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The Petersburg School Board voted in its first reading a district memorial policy last week—the lack of which caused some confusion and conflict between district staff and members of the public two years ago. The policy would, in part, limit the display of student memorials for a two-week period. Petersburg School District Superintendent Erika Kludt-Painter said her predecessor, along with district staff, removed a memorial to Jake Madsen, a Petersburg High School student athlete who died in a... Full story
Memorial policy To the Editor: I am very saddened by the decision of the School Board to not include the Jacob Madsen Memorial with the other memorials in the school that the School Board has decided to grandfather in. The memorial will be taken down with the writing and passing of their new memorial policy at the next reading/meeting. The Jacob Madsen Memorial is currently hanging in the High School gymnasium. I understand the reason we need a memorial policy. I am writing today because I feel the existing memorials that are already in the...
The Petersburg School Board met in a work session last week to discuss the implementation of random drug testing for Petersburg High School students participating in activities. The board kicked off the discussion highlighting criticisms and questions they’ve heard from community members regarding drug testing. Board member Mara Lutomski said one of the common concerns she hears is whether or not teachers and coaches will be tested along with students. While coaches and teachers wouldn’t likely be randomly drug tested, the board can request dru...
The local Rotary Club had a special guest at their weekly lunch meeting last Wednesday when District Governor Brad Gamble stopped by. Among the chief responsibilities for Gamble as district governor is to oversee all of Alaska and Yukon territories, and pay a visit to each club in the district during his year in the position. Gamble has been a part of Rotary for 10 years, and all club members, including leadership positions are unpaid volunteers. He says Rotary International and district funds financially help support his travel expenses, but...
The Petersburg School Board held its first meeting of the 2015 school year. At the meeting, the board unanimously approved spending $18,510 for the much needed addition of an exhaust hood in the cafeteria kitchen. “We have received a health code violation because we do not have an exhaust hood over our stove and steam kettle,” said Daniel Tate, maintenance/facilities director. “The school never was designed with a cafeteria, it was essentially put into a multipurpose room.” Tate believes the cafeteria was originally called a gymnasium on the... Full story
September 11, 1915 – When the cannery boats arrived in last Sunday morning with 27,000 seine fish the catch for the season was finished, and within a couple of weeks the cannery crew will have completed work. The Petersburg pack this season is the largest put up by any cannery in this section of South-eastern Alaska, and is a record pack for the cannery, exceeding by 8,000 cases the output for any previous year. The total pack is 63,000 cases, of which about 50,000 are pinks, 6,000 reds, and the balance cohoes, with a few chums. The m...
Petersburg High School cross country continued their strong showing in the second meet of the season. Last weekend the boys and girls traveled to Craig, and both teams placed second in the overall 1A/2A/3A/4A standings, finishing just behind the larger 4A Ketchikan High School. However, both squads finished first in the 1A/2A/3A standings. The girls team finished well ahead of second place Wrangell, by 45 points. The Vikings had four runners place in the top 10, led by Kayleigh Eddy, who placed seventh overall. Eddy was followed closely by...
Student registration is well underway for the Petersburg School District, and so far the number of students signing up is encouraging for the Aug. 31 start of classes. "We've registered 18 new kids in the elementary that we weren't necessarily counting on," said Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. "Upwards of 15 or 16 in high school, so that's great, it's great for the schools and the community." For Kludt-Painter, it marks her first year full year as Superintendent, and having 15 years of...
The School Board met again after a one-month summer break on Tuesday evening, but they picked back up where they left off in June, talking about the budget. “I feel like that’s all I’ve talked about for six months, since I walked into this thing, is money, money, money,” Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said at the start of her report to the board. She and Finance Director Karen Quitslund had mostly good news to report regarding some loose ends that had been tied up by the legislature during the board’s June break. In particular, the legis... Full story
August 14, 1915 – The fast and commodious launch Trigby will leave Petersburg next Monday for Cape Fanshaw, Port Houghton, Pybus Bay, Tyee, Warm Springs Bay, Kuiu Island points, and Kake. Such is the announcement of S.L. Hogue, who this week purchased the Trigby from Conrad Dahl. It is Hogue's intention to make a trial trip to the points above listed, and if it appears that business will justify the enterprise, to make weekly return trips, carrying passengers, mail, and freight, and also to take orders for and deliver merchandise to people a...
The Petersburg School Board unanimously approved a list of capital projects for the district at their Tuesday evening meeting. Maintenance Director Dan Tate helped prepare and prioritize the list, which outlines the district’s needed capital projects for the coming six years and is required for submittal to the legislature for possible grant funding. Rather than being a straightforward list of priorities, projects are ranked strategically to garner points from legislators who prepare an overall ranked list for funding for new capital p...
School enrollment will be a little bit easier for parents and staff this year as the Petersburg Medical Center (PMC) was selected to pilot a program that will transmit vaccine records, sports physicals and other pertinent medical information directly to the school. “We’ve been asked to pilot a program through AeHN (Alaska eHealth Network), which is a state-affiliated program,” said PMC Informatics Director Jill Dormer at last Thursday’s hospital board meeting. “They are going to pay us…to set up an interface connection with the school dist...
June 10, 1915 – At an adjourned meeting of the council Thursday evening it was decided to send a delegate to Juneau to take up the matter of the building of the Petersburg – Scow Bay board walk with J.C. Hayes, superintendent of construction of the road commission of Alaska. A delegation from Scow Bay was present and acted with the council in the matter. S. L. Hogue was selected as the delegate. Resolutions on the subject passed by the Scow Bay school board will also be presented to Mr. Hayes. June 12, 1940 – Three salmon canneries are runni...
