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At the Sons of Norway Hall on Thursday, in front of about a dozen people, Gov. Bill Walker signed a bill that gave the Petersburg Borough more than 14,000 acres of land. The borough was entitled to about 1,400 acres before Walker came to Petersburg, a number that was personal to the Alaska-born governor. "I don't know the history of what happened, but [Petersburg] didn't get all the land that it was entitled to," Walker told the Pilot. "And I have a personal issue with the federal government...
Mon., Nov. 20 Stedman Elementary - Regular release time: Kndgtn 1:15, Grades 1-5 2:45pm. Scheduled conferences, 3-8pm. Mitkof Middle School - Regular release time: Grades 6-8 3:00pm. Conferences, 4-8pm (call middle school office for scheduling information). Petersburg High School - Regular release time: Grades 9-12 3:00pm. Walk-in conferences, 4-8pm Tues., Nov. 21 Stedman Elementary - Early release time: Grades Kndgtn -5 1:15pm Scheduled conferences, 1:20 - 8pm. Mitkof Middle School - Early release time: Grades 6-8 2:20pm. Conferences, 3-8pm...
A statewide assessment of grade schoolers taken this spring has suggested education has some room for improvement. The Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) exam was administered for the first time to students between third and 10th grade, testing for proficiency in mathematics, English language arts and science. Mirroring standards used in the widely-used National Assessment of Educational Progress, PEAKS provides a snapshot of student performance in relation to grade-level standards. Overall, schools across the state did not a...
The Petersburg School Board on Tuesday echoed a statement by the governor of Alaska that proclaimed October 2017 as the month to recognize school principals. Mara Lutomski, who was appointed to president of the school board in a meeting Wednesday, read from Gov. Bill Walker's proclamation to make this October as principals and assistant principals month. "We encourage all Alaskan's to recognize the invaluable contributions of Alaska's principals and assistant principals," Lutomski read, " ......
Standing in front of nine fourth graders and a lettuce patch, Christina Sargent began her instructions: "They are tools, not toys," she said, signaling to a pair of garden scissors. "May I please use the big, fat scissors?" asked one fourth grader, who took a black pair and began snipping lettuce from the elementary school garden in Petersburg. It was close to noon on Wednesday, the middle of National School Lunch Week, and K-5th graders were about to participate in "Harvest Soup Day." They had...
The Norwegian ambassador visited Petersburg last weekend to give presentations on the arctic and global warming, Glo Wollen thought, until the underlying agenda was revealed: presenting her a medal from the King of Norway. Wollen, the Sons of Norway president in Petersburg, organized a visit from Ambassador Kare Aas. Without telling her, Aas flew to town on Thursday and presented her the Saint Olav's Medal that evening at a dinner party. "I am still in shock," Wollen said. "This was a complete...
September 7, 1917 – When the period for military registration in Alaska closed, 189 men between the ages of 21 and 31 had received cards from Registrar Otness. A summarization of the cards show that of the 145 citizens and declarants who registered, 101 ask no exemption, 33 have dependent relatives, and ten, including officers of the geodetic survey, indicate occupational exemption. The remaining 44 of the total are aliens, two of whom are from enemy countries. So far as reported, all residents of Petersburg subject to registration are b...
Stephanie Pawuk started teaching at the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School this year. Here she is with her mix of third and fourth grade students on Monday, the first day of school....
Mrs. Willis Kindergarten: Andrew Ayriss, Colette Boggs, Tavyn Cabral, Jovee Coil, Sabrein Cole, Anya Curtiss, Alex Deberry, Hakon Eddy, Ethan Edwards, Emmett Flor, Daven Lopez, Luciana Maldonado, Rebel McGrath, Victoria Miller, Daisy Morrow, Bay Odegaard, Una Romine, Rosalie Sheldon, Jamari Tate, Serenity VonWeller, Summer Wells, Lucia Worhatch Mrs. Martin Kindergarten: Freya Fenner, Brylynn Fletcher, Devyn Flint, Shane Gilbert, Aidrick Glass, Arya Holmgrain, Cora Hyer, Kendyl Lachapelle, Evelyn Litster, Cedar Littleton, Lydia Morrison, Declan...
WRANGELL – On Monday Gov. Bill Walker signed into law a capital budget for the 2018 Fiscal Year, which had been adopted by the Legislature in a brief special session on July 27. The new budget includes $5,000,000 in the Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Fund, precisely what will be needed for Wrangell’s Harbor Department to proceed with an overhaul of the facilities at Shoemaker Bay Harbor. “We’re excited,” said Wrangell harbormaster Greg Meissner. The aging facility has about passed its useful life, with a portion already closed off to moorag...
In a joint news release on Monday, House Speaker Bryce Edgmon (D-Dillingham) and Senate President Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks) announced that the Alaska Legislature will call itself into another session in Juneau today at 11 a.m. The special session – the 30th Legislature’s third called for 2017 – follows extensive wrangling over the state’s fiscal deficit. A compromise operating budget was approved late last month and signed by Gov. Bill Walker on June 30. The $4.9 billion budget for the new fiscal year, which started July 1, came with a $2.5 bill...
