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During this holiday season, the Salvation Army brought in $14,241.55 in donations through the red kettles with the proceeds going to services for the community and the Salvation Army Church's yearly budget, according to Salvation Army Major Loni Upshaw. "Considering the economy is down and everything, I think we did pretty well," said Upshaw. Over ten organizations around town volunteered to collect donations for eight hour shifts beginning with Pioneers of Alaska on Dec. 3 and ending with...
The Petersburg School Board awarded the food service renovation bid to Jay-Brant General Contractors based out of Homer and transferred $300,000 from the allocated capital funds to the food service renovation. Jay-Brant General Contractors had the lowest bid out of three other bidders at $1,473,322. The state has the project on its capital projects list and will be funding 65 percent of the total costs, according to the school board. The food service renovation will build a full commercial...
District ranger Dave Zimmerman has taken a position at the forest service regional offices in Juneau working in forest management after serving two and half years in Petersburg. While the United States Forest Serves goes through a competitive hiring process for a new district ranger, Ted Sandhofer is acting district ranger in Petersburg, according to forest service affairs and partnerships officer Paul Robbins, Jr. Zimmerman is the region ten forest product group leader in Juneau, which is a lateral move within the forest service. The position...
On Dec. 11, the Petersburg school board renewed Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter's contract for another three years beginning July 1, 2019 and ending June 30, 2020. "I think she has provided some really great leadership as she has grown into this role," said school board president Mara Lutomski. The 260-day contract includes 40 days off. During fiscal year 2020, or the first year of the contract, Kludt-Painter will be paid $130,000. Her salary increases to $135,000 in the second year and...
No papers were published this week in 1918. December 3, 1943 Two local business houses have changed hands this week. On December 1 Ernie Carter, of Sitka purchased Willie’s Cocktail Bar from Willie Johnson and Martin Olsen. At the same time Mrs. Marie Tenfjord became the new owner of the Sweet Shop, purchasing it from Mrs. Willie Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been in business for seven years and will go south after the holidays. Carter and his wife own Ernie’s Cocktail Bar in Sitka and will take up their residence in Petersburg. Until tak...
On Monday, the borough assembly approved to postpone discussing and voting on the 2020 fiscal year capital projects list and budget policies until the Dec. 17 assembly meeting. Mayor Mark Jensen cited a busy agenda and a desire to have a separate meeting to discuss and vote on the budget. “There is no real urgent deadline for this,” said Jensen. “It would be nice to get it done before the end of December.” The submitted capital project document listed a combined total of over 50 capital project needs in the Harbor Department, Parks and Recreat...
The Petersburg School District received its first score from Alaska’s system of school success, as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act, which shows all three schools scoring above the state average. “We are above average, which is often where we are,” said Superintendent Eric Kludt-Painter at a school board meeting last week. “We are not in any sort of targeted assistance or comprehensive assistance.” Rae C. Steman Elementary scored an overall school index value of 62.48, Mitkof Middle School scored an overall school index value of...
November 22, 1918 The outbreak of Spanish Influenza in Petersburg is practically under control. No new cases have been reported to the health board for the past several days and it is thought there will be no more. The doctors report that at least 800 cases developed here, without a single death, with the exception of five natives and a white man who was brought from an outside point too far gone to be saved. A quarantine station has been established in one of the houses on the prairie where five natives have been quarantined. These cases are...
The Petersburg School Board approved the acceptance of grant awards for the 2019 fiscal year totaling $513,613. The grants make up about six percent of the district’s funding, with the other 94 percent, or $8,432,563, coming from the general fund. Three of the largest grants received by the district came from Title VI-B at $141,677, ESSA Title I-A at $121,119 and ESSA Title I-C at $118,402. The three grants make up about 75 percent of the district’s grants. “There’s a whole team of us that put these grants together,” said finance director...
Petersburg School District has received its scores for the Performance Evaluation For Alaska's Schools, which shows students have improved in English language arts and math in the two year period the test has been given. "It is one test, one time a year," said Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter at a school board meeting on Tuesday. "It provides a piece of information about a child, but it is a piece." The PEAKS assessment is given to students between 3rd and 9th grade. In the two years that it has been given to PSD students, they have had a...
In October, the Petersburg School District will receive its first assessment from the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter at a school board meeting on Tuesday. Signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2015, ESSA seeks to provide all children with significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable and high-quality education and close achievement gaps, according to the act’s statement of purpose. The assessment focused on two groups in the 2017-2018 school year, kindergarten through 6th grade and 7th...
Students started their first day back to school on Monday at the Petersburg School District. "It's been busy but it's been great," said Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School principal Rick Dormer. "It really is great having the kids back in the building." The middle school was treated to an introductory assembly on Monday, which welcomed them back and introduced new students and staff. A similar assembly was held on Wednesday that introduced the high school athletic department and...
