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Alaska’s state ferry system is at risk of a partial or total shutdown this summer due to the failure of the federal government to issue a key annual grant. “Currently right now, we have a shortfall in our budget,” said Dom Pannone, director of program administration and management for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, to members of the Senate Finance Committee during a Monday morning hearing. Money from the Federal Transit Administration’s rural ferry program pays for almost half of the Alaska Marine Highway... Full story
To the Petersburg Community To the Editor: Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing us with the most rewarding memories of the past 25 years! From opening your arms to us in 2000, when Kathy was hired as Petersburg’s City Clerk, to supporting our family operation of Northern Lights restaurant from 2003 to 2010 and Larry’s commercial carpet cleaning business for many years. But most of all, we thank you for working with us since 2014 to develop the youth shotgun marksmanship program, Devil’s Thumb Shooters. Since 2014, DTS has expan...
Alaska lawmakers opened the second year of their regular legislative session on Tuesday with an ambitious agenda but low expectations amid a tight budget that appears likely to draw the lion’s share of legislators’ attention. “It’s one big log jam,” said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka. The Alaska Legislature operates on a two-year cycle between elections; bills are carried over from the first year to the second, but if they don’t pass the Legislature by the end of the second year, they expire and must start all over again. Speaking Tuesday, me... Full story
January 2025 The Petersburg Borough Assembly agreed to transfer seven parcels of borough-owned land in the Airport Addition Subdivision to Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority (THRHA) in exchange for the developing road and utilities for 11 residential lots. The snowpack at the Raven's Ridge snow survey site at 1,650 ft elevation measured zero inches. One of only two years on record without snowpack in January. Rock-N-Road Construction was awarded the contract for the borough's Pump Station...
Around three years ago Petersburg's 100-year-old American Legion post, the Edward Locken Post 14, had dwindled to three members – Paul Anderson, Butch Anderson, and Stan Hjort. Paul Anderson carried a tremendous amount of the responsibility for the veteran community in Petersburg. When he died in Jan. 2023, a new generation of local veterans stepped up to carry the mantle. Petersburg resident Garrett Kravitz was just retiring from his career in the Navy. He, along with Tony and Tracy Vinson, l...
Kacey Hammer is stepping into her first official teaching role this fall as Stedman Elementary’s newest kindergarten teacher. Hammer is currently completing her Master’s degree in Elementary Education at the University of Alaska Southeast, working toward her K-8 certification. She’ll begin the school year on a provisional license while finishing her student teaching requirements in her own classroom — an arrangement that her UAS advisor encouraged. “He was like, ‘You’re ready,’” Hamm...
Life in small town Alaska will probably be a pretty smooth transition for Stedman Elementary's new fourth grade teacher Trevor Wilson, who grew up in Unalaska – an island community on the Aleutian chain similar in size to Petersburg -- where his father worked as a school principal. As a younger man Wilson had not wanted to follow too closely in his father's footsteps and didn't want to be a teacher. But when he went off to college at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana, he had a c...
The elementary school's new counselor Dave Fonken comes to Petersburg from Southern Oregon. He says he found Petersburg's thriving school community and endless local outdoor recreation opportunities very appealing. "I was looking for a combination of a really healthy district with a lot of places to play," Fonken explains. "Both of those things really came together here." Fonken brings eleven years of school counseling experience to his new role. His journey in education began as a Spanish...
To register a new student, please stop by the office at 303 Dolphin Street by August 29. You will need to bring a current immunization record and birth certificate – a legible copy is okay. For questions, please call or text the office at 907-302-2385 or 877-526-7656, ext. 400 Mrs. Willis, Kindergarten: Padme Carr, Marit Dougher, Esmeralda Ford, Kenna Gillen, Eupha Marsden-Evenson, Ejah’Nay Mitchell, Scarlett Morrison, Mason Newman, Lydia Padgett, Grayson Tate, Ava Turcott, Maeve Uppencamp, Raiden Wagemaker, Arne Wollen Mrs. Hammer, Kin...
The Alaska Legislature overrode Governor Mike Dunleavy’s veto of state education funding at a special session on Saturday. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved a $700 increase in the per-student funding formula known as the base student allocation (BSA). Using his line-item veto power, the governor reduced that increase by $200. The override undoes the governor’s veto. Both of Petersburg’s state lawmakers, Senator Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) and Representative Rebecca Himschoot (I-Sitka) voted in favor of the override. Petersburg Super...
When Petersburg School District switched to science-based reading instruction three years ago, the results were nothing short of remarkable. At Stedman Elementary, kindergarten reading proficiency soared from 10% to 89% in a single year. First grade jumped from 24% to 74% proficient, while second grade improved from 38% to 61%. These dramatic gains – which significantly outperformed state and national averages – caught the attention of education researchers nationwide. Petersburg is now being fe...
Three teachers from the Petersburg School District are state finalists for awards in excellence – Hannah Smith and Alice Cumps, math and science teachers at the middle and high schools respectively, are two of the finalists for a Presidential Excellence Award, and Becky Martin, a third grade teacher, for the Alaska Teacher of the Year Award. The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is the highest honor a K – 12 math or science teacher in the U.S. can...
