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The Petersburg School Board reviewed the results of Performance Evaluation for Alaska's Schools (PEAKS) tests Tuesday during a report given by Testing Coordinator Bridget Wittstock. The PEAKS tests were not conducted in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they returned in the spring of 2021. According to Wittstock, the State of Alaska expanded the window for testing to allow for as many tests to be taken as possible, but only about 64% of the eligible population participated....
The Petersburg School District purchased a 2021 Honda Pilot EX-L according to a report from Director of Facilities and Maintenance Aaron Buller. The car serves to replace the school’s Ford Explorer which was on its last leg and finally broke down. According to Buller the vehicle’s transmission is shot and the school was recommended replace it rather than fix it because of its age and worth. The vehicle is used for student transport and mail runs and has been used for driver’s education in the past according to Buller. The board approved the p...
Petersburg held its 2021 Municipal Election Tuesday and the unofficial results have incumbent Bob Lynn retaining his seat on the Petersburg Borough Assembly and Thomas Fine-Walsh winning his first term on the assembly, succeeding Taylor Norheim after he decided not to run for reelection. Both seats on the Borough Assembly were for three-year terms. Lynn garnered the most most votes out of all assembly candidates with 703 and Fine-Walsh recorded 589. Brandi Thynes received the third most votes wi...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave an update to the Borough Assembly during Monday's meeting on the current COVID-19 situation at the hospital. During the current outbreak beginning on September 20, the hospital had recorded 54 total positive cases with 35 cases considered active at the time of the meeting according to Hofstetter. As of Wednesday that number has dropped to 31 active cases. "Encouraging facilities to mask inside, distance, and vaccines, obviously are a way out of...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht issued an emergency proclamation Friday recommending actions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Petersburg. The proclamation recommends masking and social distancing in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, it encourages organizations and businesses to reduce capacity and avoid large gatherings. It recommends people to get vaccinated, saying they are safe, effective, and free, and get tested if they plan on traveling, are exp...
Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom gave a presentation during Thursday's Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board meeting on the status of the COVID-19 outbreak in the community. At the time of the board meeting there were 19 cases of COVID-19. That number has climbed to 32 as of Wednesday. Bacom's report included details on how the virus has spread, age demographics of positive cases, testing information, and contact tracing. Of the then 19 cases, one was travel related and...
Silent majority must stand up To the Editor: We of the silent majority must stand up and make our voices heard. The only way Covid-19 or its variants will ever be behind us is if the vast majority of us are vaccinated. People say “I probably won’t get very sick.” That may be true for you and your family but you might kill your neighbor. Christians are commanded to love their neighbor as themselves. This isn’t just a suggestion, it is a commandment. You may be worried that the shot will make you sick. I had my first shot in January and my third...
Heather Conn Age: 43 What experience do you have? When you look at board experience I have sat on three boards and one council. The experience I have had has been with the Petersburg Little League from 2002-2005, Early Childhood Education Board 2005 to 2009, The Viking Swim Club 2013-2016, and the Petersburg Indian Association Council 2017 to present. I have also been an involved community member with my presence during our local assembly and school board. Why do you seek public office? I...
Carey Case Age: 47 What experience do you have? I have served as board member and president of two local non-profits - Petersburg Children's Center, and WAVE. As board president I helped establish goals and policies, hired executive directors, approved annual budgets, and ensured compliance with internal policies and State and Federal laws and regulations. Why do you seek public office? I believe in public service and that investing in our kids and educators is a key component to building a stro...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht issued an emergency proclamation Friday recommending actions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Petersburg. The proclamation recommends masking and social distancing in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, it encourages organizations and businesses to reduce capacity and avoid large gatherings. It recommends people to get vaccinated, saying they are safe, effective, and free, and get tested if they plan on traveling, are exp... Full story
Paul Anderson Name: Paul Anderson Age: 76 What experience do you have? Petersburg City Council: elected 1987 to 1990, appointed May 1991 to October 1991, elected 1991 to 2000, Mayor Pro Tempore December 1998 to 2004, elected 2004 to 2007 Wrangell-Petersburg Federal Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) - Federal Appointment, Co-Chair Appointment 2002-2010 Thomas Bay Power Authority: Commissioner January 1988-2002, President 2002-2008 Commander, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 10002 Why do you seek...
The Petersburg School Board voted to amend COVID-19 regulations set by the district's Moderate Risk Plan during Tuesday's meeting. The amendment eased the school's masking policy and made changes to color designations, travel policy, and quarantine rules outlined in the plan. The amendment passed with a vote of 4-1 with Cheryl File opposed. Most of the changes were made to the yellow status of the Moderate Risk Plan. Indoor masking is required for all K-12 students regardless of vaccination...
