Sorted by date Results 701 - 725 of 776
January 26, 1983 - Depending on who you talk to in town, the Petersburg school propositions didn’t pass last week either because of propaganda and scare tactics or because the proposals did not meet needs the community thought were important. Voters turned down a master plan of a new school: 231 – 654, and $2.25 million general obligation bonds to pay for the plan, 366 – 520. One of the conflicts about the master plan was over the proposed auditorium. Wilmer Oines, school board member, said the proposed auditorium is an expensive issue but it i...
Big adventure ahead To the Editor: The newly created Petersburg Borough stands poised at an epic transformation. The big question is: How can we achieve unity in the overall populace? No other organized borough in Alaska hails any ethnic group as a component in it’s composition either in it’s name or group as a component in it’s motto/slogan/by line/ tag line. Why? It would be devisive and discriminatory, degrading every other person outside the named group. Our new organized borough now includes lands and waters and people far outside the t...
The Petersburg School Board has hired Marcus Hom of Dark Horse Defense to improve the school district’s Crisis Response Plan. Hom is the manager and lead instructor for Dark Horse Defense. He has experience in law enforcement and security, working as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer, Reserve Municipal Police Officer and Private Security officer. Hom also holds instructor certifications from both the National Rifle Association and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, FLETC. Petersburg Schools Superintendent Rob Thomason stated that ... Full story
The Petersburg School Board appointed members to the vacant seats on the board during the regular meeting Tuesday evening. Dawn Ware, Sarah Holmgrain and John Bringhurst took the positions and were sworn in. Term lengths were drawn for and Jean Ellis and Holmgrain will hold their positions until 2016, Cheryl File and Bringhurst will hold their offices until 2015 and Ware drew the short term of 2014. Ellis was also voted as president of the school board with Holmgrain taking the vice president nomination and File will serve as secretary. “We a...
The Petersburg Viking girls traveled to Ketchikan for the CCCC Tournament over the Christmas break and won against Metlakatla but fell to Ketchikan and Palmer. “I thought the tournament went really well because the girls played hard,” Head Coach Dino Brock said. “We always hope that tournaments like this will show us where we are and what we need to work on.” Petersburg began this tournament against Ketchikan with an ending score of 35 to 54. “Ketchikan pressed us all over the floor, it just m...
Alaska’s seafood industry worked hard this year to ramp up its message to policy makers, especially those from rail belt regions who tend to overlook the industry’s economic significance. How important is the seafood industry to Alaska and the nation? At a glance: nearly 60% of all U.S. seafood landings come from Alaska and 96% of all wild- caught salmon. Seafood is by far Alaska’s #1 export, valued $2.4 billion last year. Alaska ranks 9th in the world in terms of global seafood production. The seafood industry is second only to Big Oil in re...
The Petersburg City School District Board approved a Fall budget revision that will bring more state money into the school. “Our original budget projected an enrollment of 445 and our actual membership is 451,” PCSD Finance Director Karen Quitsland said. “Our foundation formula is based on this number and the majority of our state funding is based on that as well, so that plays a pretty big role in what our funding from the state is.” Senate Bill 182 was pending at the time of budget submission and SB 182 has three parts to it which include... Full story
January An elderly man was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street at Gjoa and Nordic Drive. The gentleman was crossing inside the crosswalk and was grazed by the vehicle’s mirror as it passed. The victim was thrown approximately 20 feet. He was on crutches at the time. Rock-N-Road Construction was granted a contract to demolish the Romiad Building to make room for the new library. The building was demolished for $22,499. The Petersburg City Council discussed condemning LeConte RV Park for s... Full story
Billie Elizabeth Taylor died in Salem, Ore. on December 12, 2012. Born November 1, 1915, Billie was the last living member of a family of 13 children. She was born in Alger, Wash. to German immigrant parents who ran a small logging and saw mill operation on their rural property. Life was not easy for this large family. Billie attended a small country elementary school, but had to move to nearby Bellingham to board with friends and relatives in order to attend high school. She graduated from Burl... Full story
Tuesday evening, the Alaska Division of Elections posted the unofficial results of the Petersburg Borough election, which shows the yes votes winning by 108 votes. The borough question was approved by a 10% margin with 55% approving the measure. Preliminary tallies showed 584 yes votes to 476 no. At the time of the results posting 1,068 of the 2,623 registered voters’ ballots had been counted for a 41% turnout. The Division of Elections will not certify the election until Jan. 3 in order for rem... Full story
Nick Popp, Petersburg High School's Vocational Shop Teacher, addressed the Petersburg City School District School Board in order to bring the board up to date with the equipment that was given to PCSD through a Forest Service grant that began some years ago. The history of the Forest Service grant began several years ago with Paul Anderson. Anderson, at the time was on the Resource Advisory Board, RAC. Popp explained that RAC was spending a lot of money on signs for the Tongass National Forest and Anderson suggested that RAC and the Forest...
Don’t stomp on the process Letter to the Editor: Ahhh, Mr. Will Ware…ever the silver tongued speaker. My comments are in regards to last week’s letter to the Pilot. You’re certainly a born preacher…. but, someone I feel is qualified to give me lectures on dignity, integrity, honor and respect? …not so much. Your self-appointed role as moral compass for the tribe, is really the true “foolishness”, here. My grandmother, Amy Hallingstad, was instrumental in forming the Petersburg Indian Association as well as in writing the original by-law...
