Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 509
January-June January Petersburg School Superintendent Lisa Stroh resigned from her position citing family medical issues as her reason for leaving although communication between borough staff and student letters indicated turmoil between Stroh and school staff. Two third and fourth grade elementary students published their own class newspapers. Former Petersburg School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen was sentenced to 12 years in prison for Distribution, Receipt and Possession of... Full story
Students and staff of the Petersburg School district along with community members met in the school gymnasium for a Veteran's Day assembly celebrating the veterans of the Petersburg community. Ninth graders took turns reading the Gettysburg Address and seniors did the same for President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address. The high school band played songs and teacher Jim Engell asked members of the audience to stand up if they had relatives who served during wartime. After starting with the...
A new support group for mothers of young children met for the first time this month. Mothers with children ranging from birth to five-years-old are encouraged to attend, and any expecting mothers are also more than welcome to join the group. Petersburg Mom's Support Group held their first meeting on Oct. 9, and the second meeting for the month was held last week. The group will continue to meet for an hour, twice a month for the foreseeable future to gauge local interest and find out if the...
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
Petersburg Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht reported the following information during the October 5 borough assembly meeting: Four Petersburg High School students are participating in this year’s Junior Firefighter Program. The annual Fire Prevention Program for Rae C Stedman elementary school kids kicks off this week, Oct. 5-9. EMS Director Sandy Dixson will attend the grant required Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Fall Preparedness Conference in Anchorage, Oct. 5-10. Harbor staff is winterizing the harbor f...
This year's School Board candidates are all three incumbents running unopposed. Mara Lutomski is the newest member to the board. She was appointed to the position in April to fill a vacancy left by Jean Ellis who resigned from the board in March. Jay Lister has served since last year and Cheryl File has served a three-year term. Cheryl File for School Board Name: Cheryl File Age: 44 Occupation: stay-at-home mom Political Experience: Three years on the school board Why did you choose to run for...
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...
Registration for new students is today, August 20, 10:00 to 2:00. If you are new to the school district and have not registered your student, please contact the school office at 772-4786. Mrs. Willis, Kindergarten: Emilia Anderson, Ryder Kane Betzina, Maelle Boitor, Sophia Cotta, Eleanor Denning, Lucy Jo Edfelt, Marley Estes, Jordan Fisher, Cadence Flint, Tucker Gibson, Samantha Lyle, Isabella Miller, Tate Oaks, Lincoln Odegaard, Logan Sereday, Lito Skeek, Lolita Slaven, Aria Swanson, Jacob Tagaban, Lexi Tow, Arielle Tucker, Cadum Whitethorn....
August 5 Andre Henry, 30, received a citation for open container. Later that day, Henry was arrested on a charge of Criminal Trespass at the Harbor Bar. An officer responded to a domestic disturbance. A caller requested a welfare check after reporting a small child, looking lost and underdressed for weather conditions, walking along Mitkof Highway. Officers responded to a report of a vehicle driving past road closure signs and into the construction zone at South Nordic Drive and Tango Street without permission. An officer issued a warning to an...
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
Father’s Day is on Sunday. Children across the country will honor their dads at family gatherings with gifts, cards and special meals. On this occasion, we encourage dads to consider the creation of a special gift for their children. It is a time consuming project that will reap personal rewards well worth the effort put forth. Why not write a family history and distribute it to your children next year, or two years from now? Other dads have done this, including my father, who wrapped up his 64-page compilation just months before his death a...
Stedman Elementary School will be welcoming three new teachers into its ranks this fall. Principal Teri Toland announced last month that the school had selected new hires from a large, experienced candidate pool. She said the number of applicants was unprecedented and may in part be due to Alaskan layoffs. Education is facing big cuts with state proposed budgets. "As we went through the process, it became very clear there was a key group," Toland said. Coming in to teach fourth grade is Heather...
Little ones will get the chance to see what track and field athletes do firsthand this weekend with the Petersburg High School team holding its first-ever Track Camp. “I don’t think kids understand what track and field involves” as meets are elsewhere, Coach Amanda Thomas said. “This will give the elementary kids an idea for what track is.” She added that the Track Camp, for elementary-aged children, is also a fundraiser for the PHS track and field team. Camp will be held Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the track field behind St...
The Vikings and Valkyries of Petersburg will soon be wandering the streets again, participating in the Little Norway Festival’s biggest schedule yet. This year’s celebration of Norwegian heritage, Syttende Mai (May 17, the day Norway’s Constitution was signed in 1814), Armed Forces Day, the upcoming fishing season and spring will feature a couple of new events, Little Norway Festival Committee Chair Janet Holten said. The Devil’s Thumb Shooters Petersburg Rod and Gun Club will be holding a raffle to support students headed to the state shoot i... Full story
The Petersburg School Board is still seeking a new member after the deadline to turn in letters of interest passed without anyone turning one in. Mara Lutomski announced at Tuesday evening’s meeting she’d like to submit a letter if the board decides to continue its search. “Yay,” was Vice President Sarah Holmgrain’s response. Former board president Jean Ellis’ resignation was effective on March 18 and the board set a deadline of 5 p.m. on April 9 for letters of interest. It was set to discuss whether or not to continue seeking that new member,...
State of the State To the Editor: I am greatly concerned that our local entities are not taking the fiscal crisis seriously. We, as Alaskans have permanently lost 60% of our income yet we keep spending as if this is a short term problem. Would this make sense if as a family you knew from now on that you would be bringing home 50-60% less each paycheck? Would you feel it was okay to spend all your savings to keep the same lifestyle? We as a state and borough are not borrowing from our savings. We are permanently depleting it. We are not all of...
The Petersburg School District is looking at a potential enrollment increase next year, “exciting” news for a district that had been seeing a fairly steady decline until the last year or two, Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said. After speaking with preschools and health clinics, the district is looking at an estimated 44 kindergartners next year. It currently has 27 and is graduating 30 seniors this year. Mitkof Middle School will actually see a smaller group, with 29 sixth graders going over. It’ll provide “different opportunities for sch... Full story
Stedman Elementary School students helped collect 1,400 canned food items to donate to the food bank at the Salvation Army through their reading efforts in February. Each 30 minutes students read earned them one can to contribute to the Read to Feed drive. Gregg Kowalski, head of the student council at Stedman, said the school has an annual tradition of doing a fundraiser, and since the last two year's projects had an international focus, the wanted to do something closer to home this year. "In...
Doug Ward is passionate about the maritime industry and preparing today's youth for work in it. The Director of Shipyard Development for Vigor Alaska Shipyard and Drydock, Inc., Ward spoke at the Chamber of Commerce's Annual Banquet last Saturday. TWI, or training within industry, began in World War II days, "teaching old dogs new tricks" to keep industries going during the war. Now referred to as career technical programs, they're usually expensive and often the first cut. "And yet, for a lot...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) _ A state Senate committee has advanced a bill that would exempt Alaska from daylight saving time, a measure that its sponsor said would be good for the health of state residents. The bill, from Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, would exempt Alaska from the annual time change beginning in 2017. That means Alaska would be five hours behind the East Coast, instead of four hours behind, from about March to November. The delay in implementation is meant to give certain industries, like the cruise industry, time to prepare for...