Medical professionals spoke at the Petersburg School Board meeting Tuesday night about the impact that COVID-19 is currently having on the state of Alaska. Dr. Jennifer Hyer with the Petersburg Medical Center provided a medical update to the board. She agreed with the board's number one stated goal of maintaining in person learning and said Petersburg is fortunate to have a low number of cases and proceeded to provide context for the rest of the state. "I wish I could deliver better news but...
The Petersburg School District held its first week of in person school with COVID-19 guidelines in effect. Approximately 430 students are expected to be attending school this year as some children are still anticipated to arrive in Petersburg. They have already made it one week without issues according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter "The first week was great, and kids were happy to be back, and we were happy to have them here," Kludt-Painter said. "We're off to a pretty good start." The...
It's not about you To the Editor: I am a youth of Petersburg, and similar to the majority of the youth in Petersburg that are my age, I attend Mitkof Middle School. I have lived in Petersburg for nine years. When the pandemic hit, my family and I socially distanced, masked up, and did what we thought was right. Part of the reason we didn't contract the virus is because the school took precautions too. There has been an argument about what the coming school year will look like; people are...
The Petersburg School District started its new school year on Tuesday amid regulations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. On that foggy morning, many parents chose to come in person to drop off their children on the first day of school. As the kids gathered around the school, they played on swing sets and shot hoops on the basketball court before being grouped up by their classes. Though this may have resembled an ordinary start to the school year, the impacts and challenges brought on by the...
Breakthrough COVID-19 cases found in Alaska April 30 Between Feb. 1 and March 31, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services identified 152 positive cases of COVID-19 among people in the state who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a report from DHSS. About 74 percent of the vaccine breakthrough cases, or 112 individuals, were among people who had received the Pfizer vaccine, according to the report. Thirty-eight percent of the breakthrough cases had received the Moderna... Full story
The Borough Assembly discussed the Petersburg School District's reopening plan during Monday's meeting. PSD released their moderate risk reopening plan Friday which includes a two week universal mask mandate and quarantine protocols for the upcoming school year. The discussion item was requested by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci who wanted to see what the assembly thought of it. Meucci said that he thought that masking up for the first two weeks was a good plan and that it is important to get the...
The Petersburg School District released its reopening plan Friday which outlines COVID-19 guidelines for the upcoming school year. The school district formed a moderate risk plan that includes a universal masking policy in school until the next school board meeting on September 14. A local Health Advisory Committee including a representative from the school board, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter, Principals Heather Conn and Rick Dormer, Activity Director Jaime Cabral, a Public Health nurse,...
The Borough Assembly voted 4-3 to empower Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht to create a committee to serve as a COVID information response system during Monday's meeting. The discussion of the action item centered on the creation of the committee and the inclusion of a COVID dashboard on the borough's website. The item was requested by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci who said that the assembly needed to have more communication about COVID available to be prepared if the school system or the hospital...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave a report to the Borough Assembly during Monday's meeting. The discussion focused on PMC's communication with the community about releasing COVID information and the construction of a new hospital. Hofstetter said that the Emergency Operations Center is missed because there is no longer a structure in place for communication about COVID. He would also like to see information again be made available on the borough's website to help inform the...
The Petersburg School Board held discussions about what protocols should be enacted for the upcoming school year during Tuesday's meeting. The talks were a continuation of those held during a work session on July 30 where the board tried to determine what guidelines best fit the Petersburg School District while weighing potential risks such as the spread of the delta variant. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said that two of the main points of the discussion would be masking and travel...
The Petersburg School Board had a work session Friday to outline preliminary ideas for COVID-19 guidelines for when students return. The board considered an assortment of measures ranging from masking requirements and regular testing at school to travel precautions. Though some specific guidelines were discussed, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter stressed that these early ideas were not set in stone. "These are very rough thoughts," Kludt-Painter said. "These are very preliminary thoughts...
The results of the Petersburg School District's spring Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment showed growth in language arts and math, but students didn't score as high as anticipated. Bridget Wittstock, special education director with the school district, presented the results of MAP test scores for kindergarten through ninth grade to the Petersburg School Board at their June 8 meeting. The spring results were compared to the test scores from the fall. Wittstock noted that the students...
The Petersburg School Board adopted the fiscal year 2022 operating budget at their meeting on June 8 that has a total revenue that is below the school district's expenditures for the year. According to budget documents presented to the school board, the fiscal year 2022 operating budget is based on a total of $8,043,406 in revenue. Because the school district is anticipating an enrollment of 415 students this fall, the school district will see a drop in state funding of $696,443 over last year...