Alaska Sen. Bert Stedman said in an interview Tuesday that his office has started dialogue with Gov. Bill Walker’s office to schedule a trip to Petersburg, during which the governor would sign Senate Bill 28, a landmark proposal that increases the city’s land entitlement to 14,666 acres. “I would be very surprised if it didn’t work into his schedule,” Stedman said. “He enjoys Petersburg and likes the community. I think it would be very well received.” Senate Bill 28 has not been transmitted to the governor, and his deputy spokesman, Jo...
The Petersburg Borough is a signature away from increasing its state land grant from 1,400 acres to more than 14,600, as legislation was passed on the last day of session in May, said Liz Cabrera, who is the Petersburg community development director. "This is a really big deal for Petersburg," Cabrera said. "If the bill didn't get passed on that day, we would have to wait until next January to take it up again. It was kind of on the 11th hour." The bill passed through the House and Senate...
Set the record straight To the Editor: Just to set the record straight, you really should have checked the accuracy of the statement made by Eric Castro in the April 20 edition of the Petersburg Pilot. Every single pound of seafood we process at Coastal Cold Storage is charged the 6% sales tax, as required by the Petersburg Borough (previously the City of Petersburg), unless it qualifies for a Senior exemption or Resale exemption. I can assure you that if Mr. Castro's uncle comes in the door with three fish to be filleted, vacuum packed and/or...
Police made contact with a man shouting vulgarities and making offensive hand gestures in front of the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School on Monday morning. He was also reported to be wearing a gas mask or respirator. In an email sent to parents and others, Principal Teri Toland said, “Today there was an individual in front of the building shouting offensive messages and using inappropriate hand gestures. We have spoken with police and (are) pursuing every legal avenue to insure students are safe. The police do not feel that the individual is a...
A bill that would rearrange how earnings from the Permanent Fund were used passed the Senate last week, with a version set next to be read by the House Finance Committee. The “Permanent Fund Protection Act” (SB 26) would arrange the Fund’s Earnings Reserve Account – from which the state’s annual dividends are paid out – so that the amount of money drawn from the earnings would be tied to a percent of market value, or POMV, approach. The bill would set up how the ERA would be tapped, and would set the POMV limit at a 5.25-percent withdraw ra...
A snag in Sitka that was holding up progress on a state bill to help the Alaska Mental Health Trust with its land exchange — and thereby prevent logging on Deer Mountain — has been resolved, putting the bill on track to be introduced this session. State and federal lawmakers, at the behest of the trust, have been working on legislation that would mandate the U.S. Forest Service exchange more than 20,000 acres of rural timber land for approximately 17,000 acres of trust land located near Ketchikan, Meyers Chuck, Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka and...
State Senator Bert Stedman predicts the legislature will be in session for a full 120 days with an additional 30 day session if they are to complete their work this session. “There’s a lot of talk of the 90 day session but the constitution calls for 121 days. “We’ve only finished in 90 days one time,” Stedman noted. Stedman was in Petersburg this past weekend to attend the Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet along with his wife Lureen. Stedman said there is a “near zero chance of a 90 day session with any quality work being accomplishe...
Entering its third full week of the session, Alaska’s Legislature continues to look at a variety of spending cuts and revenue options. On February 2, the Senate Finance Committee heard SB 21, a proposal of Sen. Bert Stedman to restructure how Permanent Fund earnings are appropriated. Currently the $56B in the fund are constitutionally protected, but the bill proposes further limiting the amount of money that can be withdrawn from the principal to 4.5 percent of market value, based on a rolling five-year average. That rate falls within the f...
As the Alaska State Legislature continues with the new session, members in both the House and Senate have put forward ideas to fix the state’s ongoing budget woes. Sitka Sen. Burt Stedman (R-District R) submitted his own contribution to that discussion, filing Senate Bill 21 on January 18. “It’s a percent of market value bill for the permanent fund which would have a five-year average market value payout of four percent. Of that four percent, a minimum of half of it or two and a quarter percent would have to go to dividends,” he explain...
JUNEAU (AP) – Alaska has never violated its constitutional spending cap, but many Republican lawmakers consider the limit too loose and want it tightened to limit future government growth. Under the existing cap, which excludes certain types of spending, this year’s budget could not exceed $10.1 billion. Current spending falls well below that. So far, House and Senate Republicans have proposed three constitutional measures aimed at restricting spending growth. These come as lawmakers, faced with a gaping deficit, are expected to debate dee...
January 20, 1917 – Postmaster Refling has received advice from the department at Washington that, owing to the difficulty in obtaining paper and skilled labor, the furnishing of “office-request” envelopes has been suspended for the present. These are the envelopes with the words, “After – days, return to - , Petersburg, Alaska,” printed on corner. It is stated, however, that there is ample stock of envelopes with only the stamp printed thereon; also that “special request” envelopes – bearing the printed card of the purchaser – may be had. Jan...
