Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 1823
The Petersburg High School baseball team started their season swinging in Sitka last weekend, playing six games against regional challengers and potential state tournament opponents. The games were limited to 1 hour and 45 minutes each and had a maximum pitch count of 25 per inning to keep players fresh during the invitational. "All in all I'm really pleased with where we're at," Head Coach Jim Engell said. "Defensively we need to work on some things, and we did yesterday in practice, but...
It was standing room only at the Helmi Jenson community room of the public library last Wednesday, where the attractions were practically flying off the shelf. Jake the red-tailed hawk and Owlison the great horned owl were in the house, accompanied by avian director Jenn Cedarleaf and avian care specialist Hannah Blanke from the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka. Invited as part of the Rainforest Festival, they had visited Petersburg schools for kids from preschool through high school, appeared for...
On March 22, 2023 Petersburg High School graduate Airman Basic Orrin H. A. Mergenthal successfully completed basic training for honorable service in the U.S. Air Force. He has since proceeded to technical school at Sheppard Airforce Base, Wichita Falls, Texas, to pursue his greatest passion, metals technology....
Over 200 people from across Alaska, the Lower 48, and Canada converged on Thunder Mountain High School last weekend to compete in the 2023 Traditional Games where Petersburg's team took first place overall in the middle school division. The Traditional Games, also referred to as the Native Youth Olympics, is an annual competition put on by Coach Kyle Kaayák'w Worl and Sealaska Heritage Institute composed of events based on hunting and survival skills of the Indigenous peoples of Alaska and the...
Petersburg High School students are spending their afternoons running, jumping, and throwing in the build up to their first track and field meet of the season. The team has been in practice for two weeks as students hone their skills in the cold, wet weather of early spring. "With running it's not about just super intensity all the time, it's about building a base and that's what we're doing currently," Head Coach James Valentine said. Over 20 students have joined the team including seniors...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team racked up two more individual accolades following the conclusion of their season at the state championships last month. Jack Engell was named to the 2A boys all-state second team and Kyle Biggers was named to the 2A boys all-state third team as voted on by the Alaska Association of Basketball Coaches. "I am so happy that both Kyle and Jack were recognized by the coaches around the state for the excellent season that they had this year," Head Coach...
Aubrey Shaquanie, left, and Frank Gordon were step-brothers and teammates on the Petersburg High School State Championship basketball team in 1929. After playing in a 1927 game with the crew of the USCG Cutter Unalga, the local paper said they had the ability to score from almost any angle. Both from Kake, they'd previously attended Chemawa Indian School in Oregon. Frank eventually returned to Kake, married teacher Beatrice Wilson, and went on to serve in local government and as a Tlingit and...
If one member of a family is ill, the family is ill The the Editor: I submit the following letter, meant to be a holiday letter to friends and family. The following is an offering meant to enlighten our community regarding the trainwreck that is this dastardly disease of dementia that can hit an average family like ours. Her mind was clear and strong once, though some may have been uncertain when I was chosen, but she knew her way to love, and maybe I was in or maybe on her way. Sitting next to her in a 1962 college speech class was the...
March 22 – Property found on Mitkof Highway was turned in to the Petersburg Police Department (PPD). An officer assisted an individual with a civil matter on North Nordic Drive. An officer responded to a report of suspicious activity on Howkan Street. A driver on South 3rd Street was issued a warning for license requirement. March 23 – A driver in the high school parking lot was issued a warning for speed. PPD received property lost on South Nordic Drive. An officer responded to a report of a suspicious individual but was unable to locate the...
With the coming of spring, the Petersburg High School baseball team took the field this week for practices as the start of the season fast approaches. The team aspires to repeat last year's feat of reaching the state championship game, but this time around they want to take that extra step and win it all. "Our goal is to be on a trajectory to get back and win that game," Head Coach Jim Engell said. "It wasn't in our grasp but it was there, it was close, we could taste it and we didn't get it....
On September first Dr. Jennifer (Jen) Hyer will begin an eighteen month sabbatical from the Petersburg Medical Center to sail from San Diego to New Zealand with her family. When she and her husband, Chris Hyer, first started dating twenty-seven years ago, Chris gave Jen the book "Dove," about a boy who sailed around the world, and told her it was a dream of his. She was immediately on board and boats have been a constant in their lives ever since. Their first home together was a 30' Sundowner...
Petersburg High School graduate Izabelle Ith was announced as one of the eleven members of the Alaska High School Hall of Fame Class of 2023 earlier this month. The Hall of Fame honors individuals who exhibited integrity while achieving excellence in high school athletics and activities according to the Alaska School Activities Association. During her high school career, Ith was a leader on the track, in the pool, and in the classroom. Ith won four state track titles in the 100-meter hurdles...
