Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 1032
Staff at Petersburg Medical Center sprung into action earlier this month when a sudden leak erupted from part of the building's hydronic heating system, spewing dozens of gallons of mixed water in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) room behind the nurse's station on the hospital's second floor. Maintenance staff were able to patch the leak with plumbing parts, but have not been able to find a replacement for the actual piece that was leaking yet. There was not a patient in that particular room at the... Full story
Rear Admiral Megan Dean, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska, came to Petersburg on Nov. 21 to thank first responders from Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department, Petersburg Medical Center, the Troopers and the Police - presenting each with a plaque in recognition of their extraordinary response on the night of Nov. 13, 2023, when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed outside of Petersburg....
Earlier this month, the Petersburg Borough Assembly passed an ordinance updating the sales tax chapter of municipal code to clarify exemptions and rules for businesses, modernize definitions and organize information for better transparency - borough officials emphasized that the ordinance does not introduce new taxes or exemptions, nor does it change how sales tax is applied locally. The amendment highlights existing information about sales tax into clear new sections and adds definitions that w...
November 14, 1924 – There is reason to believe there may be a slumbering volcano only a few miles from Petersburg in the vicinity of La Conte glacier. Smoke has been seen issuing from there by several parties during the clear, cold weather that has prevailed during the past two weeks. Ed Preuschoff, the fox rancher, had been told about smoke having been seen but put it down to fog or mist. However on coming to town last Monday he saw a spiral column of black smoke issuing from what he took to be one of the Sisters mountains in the vicinity o...
Oktoberfest ArtShare... Full story
Weeks after returning from her home state of North Carolina, aiding communities impacted by Hurricane Helene, Petersburg nurse Laura Holder still feels a tightness in her chest — not only from processing the experience, but from the week of breathing toxic dust and mold at the scene. Based out of West Yancey County Fire Department, an ad hoc hub for rescue operations in the region, she spent the week working alongside hundreds of emergency responders, volunteers, and good Samaritans from near a... Full story
Starting next month, Coby Holder, 22, will be the new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Coordinator for the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department, a position that has been vacant since late May when Joshua Rathmann moved away. Holder, a Petersburg resident, has volunteered at fire departments for the past three years — one in Petersburg, and the two prior in Wrangell. During his time volunteering for the department in Wrangell, Holder "fell in love" with EMS responding — even though he admittedly...
Cedar Social Club, the adult day service program at PMC, soft-launched nearly a year ago. And thanks to new funding avenues from the state, the program continues to grow. The State Health Department has awarded PMC's Home Health Department an Adult Day Services grant to support staffing and participant scholarships for Cedar Social Club. Home Health is also newly state certified to provide support for participants who are under a Medicaid waiver. "It's exciting, because I feel like we're...
Your vote matters To the Editor: As you may remember, I won a seat on the Borough Assembly last October by 1 vote… the very last vote to be counted from absentee ballots. Nearly a year later I am still grateful and humbled by that outcome. After the election, people shared stories of: driving through the Yukon to mail their ballots, voting via email from Europe, voting from college, and even a few stories of nearly forgetting to vote after dinner on election day. To be Captain Obvious, if any of those folks did not vote, the outcome of the e...
In response to low bike helmet use in the community and close-call accidents involving children, an up-and-coming incentive project is bringing more helmets to the streets of Petersburg. In the works since spring, the Helmets Are Sweet project is a joint effort through Petersburg's SHARE Coalition to encourage the use of helmets by promoting and providing access to high-quality helmets, educating the community on proper wear, and rewarding individuals for wearing appropriate helmets. The goal...
There is a nationwide shortage of providers for behavioral health services, and Petersburg is no different. "We've definitely had times in Petersburg where we've had more providers, and there's still been people on a wait list. That's just the reality of it," said Ashley Kawashima, a behavioral health clinician at Petersburg Medical Center. Because there are wait lists, Kawashima said less preventative care is provided as providers, like herself, must triage based on severity: "We're really...
Petersburg Medical Center is beginning a new program for folks to come together, chat about health, and go for a stroll with a healthcare professional. "Walk with a Doc" serves as an opportunity to promote health while also fostering community relationships - by simply going for a walk together. Started in 2005 by a cardiologist in Ohio, the nonprofit Walk with a Doc program now has over 500 chapters worldwide. The first walk of this program in Petersburg will take place this Saturday, Sept....
Local nonprofit Humanity in Progress is partnering with Petersburg School District to launch a pantry on campus - a new stepping stone toward improving access to basic needs for students in all grades. Food and hygiene products line the shelves of the new pantry, which is located inconspicuously inside the door to an office supply room by the middle school/high school office. The idea to start a pantry was brought into conversation at a school wellness meeting just before summer, as the...
