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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
by Philip Hofstetter There is no question: the federal budget reconciliation now under Senate review would severely harm Alaskans, especially in rural communities. As CEO of one of Alaska’s last three community-owned critical access hospitals, I see the consequences firsthand when people lose healthcare coverage. This bill adds layers of bureaucracy and new Medicaid restrictions that threaten to choke off care entirely. Fortunately, our senators can choose to block it. If the Senate rushes this legislation through, an estimated 33,918 A...
June 10 - An officer conducted a welfare check on Skylark Way. A found backpack was turned into the Police Department (PD). It was returned to its owner. Subpoena papers were served. A dog was reported being left in a car. The owner was contacted and confirmed that the dog was okay and not overheating. Suspicious behavior was reported on Fram St. A speeding vehicle was reported on S 7th & Kiseno St. An officer responded to a disturbance on Wrangell Avenue. A disorderly conduct warning was issued. An officer responded to a report of a speeding...
Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) completed a complex water system repair project last week that highlights both the ingenuity of local maintenance crews and the mounting infrastructure challenges facing the community's critical access hospital. The project began February 5 when the six-inch sprinkler main suddenly developed a hole. "We threw a patch on it that we got from the city, and that actually stopped the leak," explained Wolf Brooks, PMC's Facilities Engineer. But this leak revealed a... Full story
May 28 – An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a disabled vehicle on South 2nd Street. The owners were working to move it. An officer assisted EMS with a cardiac arrest on Mitkof Highway. PPD received a report of a lost CPAP machine. PPD received a report of a dog attempting to enter a neighbor’s house. The owner of the dog was contacted. An officer assisted a citizen. An officer issued a trespass warning to an individual who’d climbed scaffolding and was on the roof of a...
Community support for Beat the Odds To the editor: Petersburg Medical Center Foundation’s Beat the Odds provides resources in Petersburg for people with cancer. Our generous sponsors helped raise over $37,000 during our last fund drive. We acknowledge the contributions of Petersburg Mental Health Services and an incredibly special gift from the late Scott Olson. Thank you to First City Council on Cancer in Ketchikan, Wrangell Cancer Care, and Cancer Connection in Juneau. In 2024 over $35,000 was provided to assist with expenses for P...
On Saturday, the Petersburg Community Foundation awarded $37,125 in grants to seven local organizations during its annual awards ceremony and honored one community volunteer with its prestigious Volunteer of the Year recognition. The foundation, which began 17 years ago with support from the Alaska Community Foundation and the Rasmuson Foundation, has seen accelerated growth in recent years. It took the organization around a decade to award $100,000 in local grants, but it has matched that...
News diversity makes us smarter To the Editor: Like many of you, I value the Pilot for its fair coverage of local news and views. In its pages we see the facts of our local issues, so that we can make decisions together despite our various political leanings. Unfortunately, this consensus reality breaks down as soon as we zoom out beyond the island, turn on cable news, or lock into our social media and video algorithms. When it comes to national news, most of us are more influenced by monied interests than we care to admit, even when we think...
I Feel So Blessed To the Editor: Reaching out to our entire community with a heartfelt THANK YOU!!! To all my friends, family, loved ones, well wishers, and prayer senders, to the EMTs, PMC staff, Medivac staff, PPD staff, Providence Alaska Medical Center staff, and Providence St. Elias staff – your generous and caring support both physically and emotionally have followed my sons and me to Anchorage for life-saving medical care. One never knows what the next day is going to bring. Your continued support is much needed and appreciated along this...
For Petersburg families wondering what their children will do this summer, Petersburg Medical Center's Youth Programs are offering more activities, more accessibility, and more options than ever before. After a six-month effort to secure critical funding streams, the programs have achieved a milestone that will help ensure more families can participate, regardless of financial circumstances. PMC Youth Program administrators have spent months advocating for access to state child care assistance...
Kinder Skog mentor and Mitkof Dance Troupe teacher Kaili Watkins has been named an Alaska Afterschool Superhero, one of five educators recognized across the state this year by the Alaska Afterschool Network. The press release on Monday described the recognition as "a highly competitive, statewide award that recognizes spectacular afterschool professionals ... Kaili has gone above and beyond in her role, building relationships and learning about the individual needs of youth." Watkins was...
A middle-aged man was rescued from frigid waters near Petersburg on the night of April 7. Franz Schonberg was walking his dog near the ferry terminal after sunset when he heard someone yelling in the Wrangell Narrows, between Mitkof and Kupreanof Islands. Schonberg, a local volunteer firefighter, launched his skiff and went to investigate, searching the dark, fast-moving waters for the person calling out for help. Around the same time, local resident Dr. James Pizzadili was walking along the...
We felt loved and cared for To the Editor and this wonderful community: One year ago I came very close to dying. I got very, very sick with three upper respiratory viruses which allowed a strep infection to turn into pneumonia which caused sepsis or toxic shock syndrome. All in a matter of days. Luckily, I live here in Petersburg, the best place on earth. The doctors, nurses, and staff at Petersburg Medical Center were amazing and got me out on a medivac as quickly as possible. The outpouring of love, prayers, good vibes, cards, and gifts was...
