Sorted by date Results 676 - 700 of 1007
Rae C. Stedman Elementary School brought on board six new teachers this year as the school looks to create smaller class sizes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 within the building. One of the new teachers is a face some students may already know. After teaching at the Mitkof Dance Troupe, Kaili Swanson decided she wanted to do something to help the community push through the COVID-19 pandemic. She received an emergency teaching certification through the state and started teaching kindergarten....
Sixth grade teachers Bridey Short and Casey Gates are the two newest additions to the teaching staff at Mitkof Middle School. Both teachers signed a one year contract with the district, but while Short's position is permanent, Gates was signed on temporarily to address the need for staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Short is originally from Petersburg, but left Alaska to attend college at the University of Montana. She moved back home in 2009 after graduating with a degree in social work and ph...
Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter had the unfortunate job of delivering bad news to the Petersburg School Board at their regular meeting on Tuesday; the Parks and Recreation Center's pool will likely not reopen for the rest of the school year. PSD had been working together with borough officials to get the pool reopened following a fire in the boiler room last month. Kludt-Painter said some repairs could be made in the short term, but the repairs needed to reopen the pool wouldn't be completed...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s governor has announced a new COVID-19 disaster declaration for the state that will take effect Nov. 16 and last 30 days. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the updated declaration on Friday, ahead of the scheduled expiration of the emergency declaration he issued in March. Dunleavy said he took action because of “the rise in cases, and given the uncertainty over the next two to three months,” he said. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services on Saturday reported that the state hit a daily record in...
The number of boots on deck in Alaska has declined and most fisheries have lost jobs over the past five years. Overall, Alaska’s harvesting sector ticked downward by 848 jobs from 2015 through 2019. A snapshot of fish harvesting jobs is featured in the November edition of Alaska Economic Trends by the state Dept. of Labor. The findings show that after hitting a peak of 8,501 harvesters in 2015, fishing jobs then fell to around 8,000 for the next two years before dropping again in 2018 to about 7,600. In 2019, average monthly fishing e...
Kathryn (Kay) Crozer, 85, passed away on Oct. 5, 2020. She was born on April 16, 1935 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Celia (Dolan) and Leo Joseph Doherty. She attended Girls' Latin School and received her nursing degree from the Faulkner Hospital School of Nursing in Boston. Her adventuresome spirit led her to Sitka, Alaska, where she worked at Mount Edgecumbe Hospital and met her husband Edward Allen (Al) Crozer, a forester. They married in 1961 and were together for 44 years until his death in... Full story
Incident Commander Karl Hagerman encouraged residents at Friday's COVID-19 community update who travel to other parts of the state to be tested for COVID-19 upon their return to town. The request follows five recent confirmed cases of the virus linked to intrastate travel. While Alaska residents are required to test for COVID-19 either before or after they arrive back in the state from other parts of the country, they don't need to be tested for the virus when traveling throughout Alaska. Four...
In the form of utility credit and business grants, the borough assembly approved $600,000 in community aid from the borough's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act special revenue fund at their meeting on Monday. If a local resident could prove they suffered financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic they could be eligible for a $500 one-time credit to their borough utility account. If more than a thousand individuals apply for the credit, the borough will adjust the credit...
The Petersburg School Board issued an administrative directive on Monday requesting school officials extend Alaska's state travel mandate to students and staff traveling throughout the state. State health mandate #10 requires incoming travelers to test for COVID-19 prior or upon entering Alaska and strictly social distance themselves for five days; however, the health mandate doesn't address Alaska residents who are traveling in the state. Students and staff at Petersburg School District will...
In his report to the Petersburg Medical Center Board of Directors last week, PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter said a nationwide shortage of Cepheid cartridges has caused the hospital to closely monitor its own supply of cartridges and enacted guidelines for rapid testing. The hospital's testing capacity is currently exceeding its par level, or the number of cartridges needed to react to a local outbreak, Hofstetter said. "We cannot get the supplies needed to test," said Hofstetter to the borough...
Petersburg Medical Center reported a total operating revenue for the month of September that balanced off the expenses and led to a positive bottom line to the Board of Directors at their meeting on Oct. 29, according to PMC financial statements. Continuing its rise in revenue into the third month of the fiscal year, PMC reported $1,931,329 in total operating revenue, according to the financial statements. That number was 20 percent higher than what the hospital originally budgeted for September. The return of inpatient and outpatient services...
Opposed to the process To the Editor: Many residents of Kake, Kupreanof and the Petersburg Borough likely share the following concerns on the a long standing state edict currently aliased and marketed as a $40 million “Subsistence and Recreation” project. These concerns however, are best conveyed directly to Senator Stedman, but he has chosen so far to make himself unavailable to the general public. Many of us can understand, then, why the Senator might be unavailable. As co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which holds the purse str...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Legislative Council approved a measure that requires lawmakers, employees and reporters to be screened for the coronavirus when entering the Capitol and to wear masks or face coverings in the building and other legislative offices. The council also voted on Thursday to keep the Capitol building closed to the public until at least January, when the next Legislature convenes. Legislative staff and reporters will still be allowed into the building, KTOO Public Media reported. The council's chair, Sen. Gary S...
