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For the first time in their program history, the Mitkof Middle School Robotics team qualified and competed in the national competition on June 13 – 15 in Boston. Forty-eight states and 28 countries across the world such as Japan, China, Korea and more were represented at this meet. In the weeks leading up to the meet the robotics team worked with researchers from Oregon State University to refine their ROVs. "We added a motor that releases our little arms that grab onto the glacier surfaces a...
May 7 - An officer assisted EMS. Carrie Peterson, 68, and Jeremy Hicks, 25, were both cited for failing to stop for a school bus. Officers responded to a parking complaint in Middle Harbor. An attempted identity theft was reported to an officer. Suspicious behavior was reported on Mitkof Highway. May 8 - A high water alarm was reported on Skylark Way. Wastewater (WW) was notified and responded. An officer responded to a parking complaint on N 3rd St. The owners of the vehicles were notified and responded. David Estes, 34, arrested for...
This past weekend, the Mitkof middle school and Petersburg high school had an opportunity to come together for an intersquad track and field meet. Historically, Petersburg's track program has lagged behind when it comes to track facility and equipment. From a gravel oval space for running to a rigid, old boardwalk connecting with a rough sandpit for long jumpers, the conditions have not been ideal. But some improvements have been made in recent years. "We brought in some new rock two years ago...
The Mitkof Middle School wrestling team recently wrapped up their season at regions in Juneau with strong results. "Gunner Cisney, he's been wrestling for a long time and he's been in the finals all three years of middle school, or he would've been but he had an injury default," head coach Mike Corl said. "He was feeling some real good promise for some excellent wrestling this past weekend." Eight-grader Cisney was dealing with a back injury that he suffered during a Wrangell tournament in...
The Mitkof Middle School Lego Robotics team recently competed in the state competition in Anchorage. The tournament was composed of 29 schools across Alaska, and Petersburg's team placed fourth overall, qualifying – for the first time ever –for the national meet held in Worcester, Massachusetts, in June. Petersburg's team's remotely operated vehicle project took first place in the category for innovation to help solve real world problems. Innovation was one of the four categories the team com...
Mitkof Middle School students put their engineering skills to the test Tuesday in an underwater robotics competition, marking the culmination of a project that brought together students, parents, and community volunteers. Science teacher Hannah Smith's sixth and seventh-grade students assembled remote operated vehicles (ROVs) nearly from scratch before competing in events including speed races, obstacle challenges, and debris cleanup at the Petersburg Community Pool. "Everyone had three class pe...
January 2024 A prized Mental Health Trust lot by Blind River Rapids, a popular recreation site for sport fishing, was sold at auction to a USCG family. Toler and Jessie Alexander are eager to return to Petersburg after retiring from the Coast Guard in a few years. The borough listed its top priority capital projects, and the Petersburg Medical Center replacement was first and second on the list – for the main hospital construction and the main hospital interior build out. Petersburg Indian A...
Petersburg's student-run nonprofit movie theater, the Northern Nights Theater, has run out of reserves and will have to make some changes starting in January. The last few years have been very challenging and expensive for the organization. Sitting unused through the early stages of the pandemic led to major malfunctions with the movie projector, Theater Manager Cyndy Fry told the Pilot. "We basically had to buy the whole computer guts of the system, [and then] because of that change we had to...
Chris Herren, a former NBA player and renowned addiction recovery speaker is flying in on Wednesday, Dec. 5 to speak with Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School students and share his eye-opening journey from success to addiction to recovery. Once a high school basketball star recruited to play in college and then two seasons in the NBA, Herren's promising career was derailed by addiction. His story has been documented in the memoir, "Basketball Junkie" and in "Unguarded," an...
Over the past weekend, Petersburg hosted the 2024 Middle School Basketball Stikine Tournament. Klawock, Craig and Wrangell participated in this tournament. There were two divisions, with Boys and Girls A and B brackets. This tournament consisted of 99 players and 23 [Viking] cheerleaders. "We ended up pulling off 25 games. We had 16 pool play games and nine championship bracket games," Petersburg Athletic Director Jaime Cabral said. The Stikine Tournament has been rotating every year between Cra...
Jaime Cabral, Petersburg Athletics Director for the past 14 years, has made it his mission to orchestrate as many home athletic events as possible for Petersburg. Hosting the events involves a great deal of work but doing so brings numerous benefits to the community. "Having home events helps the community financially – bringing that business into the community," said Cabral. Many local families are not able to travel with their student athletes to support their away game efforts. "We don't h...
Petersburg students return to class this Tuesday, and students and families will experience some changes to Petersburg School District policies this academic year. The local school board reviews the student handbooks for Stedman Elementary School, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School every year and makes updates as deemed necessary. Language in the Stedman handbook about dress code was added to include a "three-finger rule" for tank tops to advise the width of sleeves should be about...