Three teachers, a counselor and four paraprofessionals join the Petersburg School District this year. Mikalai Potrzuski will be teaching 7th grade geography, 8th grade US history and 6th, 7th and 8th grade PE. Shannon Vandervest-Whitacre will be teaching first grade after she substituted in the spring. Timothy Shumway is the 6th, 9th and 11th grade language arts teacher. Jenna Turner will be joining the district as the middle school and high school counselor. Heidi Cabral will be a middle... Full story
With a total estimated cost of approximately $3.5 million, the Petersburg School Board approved its project priority list for the 2020 through 2025 fiscal years on Tuesday. The Department of Education requires school districts to submit a 6-year capital improvement plan before Sept. 1 of each year for statewide ranking for the distribution of possible funding. For the duration of the six fiscal years, beginning in 2020, the school board has laid out its priority projects with each year taking on a different project. Four projects will focus on...
The Petersburg Marine Mammal Center is hosting a summer science camp this week to expose middle school aged kids to the scientific jobs available in the community. "We're excited," said Sunny Rice, Petersburg Marine Mammal Center board member and marine advisory agent with the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences/Alaska Sea Grant. "It'll be fun. It's always lots fun. Lots of energy. It's good to expose them to things they might want to do later on in life." Although, the summer camp is...
The Petersburg School Board on Tuesday approved seven changes to its policy and one change to its bylaws, which changes future board meeting times. “If we’re going to have a focus on kids and have kids at our board meetings to do presentations, I know that sometimes our board meetings can get a little late in the evening during the school year,” said school board president Mara Lutomski at a board meeting in June. “I also would prefer to be done a little bit earlier.” Board Bylaw 9320 will now have board meetings beginning at 6 P.M. on the seco...
July 12, 1918 A mass meeting was held Friday night by a number of the residents of Petersburg and vicinity to consider ways and means of abating the reported evils of the city and particularly the alleged sale of liquor in the red light district. A committee was appointed to take whatever action they saw fit and to make a quiet investigation of local conditions. On Monday night this committee met with the city council, but no definite action was taken. Having no direct evidence of the sale of liquor they have nothing to lay before the Federal...
The Petersburg Borough has announced that Sgt. James Kerr will be proposed as Petersburg's next police chief. "He did a wonderful job in the interview process and had a tremendous amount of support from the community," said Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht on Wednesday afternoon. Giesbrecht added, "Debbie Thompson and I will be negotiating a contingent contract with James to be our next Police Chief, first thing tomorrow. I have notified Jim, and the other candidates." The job offer is...
There has been a huge wave crashing through the school district over the years according to High School principal Rick Dormer and that is the Class of 2018. He went on to say "based on the sheer size of the class and frequency of successful achievements to produce an appropriate wavelength that has resulted in a powerful force in our district without the destructive tendencies of a tsunami." With 45 students receiving their diplomas Tuesday night, it was indeed a wave of blue. Out of the 45, 37...
The Petersburg Borough has released the names and resumes of four finalist candidates seeking the Chief of Police that has been filled for five years by Kelly Swihart. Swihart is leaving to seek a job in the Lower 48 to be closer to family. Steven W. Lewis is currently a Detective Sergeant with the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon. He began as a Reserve Deputy with the same department in 1987 moving through the ranks to become a corrections deputy and in 1994 as a patrol deputy. He supervised the K-9 unit, which had three dogs. A...
One of the largest graduating classes in the history of the Petersburg School District will receive their diplomas next Tuesday at commencement ceremonies in the PHS gym. Principal Rick Dormer said the 45 students rolled through the system each year like a wave, due to their class size. “They were a very active class. Very outspoken and very likeable kids,” Dormer noted. “They were all over the school, involved in activities with other students. They weren’t a bunch of stuck up seniors,” Dormer stated. Also unique to this class was the inter...
In a media release posted this week, the Alaska School Nutrition Association named Carlee Rae Johnson as its Director of the Year. The nutrition director for the Petersburg School District since 2011, Johnson has put much effort into widening its local lunch program's menu options. "She does all these amazing things with this limited equipment," said Erica Kludt-Painter, PSD superintendent. "Our facilities are very minimal," Johnson explained. "We have basically only a double convection oven....
Alice Neidiffer, the student body president at Petersburg High School, recently spent a half week in Juneau, researching bills and passing notes in hearings, all while observing those who might not be as balanced and fair as she strives to be. Neidiffer worked as a staff member on State Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins' roughly six-person team for four days in late March, living with her mom and commuting from the valley to the Capitol building. "Alice definitely has poise, period,"...
The Petersburg School District recently purchased a less invasive way than a breathalyzer to test for alcohol, coming after a few students were hospitalized amid the homecoming dance in February. The Passive Alcohol Sensor appears to be a black flashlight. On the side, though, is a sensor that reads alcohol levels. Petersburg school staff members can administer the alcohol sensor simply by asking a student to say his or her name into the small hole on the side, said Richard Dormer, the middle...
The school board on Tuesday approved a three-year contract agreement with teachers, moved forward with a cafeteria kitchen remodel and celebrated the arrival of the district's new activity bus. The labor agreement between the Petersburg School District and Associated Teachers of Petersburg was finalized for the years 2019 through 2021. In it there's a 2 percent raise stretched over three years for the base salary of teachers. There will be a half percent raise in the first year, one percent rais...
