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WRANGELL - "Concern" is a common theme in the COVID-19 pandemic. People are concerned about their health, their jobs, getting their kids back into school, and the economic prospects of their community, among other things. Wrangell resident Kassee Schlotzhauer wants to help ensure that getting enough to eat is not one such concern, through Wrangell's Subsistence Giving Project. "My family and me, we like to subsistence hunt, fish, gather for our family for the winters," she said. "This last year...
Most Alaskans are surprised to learn that seafood is by far Alaska’s top export, the source of the state’s largest manufacturing base and its #1 private employer. More surprising is that those simple to find facts are not included in the official trade sheet for Alaska provided by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The information on the USTR website, for example, incorrectly claims that petroleum and coal were Alaska’s top exports in 2018. But seafood has been state’s top export by far for decades. “Seafood comprises...
Can't afford boondoggle To the Editor: Senator Stedman's diatribe defending his second road to nowhere is totally unpersuasive (Petersburg Pilot, July 2, 2020). His persistent opposition to public involvement smacks of a backroom deal gone wrong. But that does not matter. We simply cannot afford this boondoggle given Alaska's deficit spending and more pressing needs. This road was a last-minute addition to a capital budget done without adequate public hearings. True to form, Senator Stedman...
2,132 Alaskans are reported infected with the Covid-19 virus along with 487 non-residents as of July 21. Petersburg has had zero active cases of COVID-19 since Thursday, July 17 according to Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman. We count ourselves among the lucky simply because we live on this isolated island. If we counted on elected officials for a long overdue permanent emergency ordinance, we'd be disappointed. The borough assembly by a vote of 4-3 decided to delay the final passage of...
The borough assembly voted in favor of amending borough code to add language for a civil emergency response in the ordinance's second reading at the assembly meeting on Wednesday. Ordinance #2020-19 updates language in the civil emergency provisions of municipal code to reflect the conception of the Petersburg Borough. Additionally, the ordinance adds language that isn't present in the municipal code that establishes actions the borough manager or incident commander can take during an...
American Cruise Lines has cancelled their voyages through Southeast Alaska this summer leaving Lindblad Expeditions as the last cruise line with port calls in Petersburg this summer. ACL had originally planned to make about 11 stops in Petersburg this summer, with the American Constellation making the cruise line's first stop at the end of June, according to a statement made to the Pilot in May by ACL CEO Charles B. Robertson. Paul Taiclet, vice president of ACL, said on Monday the decision to...
A visitor from outside of the state with COVID-19 was identified at the testing site at the James A. Johnson, according to a joint-statement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. The individual arrived in Petersburg on June 30, but overloaded laboratories in Washington led to a delay in the results of the test. According to the joint statement, the individual spent a few days with friends who were also non-residents at a United States Forest Service cabin in Beecher's Pas...
The borough assembly voted in favor of a memorandum of agreement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center for an asymptomatic testing program at their assembly meeting on Wednesday. The agreement would allow the borough to fund an asymptomatic COVID-19 testing program through PMC with money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act for cannery workers who live in town year round. The program is estimated to cost $177,800. There are no preventative measures...
The borough assembly unanimously approved two emergency ordinances at a special meeting Thursday morning that cleared up a quorum problem. Ordinance #2020-20 retroactively establishes a quorum for the May and June assembly meetings, despite the assembly not meeting in person. Ordinance #2020-21 allows the assembly to telephonically establish a quorum for the next 60 days. A previous emergency ordinance approved by the assembly allowed them to meet a quorum telephonically, but it expired on...
The guideline harvest levels (GHLs) for the second fishing period (July 1–August 30) are 308,000 lb in District 6 and 250,000 lb in District 8, in accordance with the preseason GHL news release. Estimated harvest for the first fishing period (May 1–June 30) in District 6 was 282,000 lb. This harvest was 18,000 lb below the 300,000 lb GHL, thus 18,000 lb will be rolled over in addition to the 290,000 lb GHL announced preseason. Totals for coonstripe shrimp bycatch harvest to date in District 6 are confidential. Estimated harvest for the fir...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska is on track to repeat last year’s mark of the nation’s highest rate of tuberculosis infections, health officials said. There have been 38 reported cases of tuberculosis in the state so far this year, The Anchorage Daily News reported. A federal report released in March said Alaska had 58 documented cases of the disease in 2019. COVID-19 has complicated the mission of eradicating tuberculosis in Alaska by reducing the public health resources that can be dedicated to fighting the illness caused by bacteria that...