Jill Lenhard moved to Ketchikan last August to take a teaching job at Ketchikan High School, but she – and her husband, music teacher Matt Lenhard – both got caught up in this year's teacher layoffs that impacted public school districts across the state. Fortunately for Petersburg, this meant the perfect candidate was unexpectedly available to fill a new teaching vacancy at Mitkof Middle School. Lenhard had spent over 20 years in Petersburg as a vital component of the school district's Eng...
The question of whether to approve a multi-million dollar bond for "critical major maintenance and safety capital improvements" at the school may come before voters this fall. Petersburg Borough Assembly heard an ordinance introducing the proposed bond at their meeting on July 1; a public hearing about the bond proposal ordinance will take place during its next reading. The bond amount initially described in the ordinance included $4.5 million dollars to cover the borough's share of the state...
For the next few years, school meals will be free to all students enrolled in Petersburg School District. All three school sites in PSD now qualify for the USDA Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to student families because the meals are ultimately reimbursed by money from the federal government. PSD Food Program Director Carlee Johnson McIntosh managed the administrative push for getting the CEP. "It's such a great need ... I've seen it...
On Saturday, the Petersburg Community Foundation (PCF) granted over $26,000 to nine Petersburg nonprofits and awarded Volunteer of the Year to Jim Stolpe. The Petersburg Community Foundation formed in 2008 as a local affiliate of the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF). PCF continues to grow its community grant-making endowment fund, thanks to the support of the Rasmuson Foundation, ACF, and generous local charitable giving. Every year, dividends from its investments are used to provide financial...
PMEA supports the teachers union To the Editor: We, the members of the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association Union (PMEA), support the Associated Teachers of Petersburg Union (ATP). As fellow public servants and advocates for quality education, we recognize the vital role that teachers and staff play in shaping the future of our community. We stand firmly behind the ATP in their current ongoing negotiations for a fair and equitable labor agreement. We believe that investing in our teachers is an investment in the future of Petersburg....
The middle school wrestling season just officially wrapped up, although for the Mitkof Vikings it was over a couple weeks ago since none of our wrestlers were able to pay their way to state. That was especially disappointing for Drew Beavers, who placed 2nd at the regional meet in Ketchikan. Looking back at the season, Petersburg hosted the Stikine Invitational meet less than two weeks after winter break, and Viking wrestlers performed strong against the fifty or so visiting wrestlers. In the...
Tonight at the Sid and Vera Wright Auditorium, Petersburg High School's theater program will debut its production of "Peter and the Starcatcher," directed by Elsa Wintersteen. She described the play as "an exciting show full of heart, humor and a sprinkle of whimsy." The Tony Award winning play is based on the 2004 novel "Peter and the Starcatchers" by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, the play serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie's classic tale, "Peter and Wendy...
Emilie Mae Sperl, 47 Emilie Mae Sperl passed peacefully from this world on January 6, 2024. Emilie was born July 1, 1976 to Dennis and Dorothy (Bentley) Sperl in Petersburg, Alaska. She was the third of six adventurous children and her early years were spent with her family at their homestead at Green Rocks "across the bay." In the house her dad built they gardened, raised animals, fished and foraged. Emilie was very excited to be able to start school at Rae C Stedman Elementary. On most days,... Full story
In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...
The Petersburg School District recently enhanced security measures at Stedman Elementary, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School. As of Nov. 27, the front doors of PHS and MMS lock after classes begin at 8:05 a.m. Doorbells with cameras and an intercom system are installed on the front doors, alongside signage to clearly direct people who may try to access the building. Office staff can now see who is ringing the doorbell, which allows them to assess and approve people before allowing them to enter for better security. During the Nov....
August 23 – An officer responding to a report of suspicious activity on Fram Street determined it was non-criminal. An officer responded to a 911 hang-up call from Hungerford Hill Road. An officer conducted a welfare check on North 4th Street. The Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of fraudulent activity. An officer conducted a welfare check in South Boat Harbor. An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with a person who fell at the Crane Dock. An officer responding to a report of theft on Lumber Street d...
It's the start of a fresh season for Petersburg High School's Cross Country team, marking the beginning of a new era under the team's incoming head coach, Casey Gates. With a community race under their belts and a first meet in Klawock coming up this weekend, Gates and this year's PHS team are ready and excited to put themselves to the test. "Looking at [our race] times, I really think that we've just scratched the surface of what we're capable of," said Gates. "I think that we're going to...
The Petersburg School District approved the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) six-year plan at the first meeting of the academic year August 15. It is a long term plan that is vital to secure state funding for major maintenance and building capital projects. The facility committee met with Borough Building Official and Code Enforcement Officer Ray Wesebaum, Southeast Regional Resource Center representative David Landis, and school board member Jay Lister to review and discern priorities for a six-year plan. So far, there are five projects on the...
