Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1898
Stephanie Pfundt has spent the better part of a decade building a career in classical music far from Petersburg - graduate school in Boston, performing across the East Coast, a produced opera in Massachusetts, a growing network of colleagues at some of the country's top music institutions. And now the award-winning Petersburg-born soprano is bringing a long-dreamed-of project to life and bringing chamber music home to Alaska. "This has been a project I've dreamt of for six years," Pfundt said....
My wife was in a meeting with a few lobbyists talking about attending a legislative fly-in in Juneau, and someone mentioned sneaking off to Eaglecrest while they were there. "Eaglecrest is the ski resort in Juneau, right?" someone else asked. A few others laughed, and said, "Ski resort? No. Eaglecrest is a ski area." And that about sums it up. Eaglecrest is the ski hill for a southeast Alaskan's soul. Lots of people wearing xtratufs around the lodge. No spa. No condos. No trouble finding a...
In last week’s story “Petersburg High School poets recite on KTOO,” the English teacher for the students Freya Tucker and Mette Miller was incorrectly identified as Tim Shumway. Jill Lenhard is actually their teacher this year in AP Language & Composition where they did the initial assignment in class and received extra credit for performing in the school-wide competition. The Pilot apologizes for that inaccuracy.... Full story
With spring (officially) underway, the Petersburg High School Track and Field team have hit the ground running with fierce and intense competition. Due to the extended winter Petersburg has seen, the team has mostly been focusing on conditioning and physically preparing themselves for the fast season. While the team has only been practicing for a little bit, head coach Casey Gates already has an idea of the potential strengths of this year's squad. "I think our strengths are going to be in...
Petersburg High School's baseball team will be looking to rebound after a winless campaign and missing the postseason. Unlike last season, this year's is more experienced. Head coach Jim Engell said the team boasts seven kids that are juniors and seniors. One of the big differences between this season and the previous one is the team boasts an eight man pitching rotation, which will be key for depth and postseason aspirations. "The year we took fourth at state, we were deeper pitching wise. The...
Karen Schramek was born in Portland Oregon April 9th, 1951 to Maxine and Roland Hayzlett. She grew up close to her older brother Steve, looking after her younger sisters and helping around the house. The family made many memories camping, visiting national parks, and on day trips to the Oregon Coast or Oregon mountain streams. Karen especially enjoyed fishing with her Dad. Karen joined Camp Fire Girls, eventually becoming a camp counselor near Mt. Hood for several summers. Her early experiences... Full story
Annette Carol Samuelson was born on October 27, 1944, to Mildred (Israelson) and Gainhart Samuelson in Petersburg, Alaska, where she would live her entire life. The second of six children, Annette was a born mama's helper. She loved her family deeply and her desire to do whatever she could for them informed her entire life. Her father, a fisherman, was rarely home. Even at a young age Annette recognized how hard Mildred worked to keep food on the table and to fill her family's childhood with... Full story
Two Petersburg poets took the stage at KTOO studios in Juneau earlier this month, as state finalists in the Poetry Out Loud recitation competition. Freya Tucker and Mette Miller had both memorized and recited poems in front of their high school English class as a required assignment from their teacher Jill Lenhard, then for extra credit they performed in front of the entire school. Then they submitted recordings of their recitations to the statewide competition. "We were thinking, it would...
Linda Caroline Reid Bell was born to Alex and Mary (Hungerford) Reid on August 21, 1952 at Petersburg General Hospital. Being the first girl after 5 boys, she was adored. Her sister was soon to follow, completing the family. Growing up in Scow Bay, she made wonderful friends and would laugh about riding the school bus with 17 other Reid kids. Summers were spent at "camp," usually Thomas Bay, living in the school house (on a float!). Linda was proud to be from a logging family and a lifelong... Full story
Mary Lou McKibben was born on August 7, 1944, in Wrangell, Alaska, to Lena (Ellis) and Al McKibben. The youngest of three children, she especially looked up to her big brother Skip. She grew up working with her parents on their power troller Mrs. Mac, and spending time at the family homestead on Farm Island up the Stikine River. Her family moved to Petersburg when she was in high school and, while she grew to love it, she was very proud of her Wrangell heritage and would always remember her... Full story
School funding has long been a balancing act, but now Petersburg stakeholders have been invited to weigh in on the Petersburg City School District budget by using the Balancing Act budget simulation tool. At the annual joint work session between the borough assembly and the school district, Shannon Baird, Director of Finance for PCSD, gave a walkthrough of the school budget situation for fiscal year 2027 and how the public can learn more about it and provide their suggestions through the balancing act tool. Balancing Act is an interactive...
All season long the Petersburg High School Cheer team was on a mission to claim their third regional title. With regionals this past weekend, they had their opportunity but It wasn't going to be easy. Their adjudication match was in the morning and while they got full support from the Pep band, they didn't have full crowd support compared to some of the other cheer squads there at later tip off times. This cheer squad also had little regional experience as 13 out of 16 members made their first...
Last year’s inaugural event went so well that organizers have booked a return flight for the Milk Run Music Festival to land in Wrangell on May 1-2. “Most of the plans are locked in,” said lead organizer Olivia Strano, which is not to say the festival is on auto pilot. Volunteers started planning this year’s event last August, she said, running raffles, soliciting donations and lining up music and vendors and games to make this year’s festival better than the first time. The two days will include visiting and Wrangell musicians giving fr...
