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September 11, 1925 – The Petersburg schools show a large increase in enrollment this year. The elementary school’s enrollment has grown by 27 per cent and the high school will be the largest Petersburg has ever had with an increased enrollment of nearly 100 per cent. A great many of the additional pupils are children of people who have moved to Petersburg during the summer, demonstrating that the town is growing from without. Petersburg is now one of the largest Territorial schools, surpassed in numbers only by Ketchikan, Juneau, Anchorage and...
Petersburg Medical Center is launching a new cohort of its on-the-job training Certified Nursing Assistant program next Monday, offering people in Petersburg a valuable opportunity to get paid while earning a professional healthcare certification in just five weeks. "We hire people who say they want to become a CNA, and then we pay them while they're taking the class," explained Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Bryner. "At the end of the class, if it's a good match, then we would offer a... Full story
Whether it's online strangers sending kids messages in Roblox, scammers phishing for passwords, or artificial intelligence platforms targeting young people with relationships that can distort how an entire generation views human connection - families with children and teens are facing new kinds of online safety challenges. New digital dangers exist as the results of tools and devices that "were released to the public without long-term studies or clear guidelines, leaving families and schools to...
The Petersburg High School Cross Country team continued to surge through the season, with the latest stop being the Metlakatla Invitational this past weekend where the Petersburg girls team finished first overall and the boys team took second. "The girls, they really do have that chemistry, they all are really close. I really think that has something to do with winning this meet and also working hard in practices," said assistant coach Keely Ware. "All of them push each other and they're always...
New season, new personal bests for the Petersburg High School Swim and Dive team this past weekend — with several swimmers attaining new PRs — in their first meet of the season in Craig. “I didn’t really have real clear expectations but they raced real well,” head coach Andy Carlisle said. “Everybody got at least one PR.” Petersburg senior swimmer Logan Tow got out to a strong start in his first meet, setting a new personal record in the boys 50 freestyle, with a time of 22 seconds, an improvement of -0.53 seconds and the men’s 100 freestyle,...
New York's Manhattan Island is surrounded by the East River, the Harlem River, and the Hudson River - all three are tidal estuaries that create a natural 28.5-mile open water course around the island. In 1915, a lone swimmer first completed this circuit, now known as the 20 Bridges Swim, and since then only around 1,400 endurance athletes have successfully finished the marathon swim. On August 24, Abbey Jackson Ferree, of Petersburg, completed the 20 Bridges Swim in eight hours and 51 minutes -...
After 35 years working in local public radio - 27 years as general manager of KFSK in Petersburg - Tom Abbott has reached retirement. It'll just require a bit more crisis management before he can fully clock out. In an interview with the Pilot, Abbott said he provided KFSK's board of directors a resignation letter last year, with 18 months built in to pass the torch to the station's next manager. He hoped a successor could be hired and would arrive by this summer and the two could work together...
The Petersburg will host its second annual live music swing dance benefit concert in the Elks Ballroom on Saturday, Sept. 27, with free Lindy Hop dance lessons being offered this month leading up to the fundraiser. The event will benefit The Petersburg Arts Council, The Market in Petersburg which will be providing mocktails, and the Petersburg High School Drama program who are providing appetizers. Matthew Wintersteen, who teaches the swing dance lessons with Elsa Wintersteen, said the Tuesday...
Heading into new territory, the Petersburg High School Cross Country team were unfamiliar with the Hoonah course. This was the first time the Vikings have run in Hoonah. Petersburg has some lengthy hills but Hoonah has several long, steep and muddy hills. It was a challenge that the Vikings roared past. Petersburg senior runner Gaje Ventress has gotten off to a strong start through two meets. Ventress has finished top 5 in the first two meets, with this one, he finished third (out of 75), with...
Petersburg's school buildings and surrounding area were on lockdown for over an hour Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 26, after police received a report of a person with an AR-15 gun and multiple magazines in a school bathroom. The Petersburg Police Department, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement responded and secured the area. Officers found no real threat on the premises and determined it was a false report. "I'm sure people were alarmed, but rest assured it's safe and...
Newly college graduate Trinity Edwards grew up in Winnifred, Montana, population 150, and was looking for a place like Petersburg - a tight-knit community that supports its schools - as the place to start her teaching career. "I wanted a school that's going to be supported by the community," Edwards says. "Back home, our big thing was basketball too - the entire town showing up for games. It was going to be really important for me to have a community that was supportive of the school - like...
After 16 years in special education and a recent year teaching in one of Alaska's most remote villages, Jocelynne Parker is bringing her passion for those needing extra support to Petersburg High School. Parker comes to Petersburg from Houston, Texas, by way of Nuiqsut, a village of 600 people on Alaska's North Slope, where she taught PreK through 12th grade special education for the past year. The transition from Houston to the Arctic Circle was dramatic, but Parker connected with the culture...
The Petersburg High School Cross Country team embarked on their title defense with a fast start at the Milk Run Classic this past weekend. In a highly competitive first meet that included teams such as Craig, Hoonah, Ketchikan, Klawock, Sitka and Wrangell, the Vikings left nothing in the tank. "Overall, awesome performance! I was really happy with how the kids did this weekend," head coach Casey Gates said. "They performed as well as I would've hoped for and, honestly better." For the boys team,...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved moving forward with a $700,000 sewer line repair project at the Petersburg Aquatic Center during its Monday meeting. The vote authorizes the borough to seek bids for replacing approximately 150 feet of sewer lines beneath the slab concrete floors of the aquatic center's locker rooms, where drains have become disconnected from the main sewer system. "We have a few lines, especially in the family locker room, that are plugged completely with...