June 26, 1915 – The council met in regular session Monday evening. President: Mayor Pryer; Councilmen Brennan, Hogue, Jorgensen, Bruce, Duryea. On motion, the clerk was instructed to write to the district attorney regarding the matter of delinquent cannery taxes. The clerk was also instructed to order another fire hydrant, to be placed between the Jack Allen and Hogue and Tveten buildings; also two shut-off nozzles for the fire hose. Dr. Pryer and S. L. Hogue, while in Wrangell on Friday of last week, inspected the dam of that town's water s...
The Petersburg School District doesn’t “anticipate any large fluctuations” with the budget the state passed June 11, Finance Director Karen Quitslund said. The school board passed the district’s budget just two days before, on June 9, in order to meet a state deadline. But what the legislature passed “is what the school district projected for our operating budget,” Quitslund said. As planned, the district is losing $150,000 in HB278 and $30,000 in food grants. The Healthy Living grant that was a concern is being partially funded, though the...
The state legislature has finally reached a budget agreement, drawing a “collective sigh of relief from Alaska,” as Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka) put it. The $5 billion budget will include funds pulled from the Constitutional Budget Reserve to balance it. The state still faces a nearly $4 billion budget hole in fiscal year 2017. This year’s legislative session went over seven weeks as legislators couldn’t reach a compromise. It sparked the possibility of a partial government shutdown on July 1 that had Governor Bill Walker sending... Full story
The state still hasn’t decided on a budget, but the Petersburg School District has. The school board approved the district’s 2016 budget during its monthly meeting Tuesday evening in assembly chambers. Finance Director Karen Quitslund said Petersburg schools’ are looking at an $8.4 million general fund next year. “Well this has certainly been a very interesting budget year,” she said, adding she may not have survived it if it had been her first year in the job. While there are still uncertainties, the district’s budget is due to the state b... Full story
WRANGELL - The next steps have been taken on an agreement between the University of Alaska Southeast and Wrangell Public School District, with the establishment of an office for the university's technical preparation program. The tech prep program is offered for college credit through the university, and courses are taught by approved instructors using UAS syllabi. Enrolled students earn high school credits needed for graduation as well, and school superintendent Patrick Mayer explained the...
The Petersburg School District’s financial future is still unknown, but it was looking bleak Monday evening. Governor Bill Walker announced Monday afternoon that he had vetoed parts of the budget packet that were unfunded, leaving Alaska’s schools funded at only 28 percent. The district’s budget for 2016 is at a “stopping point” until legislators finish the budget, Finance Director Karen Quitslund said, but fiscal year 2015 has already been impacted. The school board approved 2015 budget revisions during a special meeting Monday evening at the... Full story
May 15, 1915 – Petersburg’s three-day celebration of the one hundred and first anniversary of Norway’s independence commences tonight with a grand ball in Sons of Norway Hall. Tomorrow there will be an excursion to Thomas Bay glacier. All boats leave the Citizen’s wharf at 8 o’ clock a.m. The excursion is free for all. An address by Rev. Thorvilson at the destination, is on the program, and music by the band. At 8 o’ clock in the evening, in Sons of Norway hall, the musical recital and entertainment under direction of Mrs. J. C. Allen takes...
Taking more than a million steps in six weeks' time, Mary Meucci topped this year's pedometer challenge, earning herself a $350 gift certificate and iPad mini. Meucci logged 1,090,486 steps and got first pick during an awards ceremony Tuesday evening at the Petersburg Public Library. Following her was Gail Herlick-Aho with 1,058,481 steps and Mark Tuccillo with 870,958. Sponsored by the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department, Petersburg Mental Health Services and the Petersburg School District, Pe...
Petersburg High School is examining the possibility of altering requirements for valedictorian status, among other potential changes for next year. Principal Rick Dormer presented a “very draft” version of grade and graduation proposals during the school board’s meeting Tuesday evening in assembly chambers. The process began last fall with former superintendent Lisa Stroh. Dormer said he’s received some parent feedback, but no student input yet. The goal is to have changes in place for the new school year. Right now, the school takes academi...
Mara Lutomski became "fired up" to get involved with the community through the school board during talks surrounding the state's budget shortfall and local impacts. "I am impressed at the responsible fiscal choices that this district has made and I want to be a part of that decision making process," she wrote in her letter of interest. The Petersburg School Board approved her as its new member during a special meeting Monday evening at the District Office. Former board president Jean Ellis'... Full story
The Petersburg School District has found a new way to assist its students in becoming better readers in a short amount of time. For the second year, the district is using Fast Forward, a computer delivered brain fitness program that not only improves reading, but concentration, processing and even math skills. Each student's time with the program varies, but many finish an assignment, such as reading or literacy, in about nine weeks, and 90 percent of them improve, Activities Director Jaime...
April 24, 1915 – A member of the legislature has secured the opinion of the Seattle attorney to the effect that the territorial lawmakers have “practically unlimited power to levy and collect direct, product or special taxes on trade, industry and property in Alaska.” While the finding of the legal light may be very correct, we would mildly suggest that the “trade, industry, and property in Alaska” has hardly as yet reached that stage of development which justifies “unlimited” taxing. If the legislators will devote some substantial e...
