Sorted by date Results 103 - 117 of 117
A former business office manager of Petersburg Medical Center, Ramona Thompson, attended the regular meeting of the Hospital Board Thursday evening to question the processes of the PMC business office. “In my long experience in hospitals’ practice management, facility bailout consulting work and the revenue cycle, I have seen facilities with far less issues than PMC has, close,” Thompson said. “The PMC business office has been understaffed since the business office manager left in 2011. During 2...
Several people have inquired why this newspaper never printed the final borough election results. We assured them that we had, but not until this week did we actually go through the January 2013 editions of the Petersburg Pilot to confirm that publication did take place. After all, this writer had a printout of the election results which were posted on the State of Alaska website, complete with scribbled notes on the page, indicating the story had been prepared for publication in the Jan. 3 edition. Also, we recollected discussions with our sta... Full story
Making some easy changes to a boat’s deck lay out, or simply modifying knives and scrapers can reduce the strains, sprains and pains of fishing. Doing so is applying the science of ergonomics. “Ergonomics is the science of adapting your workplace, your tools, equipment and work methods to be more efficient and comfortable and error free by humans. It’s basically how a human body interacts with their work environment, ”explained Jerry Dzugan, director of the Sitka-based the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA). AMSEA is using a...
After only 2-1/2 months on the job, Bruce Jones, Petersburg Indian Association Tribal Administrator was fired by a 4-2 vote of the tribal council on Tuesday night. Jones was hired on August 1 of this year. Jones did not give a reason for his firing and referred questions to his attorney John Hoag. Tribal member Ronelle Beardslee told the Pilot she and other tribal members will be seeking legal council to determine their next move. “I’m very disappointed the board didn’t support their triba... Full story
Once again, incorrect information was cited to justify opposition to the formation of a Petersburg Borough. Tom Reinarts wrote in a published letter that Wrangell’s borough government had added 29 employees since its formation. In two letters in this week’s Pilot, both Reinarts and Wrangell’s Borough Manager correct the information stated in last week’s letters column. In September, letter writer George Cole apologized for an error where he stated the Petersburg Borough could raise sales taxes without a vote of the people. The Pilot has a f...
An irresistible source of borough revenue To the Editor: I find it inconceivable that anyone in Petersburg would even consider voting “yes” for the borough petition which gives the Borough Assembly the power to levy personal property tax without a vote (page 4, subsection 11-B). This would include taxing cars and private and commercial boats. Because fishing is so vital to the local economy many believe that the possibility of personal property tax on boats is very remote. But how remote is it when borough costs are projected to exceed the reve...
Sales tax apology To the Editor: I need to correct an error I perpetuated. I had been under the impression that the proposed Petersburg Borough could raise the sales tax rate without a vote of the people. This error was a result of my misreading Note 3 on page 37 of the petition wherein it says: “For years two through four, an annual 1% increase in Sales Tax has been considered.” I initially read this to mean the petitioners were ready and able to raise the sales tax rate from 6% to 9% over that 3-year period. A careful reading of the pro...
Jobs are being put on the fast track in Bristol Bay, with a focus on careers that go hand in hand with the region’s culture and economy: commercial fishing and seafood processing. “The fishery is our largest industry; it’s the backbone of the economy here,” said Patty Heyano, Program Development Director for the Bristol Bay Native Association in Dillingham. “So it made a whole lot of sense to concentrate on that. It seemed like we could make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time because the industry is already here.” Heyano is r...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — The captain of a state ferry made a maneuvering error in strong currents that couldn't be corrected before the Matanuska slammed into a seafood company's dock when sailing into Petersburg. Those are the findings of state report into the May 7 accident that caused significant damage to the Ocean Beauty Seafoods' dock. Captain M. Scott Macaulay has more than 29 years' experience as a deck officer with the ferry system. He performs relief work on various ships, and this was the third time he captained the Matanuska in the p...
Made my day To the Editor: A heartfelt thank you to the person who found my wallet on Hungry Point Trail and turned it in to the police. Many thanks, you made my day. Andrea Turner Mounds View, MN Correct title To the Editor: Regarding an article, "Flames claim home Sunday evening," published in the May 31 edition of the Petersburg Pilot, I noticed the reporter referred to the responders as Petersburg Fire Department. The name of that organization is Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department. While it may have been a simple writing-on-deadline...
Vikings baseball swept a home series against Craig, Wrangell, and Juneau JV last weekend. The first game, against the Juneau JV on Thursday, was a six to five Vikings win. Colby Bell started on the mound for Petersburg through the first four innings and gave up only three hits and four runs, and struck out eight Juneau batters. Dalton Small pitched the 5th and the 6th innings. The ball game was tied four to four in the 6th and 7th innings, and Juneau scored off an error. Taylor Pullar was first...
Viking baseball went on the road last weekend. skipping the planned stop in Wrangell because of a flu outbreak on the Wolves team, and heading straight to Ketchikan for three games. The first game was a five to nothing win over the Ketchikan JV. Taylor Pullar pitched that complete game. “He pitched a shutout, scattering five hits over seven innings, with 11 strikeouts and only walking three guys. He had complete control over the strike zone,” said Petersburg Head Coach Jim Engell. Def...
Issues with biomass use To the Editor: The Southeast Integrated Resource Plan comment period ends March 19. The SEIRP lays out various scenarios for conversion to alternative sources of heat energy for the region. We believe the plan wrongly favors conversion to biomass sources of heat energy while ignoring or downplaying the effectiveness of other alternatives. The plan calls for an 80% conversion from oil and electric heat across the region to wood pellet stoves and boilers. It largely ignored the use of heat pumps as a highly effective and e...
A claim for unemployment insurance benefits made pages of Petersburg Indian Association emails and financial statements public last week, and reveals reasons why two employees and four board of director members resigned last October. Susan Harai was the director of the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) program for the PIA and claimed there was a $300,000 to $360,000 deficit and discrepancy involving the IRR grant monies, according to the report of the State Employment Security Division’s f... Full story
PIA Tribal Administrator Will Ware on Wednesday rebutted information made public when former employee Susan Harai appeared at a public hearing for unemployment benefits on Feb. 9. “I was perplexed and surprised,” at the accusations made against me at the hearing, Ware said. “It was character assassination.” The allegations of missing Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) grant money being used for other PIA projects was based upon, “misinterpretations and mislabeling of accounts,” according t... Full story
