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The Borough Assembly voted 4-3 to empower Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht to create a committee to serve as a COVID information response system during Monday's meeting. The discussion of the action item centered on the creation of the committee and the inclusion of a COVID dashboard on the borough's website. The item was requested by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci who said that the assembly needed to have more communication about COVID available to be prepared if the school system or the hospital...
Bycatch gives Alaska's otherwise stellar fisheries management its biggest black eye. The term refers to unwanted sea creatures taken in trawls, pots, lines and nets when boats are going after other targeted catches. Bycatch is the bane of existence for fishermen, seafood companies and policy makers alike, yet few significant advances have been found to mitigate the problem. A simple fix has recently shed light on a solution. "Ten underwater LED lights can be configured to light up different...
Palmer Haakon Thomassen Sr., 79, of Petersburg, Alaska, passed away suddenly on July 19, 2021 from pneumonia due to COVID-19 in Anchorage, Alaska. Palmer was born in Petersburg to Haakon Thomassen and Eleanor Stahl Thomassen on Aug. 31, 1941 and married Patty Thomassen on Oct. 27, 1961 in Petersburg. He started fishing on his father's boat at the age of 14 and from there worked as a carpenter, logger, owned Little Toot Construction, the F/V Sabra Raean as a troller, and worked for the City of... Full story
In the story about PMC’s discussion of the rise of COVID-19 cases in July from the July 29 edition of the Pilot, it was stated that positive COVID-19 cases from the American Cruise Lines vessel Constellation were linked to positive cases among Petersburg residents. Though there were cases among Petersburg residents and there were cases among people from the Constellation in July, a link between the two groups has not been established....
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave a report to the Borough Assembly during Monday's meeting. The discussion focused on PMC's communication with the community about releasing COVID information and the construction of a new hospital. Hofstetter said that the Emergency Operations Center is missed because there is no longer a structure in place for communication about COVID. He would also like to see information again be made available on the borough's website to help inform the...
Eight non-residents on a private boat tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday after arriving in Petersburg according to the Petersburg Medical Center. The non-residents notified PMC of their symptoms upon arrival and all passengers tested positive. Those onboard the boat have begun isolating and are not at risk of spreading COVID to the community. According to the PMC COVID-19 Dashboard, there are nine active cases in Petersburg and a third death has been reported although details about it have...
The Petersburg School Board held discussions about what protocols should be enacted for the upcoming school year during Tuesday's meeting. The talks were a continuation of those held during a work session on July 30 where the board tried to determine what guidelines best fit the Petersburg School District while weighing potential risks such as the spread of the delta variant. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said that two of the main points of the discussion would be masking and travel...
The Petersburg High School swim and dive team has finished its first full week of practices in preparation for this year's season. Head Coach Andy Carlisle said that he's looking forward to getting the season going. "There's always potential, some of them have a long way to go, but yeah, we'll just work hard and see what happens. That's what we do every year." Carlisle believes that there could be as many as 14 students with four seniors on the team this year. The final team size is unknown at...
The Petersburg COVID-19 dashboard is reporting one new case in the past week for a total of four active cases. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services' vaccine monitoring dashboard, 65% of Petersburg Borough residents ages 12 and up have received one or more doses. Chief Nursing Officer at PMC Jennifer Bryner said that though there was much interest when the vaccine was first released, the number of people signing up for the vaccine waiting list at the hospital has...
The Petersburg School Board had a work session Friday to outline preliminary ideas for COVID-19 guidelines for when students return. The board considered an assortment of measures ranging from masking requirements and regular testing at school to travel precautions. Though some specific guidelines were discussed, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter stressed that these early ideas were not set in stone. "These are very rough thoughts," Kludt-Painter said. "These are very preliminary thoughts...
The Petersburg High School cross country team has begun practicing for its upcoming season. "Well we've only been in it for a week, but it's amazing because despite the small numbers, it's a really dedicated group," Head Coach Tom Thompson said. While only a handful of students are currently training with the team because of vacations and fishing, the full team should number anywhere from 12 to 20 students, including three seniors, during the season according to Thompson. "It's a nice group,...
The Federal Aviation Administration's environmental cleanup of a former dump site on Big Level Island is now estimated to cost over $5 million. Located southwest of Mitkof Island, Big Level Island was home to a FAA Station that operated from 1964 to 1995. After its closure, most of the station was demolished and removed, but waste from a dump site near the facility has been deemed a threat to the environment according to the administrative record associated with the Big Level Island cleanup....
King Salmon Catch rates are now slowing as we approach the end of the summer season. Residents: Throughout most of the management area, where the retention of king salmon was prohibited to conserve Alaska wild stock king salmon in the spring, the resident bag and possession limit is now two king salmon 28 inches or greater in length. South and West of Point Baker the bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. Maps of this boundary are provided in the most recent king salmon advisory announcement (link to...