We Can Protect Each Other To the Editor: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” as James Baldwin reminds us. So let us look at what is happening to people like Fabian Schmidt, Camila Munoz, and Dr. Rasha Alawieh. All have been living in the United States legally. Schmidt has a green card, Munoz is in process of obtaining citizenship as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, and Alawieh has her H1B visa as a kidney transplant specialist and professor at Brown University. Nevertheless, Schmidt and Mun...
A Petersburg-based fishing commercial vessel caught fire Thursday near Point Gardner in Chatham Strait where it had been participating in the golden king crab fishery. The fire prompted a coordinated response from nearby Samaritan vessels, the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. Coast Guard received a distress call at 1:49 p.m. reporting that the F/V Spicy Lady, a 58-foot steel vessel, was on fire and crew members were preparing to abandon ship into a life...
Worth a listen and a reread To the Editor: Please listen to Hannah Flor’s Petersburg Medical Center Live from February 26, and read the article covering this in last week’s Pilot. The link to the meeting can be found on the KFSK website, kfsk.org. A couple of points stood out to me while listening. Alaska’s Medicaid expansion (a way to insure more people by increasing the income threshold to decrease medical disparities) receives 90% of its funding from the federal government. What happens if this is drastically cut? How does Alaska make up th...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voiced serious concerns that potential federal funding cuts could devastate essential services and potentially threaten the town's viability by approving a strongly worded letter to Alaska's congressional delegation during Monday’s assembly meeting. The letter, approved by all six assembly members present, details how the rural Southeast Alaska fishing community of approximately 3,000 residents could face an existential crisis if federal support is significantly reduced. “Indiscriminate and across the board red...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-0 Monday to adopt a resolution formally approving a comprehensive Visitor Industry Management Plan developed by a local working group in 2019-2020 and updated in early 2025. The plan, created by 17 Petersburg residents including business owners and borough staff, aims to address visitor industry growth while “maintaining the balance between Petersburg's quality of life and the visitor economy while preserving Petersburg's authenticity and sense of place,” states the resolution. Petersburg Har...
Last week’s federal budget resolution — which narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a 217-215 vote — has sparked serious concerns about healthcare funding for Alaska’s most vulnerable. The resolution directs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to cut $880 billion over 10 years from the section of the federal budget that oversees Medicare and Medicaid. Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter, Jared Kosin with the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association, and Brandy Boggs PMC Patient Navigator joined Hannah... Full story
February 26 – A driver on Scow Bay Loop Road was issued a warning for tail light requirements. An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) on Excel Street. Officers conducted a welfare check on Skylark Way. Officers responded to a report of suspicious behavior on Haugen Drive. Marsha Fernandez was arrested on Sandy Beach Road for alleged disorderly conduct and allegedly violating conditions of release. February 27 – Officers responded to a report of suspicious behavior on South 3rd Street. Petersburg Police Department received a rep...
A damaged undersea communications cable disrupted cell phone service in Petersburg on Saturday and other Southeast Alaska communities since Thursday – the damaged Alaska Communications (ACS) subsea cable system serves as a carrier for multiple cell providers, including AT&T. The broader regional outage began around 9:15 p.m. Thursday, with ACS and AT&T customers in Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Gustavus reporting limited or no service. Alaska Communications confirmed Friday that damage to their subsea cable system was the cause. The cell phone o...
A Petersburg-based fishing commercial vessel caught fire Thursday near Point Gardner in Chatham Strait where it had been participating in the golden king crab fishery. The fire prompted a coordinated response from nearby Samaritan vessels, the Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. Coast Guard received a distress call at 1:49 p.m. reporting that the F/V Spicy Lady, a 58-foot steel vessel, was on fire and crew members were preparing to abandon ship into a life... Full story
A damaged undersea communications cable has disrupted cell phone service in Petersburg and other Southeast Alaska communities – the Alaska Communications (ACS) subsea cable system serves as a carrier for multiple cell providers, including AT&T. The broader regional outage began around 9:15 p.m. Thursday, with ACS and AT&T customers in Juneau, Haines, Skagway and Gustavus reporting limited or no service. Alaska Communications confirmed Friday that damage to their subsea cable system was the c... Full story
February 5 – An officer responded to a report of suspicious activity at the ferry terminal and determined it was non-criminal. An officer assisted Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with a seizure on Mitkof Highway. Officers assisted a citizen on Charles W Street with a civil issue. A driver on Sing Lee Alley was issued warnings for headlight and registration requirements. A driver on Haugen Drive was issued a warning for headlight requirements. February 6 – An officer conducted extra patrols. An officer conducted a welfare check on Harbor Way...
Next week the Petersburg Medical Center is launching another round of its Lifestyle Balance Program, a wellness initiative that uses group support and individual coaching to help participants make and maintain healthy lifestyle changes. "The program is designed for people who may be at risk for developing diabetes, which can be based on family history, age, gender, activity levels, or weight," said Julie Walker, PMC's Community Wellness Manager. "We focus on prevention through sustainable...