I Feel So Blessed To the Editor: Reaching out to our entire community with a heartfelt THANK YOU!!! To all my friends, family, loved ones, well wishers, and prayer senders, to the EMTs, PMC staff, Medivac staff, PPD staff, Providence Alaska Medical Center staff, and Providence St. Elias staff – your generous and caring support both physically and emotionally have followed my sons and me to Anchorage for life-saving medical care. One never knows what the next day is going to bring. Your continued support is much needed and appreciated along this...
The Alaska Legislature has voted to uphold Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have significantly increased the funding formula for Alaska’s K-12 public schools. Dunleavy vetoed House Bill 69 last week, citing cost concerns and the lack of policy measures he endorsed. With the House and Senate meeting in joint session, the vote to override Dunleavy was 33-27, sustaining the veto. Forty of the Legislature’s 60 members were needed for an override. In its final version, HB 69 would have increased the state’s base student allocat... Full story
"The Senate's new education bill is a joke!" declared Governor Mike Dunleavy in a social media post last week. "It does absolutely nothing to improve educational achievement... Welcome to Alaska: 51st in the nation in educational outcomes. In what world does one write a blank check with no expectations?" The governor's comments came as the Alaska Legislature passed House Bill 69 on Friday, April 11, which would increase the Base Student Allocation (BSA) by $1,000 per student. Dunleavy...
Dear Neighbors To the Editor: I humbly ask that you look beyond the two names at the bottom of this letter. See us all as we are: your Neighbors whose children play with yours, who celebrate holidays beside you, and who have built lives here in Petersburg. Tonight, I wonder who’ll be next – taken simply for where we were born, what we believe, how we worship, or whom we love. Dear Neighbor, will you be there for us? When you see me at the grocery store, you smile and wave. Your son and mine jumped off the Blind Slough bridge together last sum...
We felt loved and cared for To the Editor and this wonderful community: One year ago I came very close to dying. I got very, very sick with three upper respiratory viruses which allowed a strep infection to turn into pneumonia which caused sepsis or toxic shock syndrome. All in a matter of days. Luckily, I live here in Petersburg, the best place on earth. The doctors, nurses, and staff at Petersburg Medical Center were amazing and got me out on a medivac as quickly as possible. The outpouring of love, prayers, good vibes, cards, and gifts was...
The American Legion provided the first home for the Petersburg Public Library in 1931. Initially, it was a modest shelf of books donated by the community, managed by the American Legion Auxiliary in the Legion's building. This humble beginning eventually grew into the institution we know today. The collection was so small at first that some people even took out membership cards in the names of newborns to borrow more books. As time passed, the Alaska Territorial government and the City of...
The first-of-its-kind event was an all-male pageant where dance dads of Mitkof Dance Troupe (MDT) students bravely entertained a sold out crowd at the Elks Ballroom. After several uproarious rounds of competition, high school teacher Dustin Crump was crowned Mr. MDT and celebrated his win with an encore rendition of "the Dougie." Thousands were raised to upgrade the dance studio's facilities....
Elementary students in Petersburg won’t get as much physical education next year. Rae C. Stedman Elementary Principal Heather Conn said it comes down to limited education funding. Renting Petersburg’s community pool and gym is expensive for the Petersburg School District. So is staffing physical education classes. Conn said the district’s tight budget this year means they will have to reduce hours. “We have been conservatively budgeting but at this time, even we are being affected,” she said. This isn’t the first year the district has had to...
This past weekend, Stedman Elementary School's wrestling club hosted a round-robin tournament against Wrangell's wrestling club. "They did incredible. Last year's Petersburg tournament was basically a lot of the kids' first tournament. It caught them by surprise and they've just done exponentially better each time they compete," Eldon Walker said, head coach for the third, fourth and fifth-grade wrestlers. "This season, overall, was their best performance yet." Sam Caulum is the head coach of...
Forest Service terminations To the Editor: 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees have lost their jobs across the nation. 10 of those FS employees live in Petersburg. These firings were not based on performance. That is a false agenda this administration is pushing to make you not care and look away. These terminations were inflicted on employees that were still in their probationary period, usually their first year of work. They are predominantly young, motivated people starting out their careers. This will not only leave a gap in the Forest...
Mitkof Middle School students put their engineering skills to the test Tuesday in an underwater robotics competition, marking the culmination of a project that brought together students, parents, and community volunteers. Science teacher Hannah Smith's sixth and seventh-grade students assembled remote operated vehicles (ROVs) nearly from scratch before competing in events including speed races, obstacle challenges, and debris cleanup at the Petersburg Community Pool. "Everyone had three class pe...
The state of Alaska is bringing in less money than it is spending, and is on pace to finish the current fiscal year with a deficit of $171 million, according to figures presented Tuesday. Lacey Sanders, Gov. Mike Dunleavy's top budget official, told the Senate Finance Committee that spending from the Constitutional Budget Reserve likely will be needed to close the gap. To do this would require support from three-quarters of the House and three-quarters of the Senate. That's a critical... Full story