At the Petersburg fire station, Heather Bauscher sat waiting for an ambulance. She had a fake tourniquet on her arm, representing a lost limb. "I've got a small amount of time before I go into shock," she said. "So as soon as we get there, I'll start a timer, and they'll have a little bit of time to figure out what's going on with me." Bauscher was one of about a dozen Petersburg community members acting as victims in a staged mass casualty drill on Aug. 16. The drill, which was organized by Petersburg Emergency Services Director Aaron Hankins... Full story
August 14, 1925 – Petersburg needs a cold storage plant. There is enough money here to build a $50,000 plant through cooperative work. The general opinion is that it would pay from the start. To build a bigger plant it would be necessary to get outside money. Outside money wants local people to put up 40 to 60 per cent of the money and assume all the risks with whatever profits there are to going to them. A large plant, moreover, would mean a high-priced expert from outside and a much heavier overhead. A smaller plant could be managed in c...
After 17 years of shaping Petersburg's infrastructure, this has been the final week on the job for Public Works Director Chris Cotta before relocating to Florida, where he'll serve as Public Works Director in Tarpon Springs, a city on the Gulf Coast around the size of Juneau. As Cotta wraps up his tenure, Aaron Marohl-who has deep roots in the community-steps into the director role, inheriting an experienced crew and a long list of ongoing projects. From Florida to Petersburg and back Before...
Larry Arthur Matheny was born on February 24, 1943, to Beauford (Bill) and Pauline (Polly) Matheny in Juneau, Alaska. After Larry graduated from Juneau Douglas High School he went on to study Art and Design in Colorado before returning to Juneau and enlisting in the Army National Guard. During his 6-year enlistment Larry was briefly married to his first wife and had his son Lon Wayne Matheny. In 1971 Larry met Shirley Birchell in Juneau, Alaska, and they married on June 2, 1972, and together... Full story
The Right Reverend Mark Lattime, Episcopal Bishop of Alaska, was in Petersburg last Friday to hold the final service at St. Andrew's church on the corner of Excel and Third Streets, familiar to many as the longtime home of the Mitkof Dance Troupe, a non-profit dance program for children from pre-school through high school. St. Andrew's, established in 1949, has always had a small congregation and has for many years relied on Rector Dawn Allen-Herron's traveling from Ketchikan to Petersburg once...
The Petersburg Medical Center celebrated their 11th annual Pedal/Paddle Battle, raising a new high $24,201 with $15,000 from corporate sponsors and $8,501 by participants, to go towards scholarships and education. In previous years, the event has raised between $17,000-20,000. "[The corporate sponsors] led to why we got so much money this year. Participants raised over $8,000 just from family and friends, so that's significant too," Community Wellness and Public Relations Manager Julie Walker sa...
When Petersburg School District switched to science-based reading instruction three years ago, the results were nothing short of remarkable. At Stedman Elementary, kindergarten reading proficiency soared from 10% to 89% in a single year. First grade jumped from 24% to 74% proficient, while second grade improved from 38% to 61%. These dramatic gains – which significantly outperformed state and national averages – caught the attention of education researchers nationwide. Petersburg is now being fe...
Fredrick (Rick) Earl Thynes, 75, born June 30, 1950 to Erling and Jeanne Thynes in Petersburg, Alaska, died July 4, 2025 at his home in Ketchikan. He grew up, along with three younger brothers — Lloyd, Ken and Russell — in Petersburg and attended Petersburg Elementary and Petersburg High School, graduating in 1968. During high school, he met his future wife, Margie White, and they married July 12, 1969. They had two daughters, Kelly Lynn and Heather Kristen. Their first few months of mar... Full story
She's been a runner for the majority of her life, finding a deep connection with the activity, always looking for opportunities for the next competition, trail, etc. For Petersburg local Ashley Corl, running is her community. However, Corl went through some difficulties, with doubt stealthily entering her consciousness. "I'd been doing competitive running pretty much up until I got pregnant. I was really hard on myself during pregnancy and postpartum running because I wasn't as fast as the...
Rick Brock has opened the Petersburg High School gymnasium doors before dawn for 35 years, offering students a quiet place to work on their basketball skills before the school day begins. "I'm an early riser, so I've had the gym open in the mornings pretty much since I started coaching - hour to 45 minutes before the day begins," Brock said. It's a routine that reflects his belief about what can drive student athletes to succeed: "The ones that show up every morning and shoot baskets," he said,...
Nancy Claire Strand was born in Petersburg, Alaska, on June 20, 1945 to Claire and Erling Strand. As was the tradition in her youth, she worked in the canneries during the summers. She graduated from Petersburg High School in 1963 and briefly attended Oregon State University, but missed home and returned to Southeast Alaska and an internship with the Wrangell Sentinel. When she returned to Petersburg in her twenties, Nancy edited the Petersburg Press from December 9, 1966 through March 1967. It... Full story
