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The Petersburg School District Board unanimously agreed to join the Coalition for Education Equity of Alaska (CEE) at the board meeting Tuesday night. One reason the district board is joining the coalition is because of its "unique" ability to "use legal avenues to ensure the state and legislature carry out constitutional responsibilities regarding education." Founded in 1996, CEE is a statewide member-based nonprofit that champions access to quality, equitable and adequate public education in...
Petersburg High School's musical ensembles traveled to Stika last weekend for 2024's Southeast Alaska Music Fest where their hard work was commended by audiences and judges alike. Over the course of the three-day event, PHS's choir, concert band, and jazz band performed in solo and group ensembles, viewed performances from schools across Southeast, and attended music clinics with other students, soaking in as much of the experience as possible after preparing their setlists for months. "Last yea...
Who better to talk about education in Alaska than students. They could continue leaving it to school administrators, elected officials, their parents and teachers to speak for them, but that would be the easy way out. It’s also been unsuccessful. Looking to break that losing streak with the governor and state legislators unwilling to adequately fund education, hundreds of high schoolers around the state last week showed they are frustrated at the outcome. From Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, in Anchorage, Eagle River, Homer, Bethel and U...
The Alaska Marine Highway System’s ongoing crew shortage has eased up for entry-level steward positions but remains a significant problem in the wheelhouse and for engineers, likely keeping the Kennicott out of service again this summer. As of March 8, the state ferry system was short almost 50 crew of what it would need to put its full operational fleet to sea this summer, which means keeping the Kennicott tied to the dock, Craig Tornga, the system’s marine director, reported to a state Senate budget subcommittee on March 19. That is abo...
The Petersburg Vikings took down the number one seed Hooper Bay to win the state at the 2A boys state basketball championships in Anchorage last weekend. The team beat both Ninilchik and Cordova in close matches leading up to the championship match, where they took control after some adjustments in the second half and maintained a strong hold on the game throughout. "To win a state title is extremely challenging, it's hard, it's difficult... I'm very happy," said head coach Rick Brock. "We talke...
March 14, 1924 – The people of Petersburg got up a last minute dance Saturday evening for the townspeople and the passengers on the Admiral Evans. They were ably assisted by Miss Mary Allen, who played the piano and Dick Hanson, who played the drums. The dance was attended by a good crowd, better than was expected on so short a notice. It was not known until rather late whether the Evans would be in port very long, but owing to the large amount of freight the Evans was in longer than expected. The passengers on the Evans that went up to the d...
Alaskan actor L'xeis' Diane Benson plays Bee, an Inupiaq cleaning woman, in the HBO series True Detective. The season finale aired last month, which meant the embargo was lifted and Benson was free to talk about the experience of performing in the show. Benson lives in Petersburg now, but she has lived all over the state. And she's done all sorts of things. She was a professor of Alaska Native Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an activist politician and Democratic candidate for stat...
February 29, 1924 – Capsized twice from a row boat in the swift waters of Wrangell Narrows – the last time clinging to the bottom of the boat while it was propelled ashore by her husband swimming with heavy rubber boots on and the painter in his mouth – is the experience of Mrs. J.C. Allen who left here Monday on the McKee gas boat Jessie for the Green Rocks fox farm. Arriving near the farm, Mrs. Allen was met by her husband in a row boat. On stepping aboard the small boat it was capsized by Mrs. Allen slipping and Mr. Allen trying to catch...
The recent dictate that our Governor sent to our legislature as well as the residents of Southeastern Alaska was clearly the wrong message. The Governor proposed replacing the Alaska Marie Highway System (AMHS) board with members of solely his own selective choosing. His action lacks a certain sensitivity that is clearly contrary to the advantage of having local community participation in advisory groups. It has been said that true leadership is not done by the one who proposes to do great things, but rather by one who motivates the people to...
Petersburg became the 19th organized borough in Alaska on Jan. 3, 2013 after the town’s borough vote was certified. In the early 2000s, the City of Petersburg tried to annex all of Mitkof Island after receiving public pushback on forming a borough. This caused an upset outside of city limits for residents who did not want to pay the same taxes as residents inside the city limits. Eventually, after years of mediation and piles of paperwork, a compromise was made and the Petersburg Borough, which encompasses 3,829 square miles of land and w...
The Associated Teachers of Petersburg (ATP) and Petersburg School District are negotiating the next labor agreement that will take effect in the fall of 2024 and span three school years through spring 2027. Past negotiations between the teachers union and the district, which occur every three years, have largely focused on updating the contract language. This year, however, ATP and PSD are focusing more on when, where and how to allocate what limited money the district has to work with. ATP is...
February 22, 1924 – Salmon may migrate distances of 1,000 miles or more, it was proved in an experiment conducted by the United States Bureau of Fisheries and recently reported to Dean John N. Cobb of the College of Fisheries. A number of salmon, each identified by a tag, were planted during the year of 1922 in waters near Alaska by Dr. C.H. Gilbert, professor of zoology at Stanford University. A Siberian fisherman reported that one of the salmon had been caught in the Pankara river on the coast of Siberia, more than 1,000 miles from the c...
