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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...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter spoke to the PMC Board about staff turnover and vaccinations during Thursday's meeting. The healthcare industry has seen turnover across the country according to Hofstetter's report and PMC is seeing its own ups and downs with staffing. Hofstetter said some departments in the hospital have faced challenges whenever departures occur, but PMC has been fortunate in retaining staff compared to national data. According to Hofstetter, in the past seven...
It's not about you To the Editor: I am a youth of Petersburg, and similar to the majority of the youth in Petersburg that are my age, I attend Mitkof Middle School. I have lived in Petersburg for nine years. When the pandemic hit, my family and I socially distanced, masked up, and did what we thought was right. Part of the reason we didn't contract the virus is because the school took precautions too. There has been an argument about what the coming school year will look like; people are...
The Petersburg Medical Center discussed the delta variant's impact on Petersburg and the future of COVID-19 testing and vaccinations during Thursday's board meeting. According to Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom, all of the positive cases in Petersburg in August were travel related and there have not been any cases linked to community spread. Bacom said that an outbreak is not a matter of if, but when, and the earlier cases are identified through asymptomatic testing, the...
The Petersburg High School cross-country team is preparing for its first race of the season this weekend. Head Coach Tom Thompson said that the meet was originally going to happen in Metlakatla, but because of COVID-19 protocols, they are hoping that it will be moved to Prince of Wales Island. If moved, the race would happen in Klawock, but the team is still waiting on Athletic Director Jaime Cabral to see if it is going to happen. "There's a big outbreak of COVID in Craig and so we're just on...
The Petersburg School District started its new school year on Tuesday amid regulations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. On that foggy morning, many parents chose to come in person to drop off their children on the first day of school. As the kids gathered around the school, they played on swing sets and shot hoops on the basketball court before being grouped up by their classes. Though this may have resembled an ordinary start to the school year, the impacts and challenges brought on by the...
Breakthrough COVID-19 cases found in Alaska April 30 Between Feb. 1 and March 31, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services identified 152 positive cases of COVID-19 among people in the state who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report from DHSS. About 74 percent of the vaccine breakthrough cases, or 112 individuals, were among people who had received the Pfizer vaccine, according to the report. Thirty-eight percent of the breakthrough cases had received the Moderna... Full story
The Kake Access road is expected to be completed by mid-October according to Project Manager Garrett Paul. The estimated $40 million project forms a 37 mile long road from Kake to a new boat launch near Twelvemile Creek. Paul, who works with the Alaska Department of Transportation, said that approximately seven miles of new roads have been completed and between 15 and 20 miles of existing roads have been improved. "Overall our goal is to make this route an easily traversable one, so to do that...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported seven active cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, all of which are travel related. Three active cases are residents and four active cases are non residents according to PMC. The cases have not been linked to community spread. Hospitals across Southeast Alaska are seeing limited hospital capacity as the number of positive cases increases across the state. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 593 new cases, 121 hospitalizations, and 13 deaths...
Me, Myself and I To the Editor: Millions of people are sick and dying of covid, or as the unbelievers, uneducated call it "the Sniffles." I can't understand with 99% of the medical community saying covid, especially covid delta is making millions of us sick and killing us yet people refuse to get a simple vaccine approved by the FDA. It saves lives and keeps people from extreme illness. Why do people listen to talk show host Phil Valentine (RIP) who told his followers not to get vaccinated with...
The Vakker Sted affordable housing complex on Excel Street will be ready to accommodate residents by January 1, 2022 according to Glenn Gellert of Swell, LLC. The building will house 15 units with 2 one-bedroom units and 13 two-bedroom units that will mainly be leased to low-income residents. Though the framing of the building was slow, the plumbing job has gone faster than expected so the construction schedule has evened out. The roof was recently put on, so not even the rain will slow down con...
The Petersburg School District has hired seven new teachers for this upcoming school year as the schools seek in person instruction under the new COVID-19 protocols. Dustin Crump will be teaching Spanish and PE at Petersburg High School and Computer Science at Mitkof Middle School. He is originally from North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where he earned a bachelor of arts in Spanish. His wife is from Petersburg and after their wedding, they moved to...
There were eight active cases in Petersburg reported Monday 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. 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 encourage... Full story
The Petersburg School District released its reopening plan Friday which outlines COVID-19 guidelines for the upcoming school year. The school district formed a moderate risk plan that includes a universal masking policy in school until the next school board meeting on September 14. A local Health Advisory Committee including a representative from the school board, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter, Principals Heather Conn and Rick Dormer, Activity Director Jaime Cabral, a Public Health nurse,...
The Petersburg School District has hired seven new teachers for this upcoming school year as the schools seek in person instruction under the new COVID-19 protocols. A few of the new teachers are returning to their roots in Petersburg including Hannah Smith who will be teaching science at Mitkof Middle School. Smith went to Gonzaga University before receiving her masters at Montana State in science education. "I grew up here actually, graduated from Petersburg High School. My parents and my...
It seems like we've been here before. Mask use is low, positivity rates are low (3.3%), only 3 active cases in town and 55.6 % of us are fully vaccinated. The temptation is to let our guards down as COVID-19 fatigue sets in and makes us forget about masking, social distancing and hand washing protocols. That is all that needs to happen to allow a surge of cases to run amok in Petersburg. To avoid infection, get vaccinated. The much higher transmission rate of the delta variant is one of the...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported three new active cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, all of whom are non-residents. One non-resident case was identified on Sunday and two non-resident cases were identified on Monday according to PMC. A total of 14 non-resident positive cases have been linked to travel since August 1 and PMC is advising everyone who comes to town to get tested both when they arrive and seven days later regardless of vaccination status. Free travel testing is available at the...
The Borough Assembly conducted their third and final reading of Ordinance #2021-12 during Monday's meeting. The assembly voted unanimously 7-0 to adopt the ordinance which added the Electric Utility Bond Issuance matter to the ballot for the election on October 5, 2021. There was no discussion by the assembly prior to the vote. "We had a very good explanation at the last meeting from Mr. Hagerman, so I think we're all up to speed on it," Mayor Mark Jensen said. The revenue bonds, not to exceed...
