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An employee at Petersburg Medical Center has tested positive for COVID-19 and was identified through the hospital's routine asymptomatic testing protocol, according to a joint press release from PMC and the Petersburg Borough. The employee has been notified and is in isolation. PMC has switched to a red risk level of operations as a result of the confirmed case of the virus, according to the joint release. All non-emergent care patient visits have been canceled and clinic appointments will be... Full story
Petersburg School District switched over to a low risk level of operations, or green level, on Monday. Rae C. Stedman Elementary School will be in session from 8 A.M. to 1:45 P.M. in person Monday through Friday, said Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter at the COVID-19 community update on Friday, Sept. 25. Teachers will stay with their classes throughout the day and limit interaction with other teachers and pods. Students will still get recesses, lunch and other breaks while in school. Mitkof...
This year's borough assembly candidates took the stage on Sept. 24 to answer questions ranging from the borough's COVID-19 response to the tourism industry in this year's candidate forum. The candidates answered questions from representatives of KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Marc Martinsen, Dave Kensinger and incumbents Jeff Meucci and Brandi Thynes were each asked the same questions and had two minutes to respond. The order of the candidates changed with each question that was asked. The forum...
A new 20-ft. x 40-ft. tent has been erected at the Petersburg airport to provide shelter for hospital employees providing COVID testing services for passengers arriving at the airport each day. Emergency operations center director Karl Hagerman said the new tent encompasses the same size footprint as the three tents and trailer that were in place this summer. "The tent survived the wind test this weekend," according to Hagerman. The airport experienced wind gusts up to 40 mph and sustained...
The Petersburg High School boys cross country team finished second in the Capital City Invitational, their last meet of the season. The meet was held virtually with the cross country team running out at Greens Camp in preparation for the regional meet this weekend, which will be held in the same location. Uriah Lucas took second place in the meet with a time of 17:19. Valon Weathers and Chase Lister came in 12th and 13th place with final times of 18:58 and 19:01 respectively. Rylan Smith...
Some surprising results are revealed in the first of a series of briefing papers showing how Alaska’s seafood industry has been affected by the pandemic from dock to dinner plates. The updates, compiled by the McDowell Group for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), show that so far the amount of seafood that has been harvested is in line with previous years. “While 2020 harvests have been significantly lower in some salmon fisheries…the declines are due to weak runs rather than reduced effort or other forces that might have some...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Native corporations are not eligible to receive a share of the $8 billion in federal coronavirus relief funding set aside for tribes, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday in overturning a lower-court decision. The three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit found an Alaska Native corporation cannot qualify as an Indian tribe under the federal Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act unless it has been “recognized as eligible for the special programs and...
The borough assembly approved Ordinance #2020-19, which amends borough code chapter 3.72 to provide for civil emergency provisions, in its third reading on Monday after postponing the final vote by two months. The emergency ordinance transfers civil emergency provisions from the City of Petersburg Code to Petersburg Borough Code while adding language to guide local officials through an emergency. The additional language caused a division in the community and led the Borough Assembly to delay...
Petersburg has gone 34 days since a case of COVID-19 was confirmed to be in the community. The last confirmed case of the virus was a non-resident who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 14 and later recovered on Aug. 21. As of Wednesday, Sept. 23, Petersburg Medical Center reported 3,887 test samples have been collected to be tested for COVID-19 on site or at outside laboratories. Of those test samples collected, about 3,829 have returned negative and 45 are still pending. According to PMC, Ne...
Government money better spent To the Editor: ADF&G has crunched the numbers on the Red King Crab survey from this summer. Once again by hauling a few pots at the wrong time of year and a lot of extrapolation they came up way short of having a fishery. They do the survey every summer and rarely do we fish. Not sure what it costs for a large vessel and all the personnel that are crewing for the extra sea time pay, but it's significant. The only money made off Red Crab is by the personnel working...
Petersburg Medical Center's sixth annual Rainforest Run raised $225 for the Petersburg High School cross country team on Saturday, according to PMC Public Relations Coordinator Kelsey Lambe. The course began at Sandy Beach and continued down Cabin Creek Rd. Runners and walkers continued on to their turnaround point and then headed back to Sandy Beach. Participants had the choice of running or walking a 10k or half marathon. While the race was free to participants, donations were accepted on beha...
Name: Brandi Thynes Age: 38 Experience: 3 yr term borough assembly 1 yr appointed school board Why do you seek public office? I enjoyed being on the assembly this last term and would like to continue to be an advocate for our community, especially in these odd and trying times. I understand the importance and privilege that comes with being a voice for my fellow constituents. Would you support a borough-wide face masking mandate? No. This has been strongly opposed by the community. The c...