March 23, 1923 – Adrift in the waters of the north Pacific Ocean for exactly one year, to the day, a bottle thrown overboard from the steamer Belgium Maru was picked up on the beach at Totem Bay this week by Roald Olsen and delivered to T.S. Elsemore, deputy in charge of the local Customs office. The bottle was thrown overboard by the Captain of the steamer on the 19th day of March 1922, and was found on the 19th day of March 1923 by Olsen. It contained a notice to the U.S. Hydrographic Office with the information that it was cast overboard at...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team closed out its season at the ASAA State Championships last weekend in Anchorage, finishing fifth in the 2A tournament. "My first thought is that we 100% absolutely belonged there," Head Coach Rick Brock said. "I was real happy we went, glad just because they worked so hard and it's an honor and a privilege to go up there and I'm so happy we got the at-large bid and then played well up there." The Vikings earned their spot with a 58-55 win in the...
Harper Tasche Jordan, 61, died at his home in Kent, Washington on March 6, 2023. Tasche Mark Daniel Jordan was born March 29, 1961 in Chehalis, Washington, to Paul and Frieda Jordan. Growing up in beautiful rural Petersburg influenced his lifelong passions for music and nature; he composed and recorded a soundtrack for the U.S. Forest Service at age 13, and learned to play all the instruments in his high school band's storage room. Harper graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree... Full story
The Petersburg High School cheer squad took center stage last weekend, winning the 2A Region V Cheer Championship at Thunder Mountain High School during the regional basketball tournament. First-year Coach Andrea Weathers said it took a lot of work over the season to get to where they were at regions and that the competition was a "huge learning opportunity." The nine-member team was made up of Jonas Anderson, Lakell Deinhardt, Kaden Duke, Nya Eby, Becky Fisher, Meghan O'Soup, Lillith Odegaard,...
Alaska school districts are scrambling to prepare for the new programs and policies outlined under the Alaska Reads Act that are set to go into effect next school year. The act has little funding attached to it and its implementation comes after three years of education interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which have left some questioning if districts will be able to meet all that it requires in the short time they have to prepare. Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the act in June 2022 in an...
Mary Clemens and Bill Moulton have teamed up for the fourth time to share their love of country swing dance and the two-step by teaching a recent class at the Mitkof Dance Troupe's studio. Clemens explains, "Two-step is slow and swing is fast. It's different steps. Bill makes it look easy because he's a good lead. It really makes a difference if the guy knows how to get you to do what they want you to do." Moulton says, "There are five basic moves to learn, then you build on those to learn the...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team competed in the regional tournament last week, playing three games over four days. Though the Vikings ultimately fell against Metlakatla in the championship game and against Wrangell in the runner up game, Petersburg booked its ticket to the state tournament through an at-large bid. In their first game of the regional tournament, the Vikings beat Wrangell in a tight 32-31 victory. "We were able to keep ourselves in that game by holding down their...
The Petersburg High School girls basketball team ended its season at the regional tournament in Juneau last weekend after losing in both of their appearances. "The kids definitely played hard, I thought that they left everything out on the court," Head Coach Dino Brock said. The Lady Vikings lost their first game against local rivals Wrangell 48-10 as Kiara Harrison led the Lady Wolves with 17 points. Petersburg played well defensively to start the game but struggled to make baskets and trailed...
Petersburg Elks Lodge hosted a dinner and awards ceremony last Thursday to honor the kids who participated in their annual Hoop Shoot. Andy Worhatch, the Elks Lodge Hoop Shoot director, explained that at the competition each child shoots twenty-five free throws, then the local lodge winners' stats are sent to State Hoop Shoot Director Dena Sessler in Eagle River to determine the winners at the state level. Worhatch estimates the local competition goes back to 1978 or so, "Somewhere around...
James Chase Swainson was born on August 27, 1967 in Ellensburg, Washington to Jim Swainson and Susan Goettlicher. James split his time living between both parents – traveling between Alaskan towns to live with his dad Jimmy and stepmom Sparky in Petersburg, with his mother Susan and stepfather Tom Larson in Sitka, and later with his mother and stepfather Mark Goettlicher in Anchorage. After graduating from East High School in Anchorage, James moved to Seattle and lived in the University District... Full story
In a change of plans from just a few weeks ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System reports it lacks enough crew to operate the Kennicott this summer. The loss of the Kennicott from the schedule likely would mean dropping service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and the loss of two additional port calls in Petersburg each month, May through September. It also could jeopardize state ferry service to Yakutat on the cross-gulf route, and abandoning plans to run the Kennicott to Bellingham, Washington, once a month to help move the heavy load of su...
March 2, 1923 – Our small but busy little town is some burg. We own our own water works and light plant. We have one of the largest salmon canneries in Southeastern Alaska. This cannery has for the past five years had an average pack of 100,000 cases. We also have two shrimp canneries, employing six boats and 120 people. We have one crab cannery employing six boats and about 20 people. We have three machine shops and two public docks. The Standard Oil Company has one of its largest stations here with a dock of their own. We have three large m...
The Petersburg High School boys basketball team faced the Wrangell Wolves on the road last weekend, taking one win and one loss from the trip. "Anytime you can walk away with a split on the road that's a good thing," Head Coach Rick Brock said. The Vikings were beaten 52-49 after pushing the game into overtime on Friday night. Daniel Harrison led Wrangell's scoring with 15 points while Jack Engell made 22 and Kyle Biggers put up 19 for Petersburg. The Vikings took an early lead but followed...