Jean Elizabeth MacDonald was born July 15, 1929 in Petersburg, Alaska, to Georgiana and Gordon MacDonald. She loved her childhood in Petersburg and maintained a strong emotional attachment to her hometown, attending Petersburg picnics in Seattle whenever possible. Always a freespirit, Jean created a bit of a scandal the summer between her junior and senior year when she donned a dress she'd made from parachute silk and married Airforce Captain Marvin Rice while they flew over Petersburg. Though... Full story
The seventh annual Project Connect Resource Fair was held in Petersburg on Jan. 30. Organized under the umbrella of nonprofit Humanity In Progress (HIP), the event provided access to free basic necessities and local resources for people in Petersburg who are experiencing housing insecurity - and was an opportunity to survey attendees about their present housing situation for a Point-In-Time count that records the status of homelessness and housing insecurity in Petersburg. When the doors to...
The Alaska Legislature’s big education funding bill will reach the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives by next week, a leading Republican lawmaker said Monday. “We’re going to get it out. It’s not going to sit anywhere,” said Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage and chair of the House Rules Committee. On Saturday, members of Johnson’s committee heard more than seven hours of public testimony, mostly in favor of a large increase in Alaska’s funding for public schools. The committee declined to fulfill that request before advancing Sen... Full story
Robyn Taylor spent the first six years of her career in the Alaska education system teaching in Petersburg, and the next 18 years elsewhere in the state as an administrator. Currently on year 24, Taylor is excited to return to the Petersburg School District as the next superintendent, in place of Erica Klut-Painter who will depart from the role at the end of this school year. "I'm just so appreciative of the opportunity," Taylor said. "Right timing, right place." Originally from Idaho, Taylor...
January 11, 1924 – The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce this week passed its first birthday as an active organization. Treasurer Ed Locken rendered his report for the year showing that $726.95 was collected and expended during the last year to carry on the work of the organization. Secretary M.S. Perkins reported in detail on the work which has been accomplished by the Club during the year. The Club since its inception has become one of the most active of the Alaskan organizations, holding regular meetings twice each month and considering p...
In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...
Student enrollment in Petersburg School District increased beyond initial expectations, providing a boost in revenues. Student enrollment in PSD increased by 39.1, bringing enrollment to a student count of 469.1. State funding for PSD increased by $1,162,300, arriving at a total of $7,198,073. The State of Alaska funds school districts based on the number of students enrolled, known as the Base Student Allocation (BSA). There is a state-mandated 20-day student count period in October that establishes a district’s enrollment number as something...
With only a few weeks of practice under their belts, Petersburg High School’s varsity boys basketball team started the season off with a series of games in Sitka last weekend. The PHS squad competed in a three-game round robin tournament against teams from Chugiak, Sitka, and Lumen Christi across the weekend, coming out of the tournament with one win and two losses. “The biggest thing was that I felt like they came out and played together and they played hard, which—at the beginning of the season—that’s what you’re looking for,” said assistan...
The Petersburg School District recently enhanced security measures at Stedman Elementary, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School. As of Nov. 27, the front doors of PHS and MMS lock after classes begin at 8:05 a.m. Doorbells with cameras and an intercom system are installed on the front doors, alongside signage to clearly direct people who may try to access the building. Office staff can now see who is ringing the doorbell, which allows them to assess and approve people before allowing them to enter for better security. During the Nov....
During October's hospital board meeting, program facilitators presented a review of the PMC Youth Programs under the Petersburg Medical Center community wellness department - primarily highlighting Kinder Skog's past year as a PMC pilot program. The outdoor-based childcare program transitioned from operating under Petersburg Lutheran Church's Good Beginnings Preschool to PMC in August 2022 after the hospital board agreed earlier that year to establish a pilot childcare program in the Community W...
At the Fire Hall on Dec. 2, PMC's Community Wellness Specialist, Becky Turland, and Youth Program Coordinator, Katie Holmlund, will instruct a free Youth Mental Health First Aid training course where members of the Petersburg community can become certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. "It's a free training that has potential to save a life," Holmlund told the Pilot. This year, Turland and Holmlund completed a Youth Mental Health First Aid Facilitator Course - a three-day course offered... Full story
The borough’s human resources department provided a progress report about the municipality’s newly implemented safety measures during the Borough Assembly Meeting Nov. 6. In September, Alaska Public Entity Insurance (APEI) representatives presented a safety review of the Petersburg Borough during a regular assembly meeting. Assembly members and human resources staff left that meeting with actionable recommendations to address safety concerns within the borough. Part of that was the establishment of a formal Borough Safety Committee. Becky Reg...
Thank you To the Editor: Thank you to Hammer & Wikan for re-establishing the footpath from the grocery store to the post office. Right now, the path is better than it ever was. Good job!, Sam Bunge Change the ferry LeConte’s name To the Editor: Do you believe in equality? Do you believe in human rights? Please sign the petition in the link below asking the Alaska Marine Highway System to change the name of the ferry LeConte. Joseph Leconte was a slave owning Georgian who believed in racial superiority and never once stepped foot in the state of...