Governor Dunleavy’s controversial selections to the state Board of Fisheries (BOF) will get a legislative hearing in early fall and the call is out for public comments. The board oversees management of the state’s subsistence, commercial, sport and personal use fisheries. Appointments were made on April 1 and would normally go through a vigorous vetting process by the Alaska legislature with public input. But COVID-19 sent lawmakers home early from the last session, leaving the confirmation process in limbo. Now, Representative Louise Stutes (R...
Winston, a rescue dog from Texas, spending time onboard the F/V Deam Maid. He came to Alaska after his owner's college campus in Idaho closed down due to COVID-19....
It's simple math To the Editor: Here is some simple math for the local folks who don't want to wear masks because of their constitutional "rights" and because a 1% COVID-19 mortality rate is no big deal. How can a disease with 1% mortality shut down the United States? There are two problems with this question: It neglects the law of large numbers; and it assumes that one of two things happen; you die or you're 100% fine. The US has a population of 328,200,000. If one percent of the population di...
The following editorial was posted to the newspaper website on Monday, July 13. My goodness. Doesn't anyone pay attention to the details? Short-term mandates proposed by the Petersburg Emergency Operations Center are necessary to prevent the spread of the Corona virus and resulting Covid-19 infections. Some mandates are voluntary. Some are short-term. Some are longer term. The borough assembly establishes termination dates for all legislation they enact. The EOC is granted its authority by the...
The borough assembly was expected to meet Wednesday, after canceling their Monday meeting, to hold their regular meeting and address an issue with the assembly meeting a quorum telephonically, but the meeting was postponed to give the public time to review two emergency ordinances. Monday's regularly scheduled meeting was cancelled due to internet issues at the borough building and was rescheduled to Wednesday. Two emergency ordinances, ordinance #2020-20 and ordinance #2020-21, were added to th...
Two additional cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the community in the past week, bringing the total number of cases to seven, though four have recovered. The first was identified on July 2. The individual had developed symptoms and was evaluated by Petersburg Medical Center and tested on site, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and PMC. The person was directed to isolated at home. The second confirmed case of COVID-19 was identified as part of OBI Seafoods'...
Petersburg Indian Association plans on using $900,000 in grant money to build a duplex for low income native individuals to address overcrowding in local households. The money was awarded to PIA from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, according to a press release from HUD. So far, $15 million of the allocated $100 million to Native American tribes across the nation has been awarded. PIA is one of four Alaska...
The M/V Matanuska arrived in Petersburg late Sunday night during its first voyage of the season out of Bellingham, but that same day a passenger onboard the M/V Kennicott, which left Bellingham on June 27, tested positive for COVID-19. The protocols that the Alaska Marine Highway System has in place to prevent the spread of the virus seem to have limited the infection to the one individual who only had one other close contact, according to a press release issued by the Alaska Department of...
Following the second positive test result for COVID-19 in two days and a lack of participation, this year's Fourth of July parade was been cancelled, according to a joint statement between the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center released Friday, July 3. The second case of the virus was confirmed Thursday evening, and according to a separate joint statement between the borough and PMC, the person had developed symptoms and was evaluated by Petersburg Medical Center. A test was...
The borough assembly is expected to hold their first regular meeting of July on Wednesday, July 15 to discuss and vote on several action items, including the second reading of ordinance #2020-19, which amends borough code to provide for civil emergency provisions. The civil emergency provisions were first enacted for a limited time to allow the borough to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Borough Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said at an assembly meeting on June 18 that it's normal for...
The global seafood industry will experience lasting impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced demand and pricing. That is the conclusion of the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report produced every two years by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the only report that tracks global fisheries and food trends. This year it included a special focus on the pandemic which has toppled seafood markets and supply chains around the world. The report forecasts that global seafood production will be down...
A traveler coming into town through the James A. Johnson Airport has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a joint statement between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center released on Wednesday afternoon. The individual is a guest at Rocky Point Resort and has been at the lodge since his arrival from out of state earlier this week, according to the press release. The lodge guest did not have symptoms of COVID-19 upon arriving in Alaska. This new case of COVID-19 brings the...
Freddy Yip was on vacation with his family in Oakland, California in January when news of the COVID-19 virus spreading out of Wuhan, China began circulating. Yip said his family has historic ties to that region of China and followed the subject closely. When it became clear to him the virus was going to reach pandemic levels, he began working with his parents, Laney and Wamen Yip, owners of Joan Mei Restaurant, on strategies that the business could take. It was the first time that he had ever...
Mindy Lopez has taken on the role of chamber administrator with the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, a position she said allows her to support local businesses at a time when they may be reeling from the financial setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We all go through difficult times in our lives," said Lopez. "Sometimes it feels good to have someone walking with you in those hard times." Before joining the chamber in early June, Lopez had been working with Petersburg Mental Health doing...
