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The Petersburg School Board adopted the fiscal year 2022 operating budget at their meeting on June 8 that has a total revenue that is below the school district's expenditures for the year. According to budget documents presented to the school board, the fiscal year 2022 operating budget is based on a total of $8,043,406 in revenue. Because the school district is anticipating an enrollment of 415 students this fall, the school district will see a drop in state funding of $696,443 over last year...
As the Petersburg Borough prepares to end its Local Disaster Emergency Declaration and disband the Emergency Operations Center at the end of the month, Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said during the COVID-19 community update on June 11 the local COVID-19 Dashboard would continue to be a local resource of all things COVID-19 related. "It's been quite a long haul, very rewarding," said Hagerman. "But I'm ready to get back to my normal job for sure." With the end of the Local Disaster Emergency...
Petersburg Medical Center will keep offering COVID-19 vaccines past the expiration of the Local Disaster Emergency Declaration at the end of the month. PMC Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner said at the COVID-19 community update on June 11 that the hospital's efforts to vaccinate the community against COVID-19 have remained unchanged. While the hospital isn't anticipating large vaccine clinics in the future, like the ones held at the beginning of the year, smaller vaccination clinics are still...
Alaskans who are engaged in or interested in mariculture are invited to become founding members in a new group that will advance the growing industry across the state. The newly formed Alaska Mariculture Alliance (AMA) is a private non-profit successor to a five-year task force formed in 2016 by Governor Walker and re-authorized in 2018 by Governor Dunleavy. The task force will sunset on June 30. “One of the priority recommendations was to create a long term entity that would coordinate and support development of a robust and sustainable m...
The Borough Assembly repealed three local health mandates and one public health alert and amended Health Mandate #5 at an assembly meeting on Monday. The changes to the local health mandates and alert were presented to the assembly as recommendations from the Emergency Operations Center. The assembly had the option to discuss and vote on each health mandate and the alert individually, but instead voted to approve the EOC's recommendations in one unanimous vote. At a special meeting on May 1,...
SEARHC or not to SEARHC To the Editor: I listened to the representative from SEARHC at Monday's Assembly meeting. It was really nice of him to come and give an overview of SEARHC to the Assembly. I have only lived in Petersburg for 25 years. I am a firm supporter of the hospital and Phil the present director. In the 25 years I have lived here this is the first time we have had not only a good administrator, but an excellent hospital administrator. It had been pretty dismal for several of the...
The Associated Teachers of Petersburg (ATP) will receive a one percent raise each year for the next three years as part of a new labor agreement between the teachers union and the Petersburg School District. "I think we have a really good contract moving forward, so we're pretty happy with it," said Ginger Evens, ATP's representative during negotiations with the school district. The new contract will take effect in the fall of 2021 and span three school years through spring 2024. With each schoo...
The Borough Assembly made five more amendments to the Petersburg Borough's fiscal year 2022 operating budget at their meeting on Monday before passing it in its third reading. The General Fund's revenues and expenditures equal $9,741,364 and is an overall increase of .39 percent from the 2021 fiscal year adopted budget. The recent amendments to the budget addressed a one time bonus to Emergency Operations Center staff, upgrades to two borough marine facilities, a funding source for the maintenan...
The Petersburg School Board updated Board Policy 5127 at their meeting on Tuesday to specify that students must be enrolled in the Petersburg School District to participate in the Petersburg High School senior graduation ceremony. The school district allowed a one time exception to past practices to allow students not enrolled at PHS, but in an accredited home school program, to participate in the most recent senior graduation ceremony, said PSD Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter in an email to...
The Petersburg Borough is offering $10,000 in prizes to be distributed throughout the month of June as part of a program to encourage local residents who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 to get the shot. The Sleeves Up Petersburg drawing is sponsored by the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, though the funds were distributed through the Alaska Chamber. The program is part of a statewide campaign to increase the state's vaccination rate by 25 percent. The drawing is open...
The Borough Assembly passed a resolution at a special meeting on Tuesday that will terminate the local Disaster Emergency Declaration at 11:59 P.M. on June 30, which will also bring an end to all the local health mandates and orders and disband the Emergency Operations Center. "The whole purpose of the emergency declaration and the standing up of the EOC was to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and protect Petersburg residents," said Incident Commander Karl Hagerman. "At this point in time, I...
After waiting the entire season to compete on the mat, Petersburg High School wrestler Deirdre Toyomura placed 6th at the Alaska School Activities Association Division II Wrestling State Championships at Chugiak High School. This year's wrestling season was shortened and postponed from the fall to the spring as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were just three tournaments this season, and Toyomura had attended every one in the hopes of competing; however, there weren't any athletes in...
