Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 169
Buschmann Park in downtown Petersburg received a long awaited addition last Friday. The bronze sculpture named "Everything starts with a dream" by local artist Eric Larson was installed. "It's a huge relief, I was apprehensive taking it down there, but then once it went in it was like 'oh, yeah,'" Larson says with a chuckle. Larson estimates the piece weighs around 700 pounds, and there is still some electric work to do until it can be officially unveiled later this year at the Little Norway... Full story
January-June January Petersburg School Superintendent Lisa Stroh resigned from her position citing family medical issues as her reason for leaving although communication between borough staff and student letters indicated turmoil between Stroh and school staff. Two third and fourth grade elementary students published their own class newspapers. Former Petersburg School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen was sentenced to 12 years in prison for Distribution, Receipt and Possession of... Full story
The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce announced this week that they have hired John Havrilek as the new Administrative Manager of the organization. He replaces Cindi Lagoudakis who resigned in August. Havrilek will assume the administrative duties of the organization and work with the 11-person board of directors in fulfilling the chamber's community-wide mission. President Seth Scrimsher expressed appreciation to Lagoudakis for her work the past 20-months and welcomed Havrilek, who began his...
Locals Al and Sally Dwyer not only got to meet the king of Norway, but invited him to come check out Petersburg. The couple met King Harald V on May 27 during an Alaska World Affairs Council luncheon. They, and others, also joined him for an evening event. Al was the first to receive an email from the Anchorage Sons of Norway lodge about the opportunity, and then Sally as the cultural director for the district. They had to get credentials and Sally was selected to join just a handful of people...
May 22, 1915 – B.F. Watson, traveling agent for the Pacific Alaska Navigation Company, visited about town during the stay of the Admiral Evans in port Thursday morning. Mr. Watson suggests that this would be just the right season of the year to start construction of a cold-storage plant in Petersburg. May 24, 1940 – A group of local women will sponsor a one o'clock dessert bridge (pinochle and court whist party) Wednesday afternoon, May 29 at the Sons of Norway Hall. Those not wishing to play cards may bring sewing or knitting. The adm...
Lop the Loop 7K Results Saturday, May 16, 2015 Top Male Finishers Joseph Tompkins 27:24.85 Keith Billi 29:43.95 Kolt Sperl 30:19.72 Top Female Finishers Marketa Ith 33:48.70 Makayla Newman 34:21.22 Rachel Cramer 34:45.86 8-14 Age Division (Males) Koren Sperl 32:59.41 Lance Kittams 37:36.07 15-29 Age Division (Males) Soren Thompson 30:25.20 Kyle Hagerman 36:40.35 Freddy Yip 37:15.27 30-39 Age Division (Males) Michael Riley 30:26.10 Seth Eisenhower 32:05.29 Ryan Haug 32:21.20 40-49 Age Division...
The Vikings and Valkyries of Petersburg will soon be wandering the streets again, participating in the Little Norway Festival’s biggest schedule yet. This year’s celebration of Norwegian heritage, Syttende Mai (May 17, the day Norway’s Constitution was signed in 1814), Armed Forces Day, the upcoming fishing season and spring will feature a couple of new events, Little Norway Festival Committee Chair Janet Holten said. The Devil’s Thumb Shooters Petersburg Rod and Gun Club will be holding a raffle to support students headed to the state shoot i... Full story
It's got humor, romance, revenge and redemption. The Mitkof Mummers Theater Company's "Shipwreck on Cannery Island" hits the stage next week during the Little Norway Festival. It's writer/director Orin Pierson and co-writer Mary Koppes' first play, and a portion of proceeds will go toward the Mummers' newly founded Vara Wright Memorial Scholarship for high school students who plan to continue performing arts in college. Wright, a Mitkof Mummers founder who wrote and directed their plays for... Full story
Petersburg hosted and won the state's first co-ed vs. co-ed roller derby bout Saturday night, and "oh my gosh, it was so great," Devil's Club Co-Captain Rebecca Anderson said of the experience. The Southeast team, comprised of Petersburg and Wrangell skaters, defeated Fairbanks' Frozen Chosen 182-165 in the Petersburg High School gym. Devil's Co-Captain Shawna Buness, of Wrangell, said the co-ed bout "was really exciting for how new derby is in Southeast." The men who normally referee the game... Full story
January More than 600 Petersburg residents signed up for the borough's recycling program. The Petersburg Land Selection Committee requested the borough pursue legislative action regarding the State's calculation of land entitlement for the Petersburg Borough after the committee's determination that the State's selection of land was inadequate. The Petersburg School Board approved a $2.3 million exterior wall renovation project for the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School. Petersburg School District... Full story
The Petersburg Borough assembly unanimously approved moving forward with police and municipal building remodel design and construction plans. The $506,654 plans and design will help lock in construction costs and get the project shovel ready, which Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht said helps the borough when it lobbies for capital project funding during next year’s legislative session. Giesbrecht estimated a project shortfall of around $4.7 million for the renovation of the police station, jail and municipal offices. That cost does not i...