Name: Craig Anderson Age: 49 Experience: I have a bachelor's degree from the University of Idaho, and I worked on a master's degree in forestry at Umea University in north central Sweden. I have experience managing meetings, working on budgets and responding to public comments. I have been a federal employee for about 18 years. Why do you seek public office? My family and I moved to Petersburg almost 9 1/2 years ago. My two sons started elementary school at Stedman in Kindergarten and 1st...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska plans to allow the online sale of raffle tickets for the first time to help nonprofit organizations faced with limited fundraising opportunities because of coronavirus restrictions. The state Department of Revenue approved the temporary change over the summer allowing organizations holding charitable gaming permits to sell raffle tickets and draw winners online, Alaska Public Media reported Monday. State Gaming Unit Director Katrina Mitchell said this is the only instance in which any online gaming has been p...
Alaska fishermen can increase their federal trade relief funds by adding higher poundage prices for 15 fish and shellfish species. While it's welcomed, the payouts are a band-aid on a bigger and ongoing problem. Through December 14, fishermen can apply to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Seafood Trade Relief Program (STRP) if their bottom line has been hurt by the Trump Administration's ongoing trade standoffs, primarily with China. "STRP is part of a federal relief strategy to support fisherm...
The Petersburg Borough held a virtual town hall on Sept. 10 to inform the public on the civil emergency provisions ordinance, which is set to go before the assembly in its third and final reading on Monday. The meeting was split into two parts and moderated by attorney Sarah F. Fine. Borough officials gave presentations on the Incident Command System (ICS), the reason for a more expansive emergency ordinance and the need for an emergency ordinance. The second half of the meeting was dedicated...
This year's pink salmon harvest came in at around 7 million, which is considerably down from the 35 million ten year average. Troy Thynes, regional management coordinator for commercial fisheries with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the pink salmon run in Southeast Alaska hasn't been this low since 1976. There are several causes for this year's poor salmon run. In 2018, the parent year for this year's pink salmon, escapement was poor in Northern Southeast Alaska, said Thynes. In...
On Friday, Sept. 11, Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said his voluntary community plan for preventing the spread of COVID-19 will be released soon after weeks of drafting and editing. "Thankfully the virus situation in Petersburg has been well under control, but as we enter into flu season, we just don't know what's going to happen," said Hagerman at the COVID-19 community update last week. The document, which includes recommendations and best practices to limit the spread of the virus, was rev...
The community had the opportunity to speak out in support or against a permanent civil emergency provisions ordinance at a virtual town hall on Sept. 10, though the feedback the Borough Assembly received was mostly negative. The Petersburg Borough requested those who wanted to ask questions during the town hall to submit them about a week in advance to allow borough staff time to answer the questions. The public could still ask questions at the end of the town hall, which began with... Full story
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Alaska has faced its share of monumental challenges. The testing of all incoming travelers, providing relief for devastated tourism businesses, creating a new unemployment program from scratch. Yet none compared to the challenge of protecting our critical seafood industry and the communities that rely on their economic production. We commend Alaska's seafood industry for successfully navigating the most difficult season Alaska has ever experienced. Captains,...
Following the announcement last week that the Alaska Department of Fish & Game will be shutting down its Southeast Alaska enhancement program due to an absence of funding, F&G Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said the state and federal government is committed to provide Crystal Lake Hatchery (CLH) with $317,300 annually. Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association operates CLH under a contract with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fishing for an annual total of...
At about two and a half weeks into the Petersburg High School swim season, Head Coach Andy Carlisle said the young team is showing great potential. There are 12 boys and one girl on the team, but two more girls are expected to join soon. One of the girls that is expected to join is a senior, but a good portion of the swimmers currently on the team are freshmen. Carlisle said the team is starting from a beginner level together. Even the swimmers who are in Viking Swim Club hadn't been in the...
The Petersburg High School cross country team ran a 5k course near Greens Camp after school on Friday as part of a virtual meet with high schools throughout the region. The boys team ended up taking second place among the seven teams that competed with each other remotely. The girls team still does not have enough runners to score for their team, but Head Coach Tom Thompson said the girls still had a strong showing. Each of the seven high schools, Haines, Petersburg, Craig, Wrangell, Unalaska, M...
This year's Petersburg High School volleyball team is about one week into their season, and like other sports this year, the team is playing under COVID-19 protocols; however, the girls are just glad to be back in the gym, practicing the sport, said Head Coach Jaime Cabral. A core group of seniors graduated last year, which caused positions on the team to have to be rearranged this season. There are only three seniors on the team out of the 25 players. Most of the students are young, but are a...
The Wrangell School Board held a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 9, to continue their discussion of a formal reprimand and improvement plan for the superintendent. Late last August, Superintendent Debbe Lancaster and several district staff members went on a trip to Juneau to purchase supplies to prepare the district for the upcoming school year. This was in violation of a district travel ban during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as done without board approval. The planned use of CARES Act funding for some of the purchases was also...
