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The Petersburg School District board held a discussion during its meeting on Tuesday covering where the district currently stands financially and its need for additional revenue to prevent a negative fund balance in FY24. During the discussion, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter and PSD Director of Finance Karen Morrison gave a presentation detailing how funding has declined in recent years while costs have spiked. According to their presentation, the true value of Alaska's school funding has...
James Chase Swainson was born on August 27, 1967 in Ellensburg, Washington to Jim Swainson and Susan Goettlicher. James split his time living between both parents – traveling between Alaskan towns to live with his dad Jimmy and stepmom Sparky in Petersburg, with his mother Susan and stepfather Tom Larson in Sitka, and later with his mother and stepfather Mark Goettlicher in Anchorage. After graduating from East High School in Anchorage, James moved to Seattle and lived in the University District... Full story
COVID-19 cases have dropped at the Petersburg Medical Center's Long-Term Care facility after it faced its biggest outbreak of the pandemic last week. During the PMC Board meeting on Feb. 23, LTC Manager Helen Boggs reported that the facility had seen eight positive cases among residents as well as a few staff members. She also said residents had all been treated prophylactically with either Paxlovid or Remdesivir and were doing fairly well. On Wednesday, Boggs wrote that all of the COVID...
The Petersburg School District Board approved the calendar for the 2023-24 school year during its February meeting. Though some draft calendars that had been presented at a previous board meeting saw some significant shakeups in the schedule, the calendar that ultimately passed is generally similar to previous years. The school year will start on Aug. 29 and finish on May 30 and will have 172 student days. Some of the changes to next year's calendar include giving students Nov. 1 off instead of...
Reads Act funding and PFD taxation To the Editor: I met with Representative Himschoot on Super Bowl Sunday to chat about the Alaska Reads Act. I pointed out that parts of the Act include unfunded mandates and she agreed. In discussion, I realized there are three logical sources from which the funds can be had: Permanent Fund, State Income Tax or local sources. Representative Himschoot did not endorse any of my funding suggestions, but she did point out that it would be unfair for a state mandated program to require local funding. I pointed out...
Paul Arnold Anderson, 77, passed away with family by his side at home in Petersburg, Alaska on January 16, 2023 after a short battle with throat cancer. He was born in Seattle, Washington on August 2, 1945, to Gustav Nathaniel Anderson Jr. and Patricia Ann Anderson. Paul lived in Ballard, Washington with his parents and 4 siblings, Knute, Patty, Erik, and Mark. He attended Whittier Elementary school from 1951 until 1953 when the family moved to Petersburg, Alaska where he finished up his schooli...
February 9, 1923 – The opening of the Million Dollar Club in Wrangell next Saturday night will without doubt be one of the greatest pleasure events in the history of southeastern Alaska. The thrilling life of the bygone days of the Kondike will be lived over again as the dramatic scenes are reenacted. The famous native orchestra from Metlakatla will furnish the music for the occasion. Special boats will arrive from Juneau , Petersburg, and Ketchikan bringing delegations of visiting Elks with their ladies and friends. The local Elks have a...
Thank you, thank you, thank you To the Editor: Mike and I are so incredibly humbled by and grateful for the outpouring of support, generosity, thoughts, and prayers after our house fire. It has been said many times that this community rises to the occasion to help each other, but to be the recipient of such support and generosity—there are not enough words to express how much we appreciate everyone and everything that has been done for us. Although our home and possessions are a total loss, we are extremely lucky to live in such an amazing c...
January Petersburg experienced record snowfall on New Year's Day with 17.5 inches of new snow on the day, bringing the total snow depth to 40 inches according to the National Weather Service. The Petersburg Borough Assembly passed a resolution requesting a discussion with the U.S. Postal Service about providing additional services in Petersburg following continued issues with staffing, irregular hours, and long lines. All-purpose vehicles became legal to drive on roads in Alaska, including in...
With discussions beginning on what next year’s school calendar could look like, the Petersburg School District is seeking input from community members on what changes could be made to best benefit learning. During a school board meeting on Dec. 13, the board discussed the ongoing challenges facing the district and some ways changing the calendar could address them. Ideas included changing from early release on Fridays to late arrival on Mondays and adjusting the length of the school year and p...
The Petersburg School District Board unanimously approved a major revision to the FY23 budget during its meeting on Dec. 13, which will see a new projected ending fund balance of $622,672. According to Finance Director Karen Morrison, the proposed budget revision was based on an average daily membership student count of 429.6 students, which was calculated in October and is above the threshold for three school funding. The final student count numbers brought the district's foundation funding up...