The Petersburg Hospital Board of Directors heard the overview of a survey completed this year in order to see how Petersburg rates with the rest of the state for physician recruitment during its regular meeting Thursday evening. A representative of Solstice Family Care, Barb Doty, presented the survey to the board. Doty explained that Petersburg compared very well in many areas with the 15 other cities which were surveyed. “Regarding geographic location,” Doty said. “Petersburg rated very well and better than many others that parti... Full story
The key to unity is listening To the Editor: I’m glad that Petersburg has a new asset in its toolbox, called “Let’s Talk”. Half of communication is listening, and since so many of us, myself included, want to talk about just what’s important to us, we could all use some lessons in listening to others who’re normally outside our personal comfort zone, expanding our understanding of the full current, that flows within our brotherhood. Let’s Talk provides us with that deeper connection, just as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens anot...
Petersburg City School District's Junior class put forth a night of talent Thursday evening. The Masters of Ceremonies Skipper Erickson and Diane Murph announced act after act with one being just as entertaining as the other. The night began with a rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” sung by Jaden Perry and Mikel Heppe with piano accompaniment by Liam Demko. Voices raised in song were followed by Three Christmas Duets on brass instruments played by Bud Bergen and Skipper Erickson. Kia... Full story
Over 2500 ballots arrived in the mail Wednesday, Nov. 28 asking voters in the proposed Petersburg Borough boundaries if the City of Petersburg shall be dissolved and a Petersburg Borough shall be incorporated. Ballots were mailed to voters who were registered to vote by August 22, 2012. According to Alyce Houston, Regional Election Supervisor, the ballots need to be returned to the state in the return envelope and the voter must sign the ballot and include an identifying mark such as date of birth or the last four digits of their social securit... Full story
Borough will benefit surrounding area To the Editor: I believe formation of the borough is a good thing for the people of Petersburg and the surrounding area. The people living in this region want a say in what goes on around us. We’ve seen many instances throughout Alaska of activities by State and Federal government and private industry that have definitely not been to the benefit of the people. Having the area’s important resources within the Petersburg Borough gives us a stronger voice over how those resources are managed. Borough for...
Newly elected Petersburg City Schools Board member, Cheryl File, is the mother of three boys in the Petersburg schools and hopes to win a seat on the school board of the proposed Petersburg Borough. File has been a resident of Petersburg for 18 years and volunteers her time for the Little League program and is now serving as a member of the school board in order to learn and become a part of the process. “One of the main reasons I ran for the school board is that I felt there were not too m...
The Petersburg City School District receives preliminary grant amounts for state and federal grants early in the school year and then an additional amount in October. PCSD received an additional $237,617 in grant funds this year. The PCSD School Board accepted the grants during its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 20. A grant in the amount of $105,193 was given by the No Child Left Behind Act and another $1,575 was received by the Migrant Book grant. The Special Education program received $117,060 and $12,789 was received by the Fresh Fruits and...
Thank you from VSC To the Editor: A big heartfelt thank you to the community of Petersburg for helping celebrate Viking Swim Club’s 40th Anniversary at the annual auction on Saturday. Viking Swim Club truly is blessed with an amazing community of supporters through donations, well wishes, and encouragement of swimmers in all of their endeavors. Over 40 years as a club, Viking Swim Club has seen hundreds of swimmers take their first dip in the pool and has encouraged their growth as athletes. Viking Swim Club swimmers have achieved personal b...
Mark Jensen is a third generation Petersburg resident and commercial fisherman who is seeking election as Mayor in the proposed borough assembly. “I think it's important for Petersburg to be involved in the government for the area,” Jensen said. “If the government isn't seated in Petersburg, it will be somewhere because I think eventually all of the areas will be in an organized borough.” When asked, Jensen said he was not sure of the chances for the borough election to pass. “I'm really no... Full story
Jean Ellis is a lifelong resident of Petersburg and is currently serving as president of the Petersburg City School District Board. She has now put her name in the hat as a candidate for school board in the proposed Petersburg Borough. “I served on the board from 1981 to 1987 then went off but came back in 2007,” Ellis said. “During my time off of the school board I served 13 years on the Petersburg Hospital Board.” Ellis graduated from Petersburg High School and has a deep history in the are... Full story
The time to file to run for borough office has come and gone and there are still remaining positions that will need to be filled after the election. At this time, Mark Jensen and Don Koenigs are the two choices for mayor. The candidates that have filed for assembly seats are Sue Flint, John R. Havrilek, John Hoag and Nancy Strand. School Board candidates are Jean Ellis and Cheryl File. Hospital Board candidates are Tom Abbott, Timothy Koeneman, Rocio Tejera and Darlene Whitethorn. The remaining seats will be filled by appointment if the...
With the deadline for filing for a position on the Petersburg Borough Assembly, Hospital Board, School Board and Planning Commission coming to an end, the list of candidates has grown. But all positions are still not spoken for. As of the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday, the names of people who have filed were Mark Jensen and Don Koenigs for the Mayor seat; Susan Flint, John Havrilek, John Hoag and Nancy Strand for Assembly seats; Tom Abbott, Timothy Koeneman, Rocio Tejera and Darlene Whitethorn for Hospital Board positions. The petitions and forms... Full story
The Petersburg Borough election date is looming before the area and facts regarding this issue are in debate for all involved. The Petersburg Borough Promotion Committee met for the first time Friday morning with the tag line, Petersburg Borough. We’re stronger together. “We need to make sure that all of our promotional information is based in fact,” Petersburg City Manager Steve Giesbrecht said. “The purpose of this promotion is not to change the minds of those who have already decided, but to help those undecided know the facts.” This Boro... Full story