After a salmon season that successfully fished its way through a pandemic and upturned markets, the value of Alaska salmon permits is ticking up in two regions while toppling in others. Permit values are derived by the state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission based on the average value of four permit sales. One of the uppers is the bellwether fishery at Bristol Bay where driftnet permits are showing good gains after a strong fishing season, despite a disappointing base sockeye price of $.70 a pound, down by nearly half from last year....
A staff member at Petersburg Medical Center has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total local case count of the virus up to five, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The positive test result was identified through the hospital's routine asymptomatic testing protocols, according to the release. The individual is in isolation and is not experiencing any symptoms. PMC has switched over to a red level of mitigation protocols and has cancelled all... Full story
Petersburg School District is expected to reopen their doors today, Oct. 29, after a positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed at Rae C. Stedman Elementary School on Tuesday that resulted in a district-wide school closure, according to Petersburg School District Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. Petersburg public health officials completed their contract tracing related to the school district on Wednesday, said Kludt-Painter. Students and staff who have been instructed to quarantine were asked...
The Petersburg Borough awarded a total of about $440,000 in grants last week to 50 business owners who experienced a loss in gross revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Community & Economic Development Director Liz Cabrera. Five applications are still pending but are expected to be awarded as well. The borough's economic grant program set aside $500,000 from its Coronavirus Aide, Relief, and Economic Security funds for businesses that experienced a loss in gross revenue of 20...
The Petersburg School Board held a work session on Tuesday to address some students' concerns over Petersburg High School's block classes, but ultimately, the board decided not to take any action due to the level of support of the current schedule. High school students filled out a survey put together by teachers and staff to gauge the students' thoughts and opinions on this year's schedule. The school days are split into four periods, but two of the classes are block classes, which are about...
The Borough Assembly extended a contract between the borough and the state for COVID-19 related services offered at the Petersburg Airport through Dec. 31 at their meeting on Oct. 20. Under the extension, the borough will receive $423,725 for the greeting, screening and testing services of incoming passengers from June 8 through Dec. 31, according to a memo to the Borough Assembly from Incident Commander Karl Hagerman. The extension also amended the memorandum of agreement between the borough...
Using items found in nature, over 15 local artists from a range of age groups constructed pieces of ephemeral art that were spread throughout the community to celebrate last month's Rainforest Festival. Kelly Bakos' film "Ephemeral" documents the creation and lifespan of some of those creations. Ephemeral art is a natural form of art that lasts a short period of time. The art pieces are constructed outdoors and as time progresses, they slowly become something else. Leaves change colors. Birds...
Residents were able to shop from about 35 different vendors on Oct. 24 at the 44th annual Oktoberfest Art Share. Polly Koeneman, one of the organizers of the event, said there was a steady flow of people throughout the five hour long event that was hosted by the Muskeg Maleriers in the Parks and Recreation's community gym. Not once was there a moment where the flow of people to the gym stopped, she said. Those that attended were happy to follow the COVID-19 mitigation plan that was in place and...
Many Alaska fishermen are likely to be involved in regulatory meetings next spring instead of being out on the water. And Alaska legislators will be distracted by hearings for hundreds of unconfirmed appointments as they tackle contentious budgets and other pressing issues. New dates have been set for state Board of Fisheries meetings that were bumped from later this year due to corona virus concerns. During the same time, along with four unconfirmed seats on the fish board, the Alaska legislature also will be tasked with considering nominees...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted against terminating the borough's declaration of disaster emergency, which was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, at their meeting on Tuesday. Assembly Member Taylor Norheim requested the action item be on the meeting's agenda to address the borough's declaration of disaster emergency and determine if the new assembly agreed with the declaration. Assembly Member Dave Kensinger was voted on to the assembly after the municipal election earlier this...
Petersburg High School students are struggling to keep up with their semester long block classes, and to address their difficulties, the Petersburg School Board will be holding a work session next week. Under this year's new class schedule, high school students have four periods a day, two of which are 50 and 55 minutes long and the remaining two periods are 90 minute and 85 minute-long block classes. The hour long classes span both semesters of the school year, but the block classes cover a...
The Emergency Operations Center is asking anyone who visited or worked in any of the local bars on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10 to call Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 hotline, after an individual infected with the virus was determined to have visited a local bar last weekend, according to Incident Commander Karl Hagerman at the COVID-19 community update on Oct. 16. In prerecorded calls, text messages and emails, the EOC informed the public on Oct. 15 that one of the three residents that had...