One new case of COVID-19 was reported by Petersburg Medical Center on May 30 and is related to recent travel, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The individual infected with the virus has been directed to isolate themselves. Public health officials are also expected to conduct contract tracing. Petersburg is currently reporting one active case of COVID-19, which is the case that was reported over the weekend. No other cases have been reported in the last week...
Alaskan interest in growing kelp continues to outpace that of shellfish, based on applications filed during the annual window that runs from January through April. The number of 2021applicants dropped to just seven, reversing a steady upward trend that reached 16 last year, likely due to a "wait and see" approach stemming from the pandemic. "We had people whose personal situations changed because of COVID. They became homeschooling parents, things like that, where they can no longer dedicate...
The Petersburg High School Class of 2021 graduated on Monday, May 24 in an in-person ceremony before family and friends that was broadcast online in an event that was a return to tradition. Twenty-eight seniors received their diplomas on Monday, 20 of whom have plans to attend college immediately after high school or in the coming years. Jaden Perry and Mattias Volk will be enrolling in a trade school, and six other graduates have other plans or are undecided on what they will do next in life. I...
Two new cases of COVID-19 were identified by Petersburg Medical Center this week, according to joint press releasees from the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The first case was identified on Monday. The individual was symptomatic at the time of testing and has been directed by public health officials to isolate themselves. The second cases was reported on Tuesday and is travel related. The individual tested positive for the virus upon arriving at the Petersburg Airport. Public heath officials have...
The Borough Assembly passed a resolution at their May 17 meeting that supports Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors and PMC staff as they take a phased approach to planning and building a new hospital facility. PMC CEO Phill Hofstetter said potential funders of the new facility would be more likely to award grants and other financial support to PMC if the borough backed the project. In addition to the Borough Assembly officially supporting PMC's first phase of building a new facility,...
The Borough Assembly will convene at a special meeting on Tuesday, June 1 to discuss whether or not to terminate the Local Disaster Emergency Declaration, which was activated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If passed, resolution #2021-05 would end the Local Disaster Emergency Declaration at 11:59 P.M. on June 30. According to the resolution, any local health mandates and orders would also be terminated. The resolution directs the Emergency Operations Center to begin the process of...
Just a couple weeks ago, Ketchikan reported 20 new COVID-19 cases in a single day and had more than 100 active cases in the borough. A week ago, the community still had more than 80 active cases and four people in the hospital. About 20% of all the cases reported in Ketchikan since the pandemic infected and inflicted its misery on the world more than a year ago have occurred in just the past few weeks. Many of the recent cases are people who did not choose to get vaccinated. Almost 40% of Ketchikan Borough residents 16 and older had not...
The borough's proposed fiscal year 2022 operating budget was passed in its second reading by the Borough Assembly at their meeting on Monday. The assembly didn't make any amendments to the budget on Monday, but they did discuss a previous amendment that raised KFSK's community service funding request from $32,000 to $35,000. The assembly also discussed removing $650,000 from the motor pool budget that was set aside for the purchase of a new fire engine for the Petersburg Volunteer Fire...
Following the Little Norway Festival, Petersburg has reported two new cases of COVID-19, according to joint press releases from the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The first positive case was reported on May 15. The individual was a non-resident who had traveled to Petersburg earlier in the week and tested positive for COVID-19 at the James A. Johnson Airport, according to a joint press release. The results of the COVID-19 test came back after the infected individual had...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter said at the COVID-19 community update on May 14 that kids as young as 12 years old had received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a small vaccination clinic that same day. An advisory committee within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted in favor of recommending the Pfizer vaccination to children as young as 12 years old just two days before. The vaccine had previously been available for children 16 years old and older....
Alaska’s lone seafood marketing arm gets zero budget from the state and to date, has received no pandemic funds. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is hoping to get a breather from the more than $1 billion coming to Alaska in the latest round of federal relief dollars under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The influx also provides $518 million of non-discretionary funds to Alaska and $220 million for public health and safety, workforce development, education, transportation, and emergency management. ASMI put in a $20 million request two m...
The Anchorage Assembly voted last Friday to immediately revoke the city’s mask mandate. On the same day, legislative leaders voted to make mask-wearing optional at the state Capitol — and then shed their own face coverings after the vote. The decision by the Legislative Council followed new guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The new legislative policy recommends weekly testing for those who are not fully vaccinated and for those with COVID-19 symptoms or who...
Petersburg High School seniors will again be sitting in the back of trucks and hanging out of car windows while the public cheers them on as they make their way through town as part of this year's graduation parade, which will follow an in-person graduation event on Monday, May 24. The graduation festivities will begin on Thursday, May 20, with the virtual, local scholarship awards ceremony. Residents and businesses will record videos of themselves presenting the scholarships to the recipients...