Mandy Kivisto opened up a new photography studio as the Little Norway Festival kicked off last week. Kivisto has only been seriously into photography for two years, but since then her photos have been published in Alaska Magazine and Alaska Airlines Magazine, and she's earned a handful of awards for her work. The name of Kivisto's business, Altered Perceptions Studio, was inspired by the experience of looking into the view finder of a camera she got for Christmas two years ago. "I hadn't had a...
In last weeks story entitled “Ragnarok Rollers host first official bout during Little Norway Festival”, it was stated that heckling is encouraged. Heckling is, in fact, not encouraged during Ragnarok Roller Derby bouts. The Pilot regrets the error....
This year's Little Norway Festival will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Norwegian Constitution on May 17, 1814. Mayfest began in Petersburg more than 50 years ago and Janet Holten, Chair of the Little Norway Festival, said it has grown ever since. "In 1958 when Alma Wallen and Bernadine Trones founded the festival, I don't know if they would have ever dreamed that it is as big as it is now," Holten said. "It was to mark the coming of spring, the sending off of the fleet,... Full story
The Petersburg roller derby team has been practicing and gearing up all winter and spring for such an event but what should derby spectators expect? “They should expect to see a bunch of women in really tight pants skating around in circles hitting each other,” said Roller’s head coach Rebecca Anderson. Anderson said roller derby bouts are similar to football games. “Take a football field and imagine both teams are lined up at one goal line,” Anderson said. “Imagine that both quarterbacks, instead of passing the ball, the quarterback... Full story
May 16, 1914 – Considerable interest has been aroused in medical circles in Germany by a man who can swallow small animals and return them alive. The doctors supposed that performances of this characters, which are frequently given at county fairs, were tricks by which the eye of the onlooker was in one way or another deceived. In this case, however, a medical practitioner of the highest standing reports that the animals were undoubtedly taken into the stomach. May 17, 1974 Celebrating the Pilot's 40th Year – The 17th annual Little Norway Fes...
May 9, 1914 – One week from tomorrow the local Norwegian people, not to be outdone by their mother country, will celebrate the one-hundredth-year since they separated from the inglorious union with Denmark and re-established the old kingdom of Norway with a constitution as democratic, if not more so perhaps, as any republican form of government now in existence. For a year or more Norway has been preparing for this celebration of national independence. Commencing on May 15 to October 15, an exposition is planned to exploit the wonderful a...
March 28, 1914 – Recently, the Postmaster General approved an amendment to the parcel post regulations under which butter, eggs, fruits, vegetables and other articles in parcels weighing from twenty to fifty pounds may be shipped in the first and second zone; in boxes or crates similar to those handled by the express companies. From Seattle, the postoffice department will have the automobile trucks recently inaugurated as the result of the investigation of the special efficiency committee which will greatly facilitate a prompt delivery. M...
Boaters mooring their vessels in Petersburg’s North Boat Harbor had to clear out by August 1 in preparation for the harbor dredging and reconstruction project. Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen says the first phase of the process will be to remove the harbor’s floats and pilings. The Army Corps of Engineers contracted out to Sitka’s S&S General Contractors to dredge the North Harbor along with the basin in front of Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Icicle Seafoods. Dredging is scheduled to begin September 1... Full story
Dean John Weeden, 82, passed away on July 17, 2013 at St. Mary's Assisted Living in Eureka, Mont. He was born on November 7, 1930 in Lynn, Mass. to Dagny Thoresen and John Sven Weeden (Widen). Age five to seventeen he lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his mother and step-father Ole Olsen. Dean hopped a train out west when he was seventeen years old launching his first job in the Forest Service doing seasonal work in Idaho. In 1951 he served in the Air Force as a Surgery Technician for the 452 Bomb...