Gary Weldon Grandy, age 86, of Richmond, Utah, passed away on August 16, 2024, in North Logan, Utah from complications of a stroke. He was born on March 11, 1938, in Montpelier, Idaho, to Weldon Emil Grandy and Mary Anona Bird. Gary spent his formative years working on various ranches in Paris, Idaho, graduating from Fielding High School in 1956. That summer he worked at the Palisades Dam, Idaho site for the Bureau of Reclamation as an Engineering Aid. He attended the University of Utah for two... Full story
Shig Kaino was born on September 9, 1929, in Vista, California, joining her older brother and sister. She grew up in the San Diego area on vegetable and strawberry farms. Shig had a love affair with the open fields and with the strawberries her family grew. When she was 12 years old, American policy during World War II changed her life. She was taken from the farm and incarcerated in an internment camp, facing a new life behind barbed wire that would keep her separated from her brother for... Full story
A power outage occurred downtown Tuesday morning when an "elbow" near Petersburg Medical Center faulted. The elbow that was damaged is a component used to connect and disconnect a circuit to the town's electrical system. PMPL employees replaced the elbow and restored power in about 70 minutes. Located next to PMC, it was an elbow that had been in service for decades. Utility Director Karl Hagerman noted that it "must have had a crack in it or some other issue as it made a circuit ... and caused...
Months after Petersburg Close-Up students met with her staffers in Washington D.C., Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola took a tour of the Petersburg Medical Center facilities during her first visit to Petersburg. Also having visited Juneau, Sitka, Metlakatla, Ketchikan, and Wrangell with her reelection campaign staff, Rep. Peltola was on a "whistle stop through Southeast Alaska during the sunniest week of the year," she said with a smile. On a tour of the current Petersburg Medical Center building, Rep....
The featured exhibit in the lobby of Petersburg Public Library is a tribute to Petersburg English teacher, basketball coach, and longtime local Poet Laureate Lee Ribich. It proudly showcases his five books of poetry along with school yearbooks and momentos that attest to Ribich's contributions over the decades. On Saturday afternoon, after the exhibit was unveiled, friends and family gathered at the library's fireplace to hear a reading of selected poems from Ribich's collection. Lee and his...
Last Thursday evening, two back-to-back productions of Alice in Wonderland were presented on the Wright Auditorium's stage by participants in the Petersburg Medical Center Wellness Program's ORCA Theater Camp. Director Brad Younts, who pioneered the first ORCA Theater Camp last summer, had twenty-three kids sign up this summer, so many that he divided the kids into two camps, ages 6 – 9 and 9 – 15, and brought a colleague with him to help, co-director Amaya Hudson. Welcoming the audience, You... Full story
Last Tuesday twelve Petersburg youth, ages 12-15, paddled away from Blaquiere Point, the southeast tip of Mitkof Island, on a four day, three night ORCA Kayak Expedition with Onward and Upward. Three Onward and Upward instructors traveled to Petersburg to lead the trip along with Katie Holmlund, Youth Program Coordinator for Petersburg Medical Center and the co-founder of Kinderskog. "Amanda Mantovani was our lead instructor. She used to work for Alaska Crossings down in Wrangell and has led...
Last year, Dr. Jennifer Hyer took a sabbatical from her full-time role at PMC as a primary care physician and her family embarked on a global sailing adventure - a "lifelong dream" in the making. And now, despite being thousands of miles away at sea, Hyer is able to continue serving patients in Petersburg through remote telehealth consultations. Petersburg Medical Center is embracing telehealth services so patients can access specialized care in a remote setting. Telehealth appointments are...
Former photographer and current sketcher and painter Ron Hall is having his first big art show called "Colors Speak To Me," on display July 22 through July 31 at the Clausen Memorial Museum. Ron began his art career as an aerial photographer. "I took aerial photos for the Forest Service in Southeast Alaska, California and Florida," said Hall. After moving into Petersburg Medical Center's Long Term Care several years ago, Hall took up sketching and eventually painting as a hobby. Hall has been...
The Pedal/Paddle battle will be returning for its 10th year in Petersburg, Alaska. After raising $20,400 for education in 2023, the Petersburg Medical Center is aiming higher this time. "Our goal this year is $24,000 because it's 2024, we're shooting big," Community Wellness Manager Julie Walker said. In 2023, PMC gave out four scholarships, three to Petersburg High School graduates and one to a PMC nursing student. However, there's more to these scholarships. "We can offer a lot of money to...
The Petersburg Hospital Guild is a non-profit organization that was established in 1937. Since the beginning, the Hospital Guild has operated the Charity Box thrift shop – currently located on First Street behind the visitor center and open on Mondays all summer. “We only use it in the summer because it has no heat,” Hospital Guild President Tekla Israelson said. “You couldn’t comfortably work here during the winter.” Every person who works at the thrift store is a volunteer and a member of t...
Coast Guard Sector Southeast received a call Tuesday morning, shortly before 10:00 a.m., that the Petersburg-based seiner the Pamela Rae was taking on water in Anita Bay, located on Etolin Island near Wrangell. The call came from the F/V Confidence, relaying a call from their sister fishing vessel Barbara which was on the scene and providing samaritan support, U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Matt Naylor told the Pilot. The Pamela Rae was taking on water fast and was rolling over. They had...