Eight non-residents on a private boat tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday after arriving in Petersburg according to the Petersburg Medical Center. The non-residents notified PMC of their symptoms upon arrival and all passengers tested positive. Those onboard the boat have begun isolating and are not at risk of spreading COVID to the community. Asymptomatic testing will be available at no charge to residents on Thurs., Aug. 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the respiratory clinic. Testing for... Full story
Petersburg recorded its second COVID-19 death on Friday according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Service's COVID-19 Dashboard. The Alaska COVID-19 data summary reported that the death in Petersburg was a male in his 70s. The Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard has listed that there are five active cases in Petersburg as of July 28 with 55.0% of the population fully vaccinated. Alaska reported 562 new cases between July 23 and 25, which has also seen the statewide alert level remain high...
The Petersburg Medical Center Board reviewed the recent COVID-19 outbreak during their July 22 meeting. Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom presented a report on the increase of COVID cases in July. According to Bacom’s report, the two contributing factors were the arrival of the American Cruise Lines vessel Constellation and the Independence Day celebrations. Four passengers and two crew members from the Constellation with positive tests isolated in Petersburg while recovering f...
The Petersburg Medical Center has begun receiving feedback from the community through the Community Needs Assessment. Conducted every three years, the Community Needs Assessment is required for non-profit healthcare organizations and serves as a way for residents to comment on how their healthcare needs are being met. The survey features questions focused on a range of topics including services the hospital offers, demographic data, and the COVID-19 pandemic. "For me it's actually very good...
A new outdoor shelter was completed at the Clausen Memorial Museum with the help of a community challenge grant from AARP. The Clausen Museum applied for the grant after AARP representatives came to the Petersburg Medical Center before the COVID-19 pandemic said Museum Director Cindi Lagoudakis. "I looked at some of the grant opportunities and I put in a request and it was not originally granted, but they contacted us and they were interested in the bench shelter idea," Lagoudakis said. The...
Most people are unaware that the yarns and fabrics that make up our carpets, clothing, car seats, mattresses, even mop heads, are coated with chemicals and metals such as copper, silver and aluminum that act as fire retardants, odor preventors, antifungals and anti-microbials. Now, crab shells from Alaska are providing the same safeguards in a bio-friendly way. The metals and chemicals are being replaced by all-natural Tidal-Tex liquid treatments derived from chitosan molecules found in the exoskeletons of crab shells. The bio-shift stems from...
SEWARD, Alaska (AP) — An Olympic buzz permeates an Alaska coastal community thousands of miles away from Japan and nearly a full day after Lydia Jacoby scored a major upset to bring home gold in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke at the Tokyo Games. Jacoby, a 17-year-old who will return for her senior year of high school in Seward, was the first Alaskan to ever qualify for the Olympics in swimming. “We were hoping for a medal, but for her to hit the wall first was just beyond any of our expectations,” said Sarah Spanos, a swim mom who volunte...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A fully vaccinated passenger on an Alaska cruise tested positive for COVID-19 and received “private air transportation” home, according to Celebrity Cruises. A passenger on Sunday reported cold-like symptoms to the ship’s medical personnel and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, the cruise line said in a statement Tuesday. The person was isolated in the ship’s medical facility for monitoring. The company said it did contact tracing and tested the person’s close contacts, who were all negative for the virus. The pers...
The Borough Assembly discussed Monday how the most recent COVID-19 outbreak in Petersburg was handled and the resulting communication issues. The outbreak was linked to the American Cruise Lines vessel American Constellation which was docked in Petersburg. Assembly Member Jeff Meucci requested the discussion to review how information was communicated by the various groups involved in resolving the crisis to the assembly. "One of the concerns I had was that, and this is not to blame anybody, but...
The annual Paddle Battle raised over $1,500 this year which will go towards helping Petersburg Medical Center employees continue their education. It was a cool 54 degrees on Saturday when the 21 paddlers braved the waters. The first group of participants started from Scow Bay at 8:30 a.m. and were later joined by a second group near South Harbor at 9:15 a.m. The paddlers traveled around Hungry Point and headed south along Frederick Sound to the finish at Sandy Beach Park. The participants who st...
The Borough Assembly discussed the future of the planning and zoning code revisions after a long hiatus during Monday's meeting. Assembly Member Jeff Meucci requested the discussion to find out where the borough is in the process of revising the code and what is next. Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said that the people involved would need to regroup because of how long it has been since work was done on the project. "Now that we've had a year off worrying about COVID, let's reopen the file and...
King Salmon All marine waters in the Petersburg/Wrangell management area are now open to the retention of king salmon. The regional bag, possession, and nonresident annual limits, apply in all waters except the Blind Slough/Wrangell Narrows terminal harvest area where additional opportunity is provided for these hatchery produced king salmon. The revised regional regulations issued 6/21/21 are: Residents: the bag and possession limit is 2 king salmon greater than 28” in length, with no annual limit. Nonresidents: the bag and possession limit i...
