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Last Friday morning Stedman Elementary school students, their teachers, family and friends gathered in the Wright Auditorium for the final round of the school's annual spelling bee. Each classroom in grades two through five sent their top two spellers to the stage. Sue Paulsen, who performed the role of "The Pronouncer," led the students through elimination rounds. At the beginning of each round, Paulsen asked the competitors to stand. Starting with simple, single-syllable words like four and...
Emilie Mae Sperl, 47 Emilie Mae Sperl passed peacefully from this world on January 6, 2024. Emilie was born July 1, 1976 to Dennis and Dorothy (Bentley) Sperl in Petersburg, Alaska. She was the third of six adventurous children and her early years were spent with her family at their homestead at Green Rocks "across the bay." In the house her dad built they gardened, raised animals, fished and foraged. Emilie was very excited to be able to start school at Rae C Stedman Elementary. On most days,... Full story
Last Friday morning, students at Rae Stedman Elementary listened closely to local author and actor Diane Benson explain the importance of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. Benson worked as a researcher and writer for the PBS documentary "For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska." She also acted in the film, portraying the part of Elizabeth Peratrovich. During Friday's presentation she shared a scene from the documentary that was filmed in the same legislative gallery where the Alaska...
February 22, 1924 – Salmon may migrate distances of 1,000 miles or more, it was proved in an experiment conducted by the United States Bureau of Fisheries and recently reported to Dean John N. Cobb of the College of Fisheries. A number of salmon, each identified by a tag, were planted during the year of 1922 in waters near Alaska by Dr. C.H. Gilbert, professor of zoology at Stanford University. A Siberian fisherman reported that one of the salmon had been caught in the Pankara river on the coast of Siberia, more than 1,000 miles from the c...
February 1, 1924 – To drop dead immediately after saying he felt “fine” was the case of a man aged 50, who is known locally as N. Martin. Martin went to the Arthur Yates Memorial Hospital in Ketchikan on Saturday afternoon with a friend to see acquaintances there. He had been in the hospital from January 6 through the 15 with pneumonia and a bad heart and on leaving he was warned to be careful. When he arrived at the hospital Saturday he was asked how he felt, to which question he answered “fine.” Then he turned around and dropped. When pick...
January 18, 1924 – An overheated stove caused a fire early Wednesday forenoon which practically destroyed the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William Stedman. The house was occupied by Miss Grissinger, teacher in the local school, who lost many of her clothes and personal belongings. The fire was caused by the heating stove in the front room and started in the partition back of the stove and quickly burned its way through the ceiling and roof. The alarm was sounded by M.S. Perkins who discovered the flames shortly after they started. The fire d...
Robyn Taylor spent the first six years of her career in the Alaska education system teaching in Petersburg, and the next 18 years elsewhere in the state as an administrator. Currently on year 24, Taylor is excited to return to the Petersburg School District as the next superintendent, in place of Erica Klut-Painter who will depart from the role at the end of this school year. "I'm just so appreciative of the opportunity," Taylor said. "Right timing, right place." Originally from Idaho, Taylor...
In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said education is among his top priorities in the coming fiscal year. He proposed spending millions on education, but did not include an increase to per student funding, known as the base student allocation, in his proposed budget. His proposed budget puts $1,267,522,300 to the education department, a 9% decrease from last year, due to shrinking enrollment. “I want the public to understand that, as a former educator, I understand that schools cost money, education costs money, there’s no doubt about it,” Dunleavy said. “The... Full story
The Petersburg School District recently enhanced security measures at Stedman Elementary, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School. As of Nov. 27, the front doors of PHS and MMS lock after classes begin at 8:05 a.m. Doorbells with cameras and an intercom system are installed on the front doors, alongside signage to clearly direct people who may try to access the building. Office staff can now see who is ringing the doorbell, which allows them to assess and approve people before allowing them to enter for better security. During the Nov....
With high oil prices driving up state revenues, Southeast legislators say to expect a larger capital budget next year for public works projects, more money for deferred maintenance and another attempt to boost state funding for public schools. That’s assuming oil prices stay elevated as the state works its way through the fiscal year that will end on June 30 and remain high in the forecast for the next year. Lawmakers will return to work at the Capitol on Jan. 16. With oil prices last week 30% higher than assumed in this year’s spending pla...
The state wants to send the Matanuska, the oldest vessel in the Alaska Marine Highway System fleet, into a shipyard for the equivalent of a full-body scan. Management wants to find out just how much of the ship's steel has rusted, and how far the rust has eaten into the thickness of the metal. The 60-year-old Matanuska has been tied up at the dock in Ketchikan since last November, waiting for the state to decide whether to repair the vessel and restore it to working order, or give up on the...