18 – Dear Readers: In last week’s edition of Yesterday’s News we learned that Mr. Sidney Charles, editor of the Petersburg Herald, turned over his interest in the paper to local backers and that there would not be another issue of the paper “until another man capable of taking charge of the back end of the shop is secured.” There are no issues in the archive until May 19, when a new publisher, Harry M. Appleton began a run that lasted for only seven issues. Finally, on August 27, John W. Schoettler and Albert O. Elstad published the premier e...
The Petersburg School District is wrapping up a lengthy roof replacement project and moving into the security upgrade phase of campus improvements funded through a 2024 voter-approved bond. CBC Construction, the contractor handling the roof replacement at Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School, is in the final stretch of that project. As of last week, Superintendent Robyn Taylor said the contractor is waiting on a shipment of 20 remaining vents before completing installation. “Once they arrive, [and once the roof is cleared of snow] i...
Get ready to bump, set and spike this spring with the adult volleyball league. The adult volleyball league has been going on since last fall and was only supposed to run through December, but things changed. "We did a fundraising event in November around the tree lighting and we were able to raise some funds to keep our season going through April," said Courtney Thynes, a member of the adult volleyball league. "We are in the middle of scheduling an invitational event, which hopefully [Prince of...
Galen Darrell (The Bear) Burrell, was born on May 5, 1955, in Del Norte, California, to Barbara and Warren Burrell. The family moved from Edna Bay, Alaska, to Petersburg, Alaska, in 1959. Growing up wild and free in Scow Bay set the grit that Galen maintained his whole life. He was an exciting Viking wrestler when in high school and he did well. He loved his Moose Camp at Thomas Bay, where he would spend quite a bit of time on the hunt. He also liked to trek up the Stikine River as you can see... Full story
Two softly humming glass cabinets, brightly lit from within, cause students and grown-ups to pause and peer on their way through the Petersburg High School commons. They are hydroponic gardens, complete with lights for growing greens and flowers year-round. This provides Petersburg students not only with quality food, but a nice splash of greenery and light in the commons, and a brilliant hands-on learning opportunity. Hydroponic gardens have been a big goal for Alex Helms, Farm to School...
Petersburg's Maddie Dreisbach and her cheermates perform "spirit fingers," during a Viking free throw attempt on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Petersburg. The 5th Annual Cheer Camp, presented by the High School Cheer team will be Feb. 20 and 21st. Cheer Camp times: PreK-1st grade: (20th) 2:30-3:30, (21st) 10:00-11:00am 2nd-5th grade: (20th) 4-5pm, (21st) 12:00-2:00pm 6th-8th grade: (20th) 6-8pm, (21st) 2:30-4:30pm *All held in PHS Gym...
The Petersburg High School Boys basketball team looked to continue their undefeated conference season so far, welcoming the 8-7 Metlakatla Chiefs into town. The Vikings quickly got down 12-0, powered by four Chiefs three pointers. "We were not in tune to how we wanted to play defense in the halfcourt. [The Chiefs] have very good shooters and I think that we didn't understand that well enough," head coach Rick Brock said. "I thought Metlakatla was playing well at that point but we were helping...
The Petersburg High School Girls Basketball team looked to continue their momentum at home last weekend with a rematch against the Metlakatla Miss Chiefs. In game one, the Lady Vikings held a 8-4 lead after the first quarter and then a 17-13 lead at halftime. "We were doing a good job of moving the basketball. Getting the defense to shift and [be] out of position, I think we did a really good job of that, particularly in the first half," head coach Matt Pawuk said. While the offense was...
Scott Morrison Welsh was born to William (Bill) and Gretchen Welsh on December 24, 1956, in Bellingham, Washington. A sister, Kelly (Welsh) Peterson, rounded out the family. Scott was a talker from an early age on, a trait that carried him through life. At an early age, nuns from the "Nunnery" (as we called it) would let Scott walk around a 2 block radius with the little guy, hands in pockets, big glasses, and conversation flowing. Having a morning paper route also took lots of time for collecti... Full story
Young growth Sitka spruce from Mitkof Island, milled at Alaska Timber and Truss and shipped via the Alaska Marine Highway, now forms the timber-frame structure of an outdoor learning shelter at Pacific High School in Sitka. The impressive posts and beams of the pavilion showcase what Southeast Alaska's 50 to 60-year-old second-growth trees can produce. The structure will serve as an outdoor classroom for the alternative high school's garden-based education program. Andrew Thoms, executive...
After their acclaimed but ominous rendition of "Dracula" last fall, Petersburg High School's drama program is ready to brighten up the vibe with a Victorian-era romantic farce, "The Matchmaker," opening Feb. 19 at Wright Auditorium. The Thornton Wilder comedy - best known as the basis for the Broadway musical "Hello Dolly" - features a large ensemble cast navigating love, loss and the search for joy in 1880s New York. Director Elsa Wintersteen said she deliberately chose the play to give...
Four Mitkof Middle School wrestlers will be representing Petersburg at the Tanana Invitational for its 50th anniversary. The kids representing will be Thomas Slaven, Freya Fenner, Ethan Edward and Declan Olsen. Slaven went 2-0 in the 161 weight bracket this past weekend. "[I] worked my breakdowns [and] got my points circling," Slaven said regarding what the catalyst was of his two wins. Slaven finished top first in his weight bracket, something he always expects of himself. "My own rule is, if...