During its meeting on Dec. 13, the Petersburg School District Board voted unanimously to amend the district's COVID-19 mitigation policy, changing when students and staff can return to school following a positive test. The new policy states that students and staff who test positive can now come back to school on a date determined by the Petersburg Medical Center, possibly allowing them to return earlier than what the previous guidance allowed. If students and staff who test positive do not obtai...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly is expected to take a look at adopting a trial program to support local child care providers in Petersburg at its next meeting. The Education Incentive Program, modeled after the Hiring, Educating, and Retaining Teaching Staff (HEARTS) Program implemented in Juneau, aims to increase retention, encourage child care professionals to continue their educations, and improve quality of care. The program would award tiered bonuses every six months to child care educators...
Volunteers rallied at the Community Cold Storage on Nov. 21 to distribute 1,748 pounds of moose burger meat to local organizations. According to Desi Burrell, recipients of the meat included the Petersburg Indian Association, Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood, Petersburg School District, the Catholic Church soup kitchen, the Baptist Church Wednesday night meals, Monday night meals, Humanity In Progress, Petersburg Children's Center, Mountain View Manor Assisted Living, Mountain...
WRANGELL — School districts statewide be looking to the Legislature next year for an increase in state funding, but any boost in the state’s per-pupil formula likely will depend in large part on oil revenues and also Permanent Fund earnings. And neither looks good this month, less than seven weeks before lawmakers are scheduled to convene in Juneau. The state funding formula for K-12 education hadn’t moved in about five years before this year’s 0.5% mini-nudge upward. Meanwhile, districts statewide are facing budget deficits and program...
The Petersburg School District board voted 4-0 to accept the draft of the FY22 audit during its meeting on Nov. 8 with Board Member Jay Lister excused. Bikky Shrestha of BDO USA, LLP, the district's accounting firm, presented the draft of the financial statements to the board and said that though it is still being reviewed, they do not expect the information in the draft to drastically change. Shrestha reported that there were no corrected or uncorrected misstatements related to accounts or...
November 17, 1922 – In what is said to be an attempt to influence election judges in Southeastern Alaska, a suit was filed in the District Court recently in which George Mason, a native, asks for $5,000 damages for being refused a chance to vote in at the primary election last spring. The suit was filed on the eve of election by W. L. Paul as attorney for Mason and is against L. M. Churchhill, one of the election judges at Wrangell at the primary election. November 14, 1947 – Community response to invitations to attend classes during American E...
Thank You To the Editor: We would like to express a heartfelt THANK YOU to the community of Petersburg and all the volunteers that made November Rain possible this past weekend! The three day swim meet hosted teams from Petersburg, Ketchikan, Craig, Wrangell, Juneau and Sitka with a total of 114 swimmers participating in over 100 events. Without our dedicated volunteers and their many hours of work, this meet would not have been possible. The Board of Directors and over sixty Viking Swim Club swimmers want to say Thank You to each person that...
November 10, 1922 – In a talk before the Juneau Commercial Association luncheon, Roy Jones, an aviator from Ketchikan currently in Juneau with his plane, stated that while it was not generally known, two representatives of the government had been here and elsewhere in Alaska recently looking up the feasibility of establishing aerial mail routes. The investigators were members of the army. Mr. Jones laid stress on the wonderful possibilities of aerial service in Southeastern Alaska in particular and throughout the territory in general, p...
November 8th is our State Election; don’t forget to Vote! To the Editor: Mark and I are supporting Rebecca Himshoot for State House representing our district. She is a strong supporter of education, teachers and stabilizing school funding. She will work for accessible housing, invest in infrastructure, work to improve our Alaska Marine Highway, and will safeguard our Permanent Fund for future generations. Rebecca will stand up for women’s reproductive rights in our State. She is committed to fishing issues and creating more jobs that will hel...
Early in-person voting for the 2022 state general election opened on Monday. Petersburg residents can vote ahead of election day in the community center activity room Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Nov. 7. The election will use ranked choice voting where voters will be able to rank the candidates in each race based on their preference. After the polls close, each voter's first choice vote will be counted. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the candidate who...
The Petersburg School District board unanimously voted to revise its FY23 budget during its Oct. 11 meeting to account for $262,000 in one-time funding allocated to the district by the Alaska Legislature. The one-time funding will make up for cuts to activities, instruction, and support line items made when the budget was first adopted in June-before the legislature approved the funding. The initial budget did not include the $262,000 in one-time funding and was also based on a district student...
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...
September 21 – Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a dog wandering near Jenny Lane. An officer assisted a citizen on Sandy Beach Road with a lock out. PPD received a report of property lost on Charles Street. PPD received a report of reckless driving by individuals on 6th Street. An officer performed a welfare check on an individual on Sandy Beach Road. PPD received a report of suspicious bear activity on Lumber Street. September 22 – An officer located and secured a garbage can accessed by a bear on Dolphin Street. The Pet...
