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The results of this year's municipal election were certified by the Petersburg Borough Assembly at a special meeting last Friday. Three ballots-two of which had been postmarked by election day and received by the borough and one questioned ballot-were counted during the meeting which brought the total number of ballots cast to 1,194. After the ballots were counted, the assembly voted 5-0 to certify the election with Mayor Mark Jensen and Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor excused. This year's...
The long-awaited unofficial results of the 2022 municipal election were released Wednesday evening after early and absentee ballots were counted throughout the day. According to the unofficial results, Mark Jensen won the mayoral race with 642 votes and will retain his seat. He was followed by Bob Lynn with 363 votes and Jeff Meucci with 177 votes Incumbents Jeigh Stanton Gregor and Chelsea Tremblay both lost their seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly to newcomers Scott Newman and Donna...
Saturday morning a group of concerned Petersburg residents met at the Wright Auditorium to participate in the second Childcare Community Café to address the childcare crisis affecting the local workforce, businesses, families, and economy. The meeting, hosted by the SHARE (Supporting Health Awareness, Resilience, and Education) Coalition, began with a viewing of a 23-minute video entitled "Voices for a Better Future: Community Impacts of Childcare in Petersburg," followed by a community... Full story
The five candidates running for the two seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly participated in a candidate forum on Monday in the assembly chambers hosted by KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, Donna Marsh, Scott Newman, and Kurt Wohlhueter were presented with the same questions and were each given one minute to respond in a random order. The first part of the forum saw candidates answer questions asked by members of the media...
Last Sunday there was a familiar Petersburg scene at the Lutheran Church's Holy Cross House: a table laden with open-faced sandwiches, shrimp and macaroni salad, delicate krumkake, spritz, and the signature kransekake (wreath cake). This time, however, the celebration was for an uncommon, maybe even unprecedented event: a 75th wedding anniversary–a milestone so few couples accomplish that there is no statistic for it, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The room was packed and loud with h... Full story
Sarah Pawuk Holmgrain What is your age? 51 What experience do you have? I have served on the school board since I was appointed and then elected in 2009. Why do you seek public office? I still have the time and energy to put into volunteering on this Board. How would you like to see the budget managed through the challenges the school district currently faces? Actually, I think the budget has been managed quit well for over a decade with fewer and fewer resources and funds. We have had...
The Petersburg School Board unanimously approved a motion to reinstate funding for activities, curriculum, and professional development during Tuesday’s meeting. The action looks to increase funding by about $100,000 combined according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter which would get funding for those items closer to the amount that the district spent on them last year. The board passed a conservative budget that saw reductions in multiple areas during its June meeting, seeking to account for a number of unknowns at that time. Those i...
Jeigh Stanton Gregor What is your age? 45 What experience do you have? I have 20 years of leadership experience. I was responsible for keeping groups of kids and adults safe year-round in the Montana wilderness. My leadership skills were also used to help strengthen program leadership teams. Currently, I've been on the assembly for 8.5 years, and we've addressed many issues during this time. Two recent issues come to mind that I'd like to highlight: I made an amendment to make community gym...
Bob Lynn What is your age? 76 What experience do you have? I've had 8 year's experience on the Petersburg Assembly. I have been fortunate to serve as Petersburg Assembly Board representative to Southeast Alaska Power Authority (SEAPA.) In that role I have served as Board Chair and voting member to replace submarine cable serving Petersburg. I have also served 6 years as the Assembly representative to the Hospital Board. Having been an EMT years ago has provided me much needed background to serve...
The period to file for candidacy in this year's municipal election ended on Tuesday, signaling the start of campaign season. The election will feature contested races for mayor, Petersburg Borough Assembly, the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board, and the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board. Mayor Mark Jensen will run for reelection against two sitting assembly members-Bob Lynn and Jeff Meucci. Meucci ran against Jensen in the 2019 mayoral election, coming up short by 61 votes. Assembly...
The Petersburg School Board updated its COVID-19 mitigation plan for the upcoming school year during its meeting last week. The school district is required to update its plan by the Alaska Department of Education and under the American Rescue Plan funding. The new guidelines resemble those the district had at the end of the previous school year but with a couple of changes. Masking will remain optional for students, staff, and visitors and there will be no trigger for universal masking or...
8,832 passengers and 2,515 vehicles boarded the ferry in Petersburg in 2011, and 9046 passengers and 2,434 vehicles arrived in town. In 2021, the ridership into Petersburg was 829 passengers, a decrease of about 90 percent from a decade before. Vehicles dropped 75 percent to 595, according to statistics provided by the Alaska Marine Highway System. And 2021's numbers are up from the pandemic-worst travel year. In 2020, just 409 passengers and 313 vehicles disembarked in Petersburg. But...
