seven deaths were also reported on that day. PMC continues to urge people not to travel if they are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. Travelers are encouraged to get t...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported eight new cases of COVID-19 Monday bringing the total number of active cases to nine along with several tests currently pending. Contract tracing has been initiated by Public Health and it is believed that community spread is most likely the avenue of transmission for some cases. The Petersburg School District also reported that several students have recently tested positive for COVID-19 and the district has entered red status. Universal masking was... Full story
The Petersburg post office has decreased its service hours after feeling the impacts of staffing shortages according to James Boxrud at USPS Strategic Communications. The customer service window is limited to being open from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Shortened hours have resulted in lines wrapping around the building as people wait to pick up their packages or conduct transactions. Boxrud attributed the lack of staffing to hiring...
Epitome of ignorance To the Editor: As an ex Petersburg resident and currently a business owner in Seattle, I find the comments by Mr. Martinson disturbing. To insinuate only the unhealthy are dying from covid is the epitome of ignorance. To constantly push his agenda and ignorance is why we are still in this mess. Please, don't listen to someone like this who might know how to fish, but sure as heck isn't a medical expert. Leave the medical advice to people who know what they're talking about...
At this point, anything is worth a try. If a healthy life, caring about family and neighbors, and wanting to dream about perhaps someday flying without a face mask isn’t enough of an incentive, maybe a chance at winning the Alaska vaccination lottery will be just the shot in the arm some people need. Literally. The state has decided to use $1 million in federal pandemic aid to offer a lottery — a weekly $49,000 prize for eight lucky adults (age 18 and over) of the 49th state who figure a chance at cash is worth a little ache in the arm. The...
The Petersburg School District held its first week of in person school with COVID-19 guidelines in effect. Approximately 430 students are expected to be attending school this year as some children are still anticipated to arrive in Petersburg. They have already made it one week without issues according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter "The first week was great, and kids were happy to be back, and we were happy to have them here," Kludt-Painter said. "We're off to a pretty good start." The...
Two active cases of COVID-19 were reported in Petersburg on Wednesday according to the Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard. The state of Alaska's statewide alert level has remained high as hospitals continue to grapple with limited ICU availability as cases rise. From September 3 through September 6, 2,148 new cases were reported in Alaska along with 186 hospitalizations and two deaths according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. PMC is urging people to not...
It took freedom of information requests, weeks of queries to administrators and more than three months past a legal deadline for Governor Dunleavy to finally release his choice for a Board of Fisheries seat. Dunleavy announced last Friday his appointment of INDY Walton of Soldotna to fill the vacant seat on the seven-member Board that directs management of subsistence, personal use, sport and commercial fisheries in state waters out to three miles. The vacancy came 115 days after the Alaska Legislature on May 11 rejected his choice of Abe...
This year's Rainforest Festival begins September 9 and will run through September 12 featuring new in person and virtual events. The festival celebrates nature and encourages people to explore the world around them according to Sunny Rice, a member of the Rainforest Festival's committee. Last year the festival was limited to Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year some events will return to being hosted physically. "We're definitely keeping to the spirit of what the Rainforest...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) —The number of Alaskans hospitalized with COVID-19 has risen, worrying health care providers who are facing staffing issues and fatigue and wondering when the latest wave of cases might peak. “I think our hope right now is that we’re going to hit the peak this month. I’m speaking purely from a hope standpoint,” said Jared Kosin, president and CEO of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association. He added: “Nobody can figure out when we’re going to hit the ceiling, and that is what makes this so challenging....
There were eight active cases in Petersburg reported Wednesday according to the Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard. All active cases are related to travel and community spread is not currently being identified. Nearly every Borough and Census Area in Alaska is on a high alert level as case numbers have reached their highest levels since December 2020 according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Travel increases the risk of COVID-19 infection and PMC continues to...
The Petersburg Medical Center board discussed their efforts to engage with the community regarding the construction of a new hospital during Thursday's meeting. The board's newly created Community Engagement Committee aims to improve communication of information about the new hospital to the public. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter said that a common response to the hospital's recent community needs assessment was increased dialogue from PMC about the new facility and more opportunities for the...