Mary Ellen Anderson Why have you chosen to run for Library Board at this time? I love being on the library board and serving my community. I'm very well suited as the former elementary school librarian at Stedman-a position I held for 19 years. I started early in the library world, numbering and checking out my dad's classic Dickens collection to neighborhood friends when I was about 10. Oddly enough, there were only a couple takers. I then worked for the library in high school, and as an adult...
The Petersburg School District approved the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) six-year plan at the first meeting of the academic year August 15. It is a long term plan that is vital to secure state funding for major maintenance and building capital projects. The facility committee met with Borough Building Official and Code Enforcement Officer Ray Wesebaum, Southeast Regional Resource Center representative David Landis, and school board member Jay Lister to review and discern priorities for a six-year plan. So far, there are five projects on the...
At the first board meeting of the academic year last week, the Petersburg School District board decided that school meal prices will increase by at least $0.25 this school year. This decision was approved in order to maintain the financial sustainability of the school food service program and comply with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Paid Lunch Equity Policy. The policy says that schools serving lunch need to have enough money to pay for meals that students buy at the regular price, not the discounted price; some s...
Students in Petersburg School District are set to start the school year on August 29, alongside several upcoming additions to faculty staff. New to the district is Thomas Hambley, who will teach fourth grade at Stedman Elementary this fall. "I am excited about joining the team at Stedman Elementary and becoming part of the Petersburg community," he shared. Hambley moved to Petersburg earlier this summer from Glennallen, where he taught fourth grade. He specializes in elementary level teaching...
Jolie Norman, the new first-grade teacher at Stedman Elementary, and fellow first-grade teacher Erin Hofacre pushed a lot of furniture around Ms. Norman's classroom yesterday, and they have more to do before school starts. "In a week, you won't recognize this place. I'm looking forward to making it my own," promised Norman. And in making it her own, she's excited to make it a place kids want to be and a place they want to learn. In addition to her longtime calling to work with kids, Norman...
*To register a new student, please stop by the office at 303 Dolphin Street by August 25th *You will need to bring current immunization record and birth certificate (legible copy ok) *If you have any questions, please call the office at 907-302-2385 or 877-526-7656 ext. 400 Mrs. Willis Kindergarten Adalynd Birchell, Talon Caulum, Konrad Connor, Tess Crump, Kaeson Doril, Everly Gacchina, Raymond Gillen, Charlie Gudgel, Jon Hammer, Emily Martin, Isabelle Martin, Branson McIntosh, Ryland Newman, Elliott Popp, David Randrup, Oliver Reid, Kai...
Petersburg residents will have one ballot proposition to decide on when they go to vote in this year's municipal election on Oct. 3. Proposition #1 will ask if the borough charter should be amended to allow borough employees to serve on boards or commissions, except for those that directly administer their employment. The change, for instance, would allow a Petersburg School District employee to run for borough assembly or the hospital board but not the school board. The proposed amendment was...
Gus Pennington will return to Stedman Elementary School this fall as the new fifth grade teacher. However, Pennington is no stranger to the Petersburg School District. His new teaching role comes on the heels of experience in the district as a substitute and student teacher - and as a pupil in Petersburg, himself. Pennington graduated from Petersburg High School with the class of 2019 and left for college at University of Alaska Southeast. He returned to town later that fall - just before...
Sharon Paulson moved her family from Juneau to Petersburg in July and will teach fourth grade at Stedman Elementary School this fall as one of several new additions to the Petersburg School District's roster of educators. This will be her fourth teaching position in Alaska, where her entire career as an educator has taken place. Paulson attended undergrad at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia before moving back to her home town of Wakarusa, Indiana, where she wrote for the local...
The K-5th grade library program at Stedman Elementary School will welcome home a former Petersburg resident and long-time friend to the community, Debi Tice. One of several new hires to Petersburg School District, Tice now holds the title of Elementary Librarian and Intervention - the latter half reflecting a measure of the Alaska Reads Act. Tice started teaching in Petersburg in 1998, leaving and returning a few times, then ultimately taking her teaching career abroad to Brazil, China, and...
The St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church caught fire last Thursday, leaving much of the building in ruins and covering Petersburg in smoke. According to a statement from Fire Marshal Ryan Welde, the fire has been ruled accidental in nature and was a result of maintenance work. The fire originated at ground level on the exterior of the building facing Dolphin Street. It then traveled up the wall via rigid foam insulation located behind the vinyl siding and continued to spread into the eaves... Full story
The St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church caught fire Thursday afternoon, leaving much of the building in ruins and covering Petersburg in smoke. There were no serious injuries reported and the fire did not spread to the surrounding buildings, however smoke from the blaze caused the Petersburg Medical Center and multiple businesses downtown to close. According to Fr. Jose Thomas, the parish priest at St. Catherine of Siena, a few people were attending a prayer service in the chapel when they... Full story