Bikers and paddlers gathered at Scow Bay Saturday morning to participate in the annual Paddle and Pedal Battle fundraiser, which raised about $15,000 according to Community Wellness Coordinator Julie Walker. The donations will go toward continuing education for Petersburg Medical Center staff and scholarships for Petersburg High School graduates. "I think our goal this year was to revive the event and it really felt like we did that," Walker said. About 70 participants made it out to the event... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 5-0 to approve a list ranking its top capital projects for FY24 during Monday’s meeting. Mayor Mark Jensen and Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh were excused. The priority list was organized by Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht who presented it to the assembly to amend and approve it. It originally featured the 15 highest priority capital projects for FY24 but was decreased to 13 projects after the assembly removed the Blind Slough hydroelectric refurbishment and the South Harbor dredging projects, which a...
July 28, 1922 Candy Men Spend Day Southbound – The steamer Spokane, with a Confectioners Convention on board, was in Petersburg from early Monday morning until late that night. During the evening a ball game was played between the team on board and the town boys which resulted in a 12 to 3 score for the locals. In the evening a dance was enjoyed at the Pioneers Hall. The Spokane arrived at an early morning hour and landed at the Mitkof Cannery where several thousand cases of salmon were loaded. The visitors on board had ample opportunity to i...
The window to file for candidacy in this year's municipal election opened on Tuesday. According to Borough Clerk Debbie Thompson, this year's election will look similar to previous years' except for the voting location, which will be moved from the gym to the community center's activity room so it does not conflict with the school's use of the space. The municipal election will be held on October 4 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the activity room while absentee voting will run from September 14 to...
A press release Wednesday announced that starting this fall, the Kinder Skog Nature Program will be transitioning from a program under the umbrella of the Petersburg Lutheran Church to a program housed under the Petersburg Medical Center Community Wellness Department. Results from a 2021 local childcare needs assessment and Community Café in January 2022 funded by the Petersburg Community Foundation highlighted the systemic industry challenges facing childcare and early childhood education. In...
The Petersburg Medical Center Foundation will host its 8th annual Paddle Battle on Saturday, August 6 with the goal of raising funds to help support education. "I would consider it kind of a revival of the event because the last two years have been pretty quiet as far as the Paddle Battle," said Community Wellness Coordinator Julie Walker. "We've still held the event during the height of the pandemic but it was small and we're really looking to revive the event and encourage more participation...
If elected, would you work to improve access to affordable child care? Kenny Skaflestad: This is a priority. And this is a priority again from the smallest village to our more prominent communities. The need for addressing the child care challenge in each community is a major topic. It's one that I'd be glad to champion as far as the Alaska State House has to do and I think that could be a great deal depending on the energies put towards it. I'm glad to have seen some of my predecessors in the H...
Traveling teams are soon going to receive a new greeting when they enter the Petersburg High School Gym. The Class of 2022 has chosen to make a sign that reads “Welcome to the Longhouse: Home of the Vikings” as its class gift. In a letter to the school board, PHS seniors said the sign would represent Norwegian culture and that funds raised for prom will be repurposed for the project. The sign will hang in the gym above the weight room doors, but it will not formally rename the gym facility and will only be an artistic welcome. Though the des...
Two candidates have filed for candidacy in this year's election to fill Rep. Jonathon Kreiss-Tomkins' seat in the Alaska House of Representatives. Kreiss-Tomkins, who first elected to the seat in 2012, announced earlier this year that he will not seek reelection. House District 2, which was newly created by the Alaska Redistricting Board, spans Southeast Alaska from Prince of Wales Island to Yakutat and includes Petersburg, Sitka, Kake, and Craig. The candidates running for the seat are Kenny...
The Petersburg School Board adopted its FY23 School Operating Budget at the final meeting of the school year Tuesday evening in a 4-0 vote with Member Meg Litster excused. Finance Director Karen Morrison gave an overview of the budget which at this point still has “a lot of unknowns.” The budget has a revenue of $7,962,605 and is based on 413 enrolled students which is below the funding formula enrollment threshold of 425 students. Being below that threshold drops the district down from three school funding to two school funding. As of Jun...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed its FY23 budget by a 4-3 margin in its third and final reading on Monday with Assembly Members Dave Kensinger, Jeff Meucci, and Thomas Fine-Walsh voting against. There were no amendments proposed in its last reading but discussion saw similar points of concern raised by opposing assembly members. Fine-Walsh had concerns about how the budget would place “more emphasis on policing than education and housing.” “These are my priorities, these are the priorities of our community as they have been expre...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board voted to support a pilot program which could see the hospital offer after-school child care programming as soon as fall 2022 through its Community Wellness department. Julie Walker and Becky Turland, who was recently appointed to the Early Childhood Education Task Force, spoke to the board during last Thursday's meeting about their idea for the program which grew from the results of the child care needs assessment completed by the SHARE Coalition...
The Petersburg School District has made a contract offer to a new secondary school principal which was approved by the school board during Tuesday's meeting. According to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter, the district's hiring committee interviewed several candidates for the position in a shorter "streamlined" hiring process and has offered the position to Ambler Moss for the upcoming school year. Kludt-Painter said Moss brings with him over 25 years of experience in education and reported tha...
