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Rick Brock has opened the Petersburg High School gymnasium doors before dawn for 35 years, offering students a quiet place to work on their basketball skills before the school day begins. "I'm an early riser, so I've had the gym open in the mornings pretty much since I started coaching - hour to 45 minutes before the day begins," Brock said. It's a routine that reflects his belief about what can drive student athletes to succeed: "The ones that show up every morning and shoot baskets," he said,...
June 12, 1925 – Miss Mary Wolverton has returned from the Cassiar mining district and says: “Three experienced miners who went to Gold Pan Creek diverted a stream at their own expense, after two months’ labor, and took out $1.60 in gold. Very little gold has been found. Many Alaskan and Yukon sourdoughs who went in with dog teams are coming out and are on their way to other fields. The only real money made is in selling claims for hundreds of dollars. One school teacher put her savings of $600 into a claim and sent in two men with supplies. The...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance last week that would limit Petersburg's sales tax exemption for seniors to only those with low incomes. Currently, all Petersburg residents aged 65 and older who have lived in the borough for at least one year qualify for sales tax exemption, regardless of income. According to the borough, there are 477 senior exemption cards currently issued. In 2024, senior tax exemptions applied to more than $7.4 million...
WRANGELL — More than five dozen high school students from around Southeast, along with their art teachers, will be busy painting, inking, printing, beading, knitting and more during Artfest, a four-day series of workshops in Wrangell this week. Artfest will run Thursday through Sunday, April 24-27, at the high school, with an art show open to the public from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday, said Tawney Crowley, the Wrangell School District’s art teacher. The festival for Southeast students started in 1997 when Wrangell art teacher Kirk Garbisch helped or...
Federal employees across Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest received termination notices over Presidents Day weekend, part of what union leaders are calling an "intentionally dishonest" nationwide purge of civil service workers that has hit Alaska's rural communities particularly hard. In Petersburg, as of Sunday evening, at least nine Forest Service probationary employees were terminated, with seven more terminated in Wrangell. Most of those affected were early-career professionals... Full story
Carey Case first arrived in Petersburg in 1998 as a 24-year-old seasonal Forest Service employee, and now, after 25 years of service in numerous roles within the district, she has been hired as the Petersburg District Ranger. "I started working for the Forest Service in college in Washington State, and really liked working outdoors and getting to take helicopters and working in remote places," Case recalls. Her journey to Petersburg began when "RD Parks hired me and moved me up here. He asked... Full story
Rural schools, mostly in Southeast Alaska, are facing a major funding shortfall this year after the U.S. House of Representatives failed to reauthorize a bill aimed at funding communities alongside national forests and lands. The bipartisan Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was first passed in 2000, and enacted to assist communities impacted by the declining timber industry. It provided funds for schools, as well as for roads, emergency services and wildfire prevention. The award varies each year depending on federal lan...
January 2024 A prized Mental Health Trust lot by Blind River Rapids, a popular recreation site for sport fishing, was sold at auction to a USCG family. Toler and Jessie Alexander are eager to return to Petersburg after retiring from the Coast Guard in a few years. The borough listed its top priority capital projects, and the Petersburg Medical Center replacement was first and second on the list – for the main hospital construction and the main hospital interior build out. Petersburg Indian A...
January 2, 2025 – It was said that as far as the contractors were concerned, they had completed the hydro-electric project for the Town of Petersburg and were ready to have the juice from the Blind Slough plant turned on and hooked up with the town transmission line. Some small electrical appliances are said to be needed, and it is said these are coming via mail. None of the city officials could definitively say as to when the power may be turned on, but thought it would be accomplished in another two or three days. January 6, 1950 – The U.S...
December 12, 1924 – Oscar Sather, of the Shields-Sather Lumber & Box Company, is figuring on plans for six cottages for rent or sale, which, if the plans materialize, will somewhat relieve the present famine in lack of houses. At the present time in Petersburg it is impossible to get either houses or apartments or any business location. The new business block being built by Andrew Wikan and John Hammer has the roof on and is nearing completion, and the entire space on both floors could have been rented a dozen times over, owing to demand. In fa...
WRANGELL – The borough wants a data center to plug into Wrangell. Better yet, it could even move into the unused formal hospital property. Data centers are large hosting sites for multiple servers that provide computing power and storage for cloud-based service providers. While at Southeast Conference, held in Ketchikan last month, borough representatives spoke with Sam Enoka, founder and CEO of Greensparc — a San Francisco-based technology company that specializes in setting up modular, small-scale data centers for cloud computing. Enoka gre...
The Petersburg Pilot and KFSK teamed up to present a two hour long candidates forum on Thursday, September 12. All five candidates for Petersburg Borough Assembly were given one minute each to answer questions on topics ranging from EMS volunteer recruitment, to bears in the garbage, the future of tourism in Petersburg, and a whole lot more. Thomas Fine-Walsh Candidate Opening Statements: My name is Thomas Fine-Walsh. I was born and raised here in Petersburg, and I've had the honor of serving...
State health officials have recorded 234 cases this year of whooping cough — also known as pertussis — through Sept. 9, more than were reported over the past seven years combined. About three-quarters of this year’s cases came in the past three months. Of the statewide total, SEARHC reports 11 in Southeast from June through early September, Lyndsey Y. Schaefer, communications director for the health care provider, said in an emailed statement Sept. 12. Privacy rules prevent SEARHC from disclosing the communities with whooping cough cases...
September 12, 1924 – Some fine loganberries have been raised on the Papke farm below Petersburg. It has been claimed by agents of the government experimental farm that this class of berries could not be successfully raised in Alaska, but yet Mr. Papke has proved the contrary so far as his place is concerned. He also has cherry trees, apple trees, raspberries, strawberries, and several varieties of vegetables. On his place also has been raised hemp with an excellent texture. In fact, his place is a veritable wonderland in the many different f...
So, you want to see bears at the Anan Wildlife Observatory. But maybe you couldn't get one of the limited number of permits, or you live out of town and can't make the trip, or maybe you are a little more afraid of them than you care to admit. But now, thanks to the U.S. Forest Service, explore.org and 14 Wrangell high school students in the T3 Program, anyone worldwide can view Anan's fish-crazed black and brown bears. Last week, after months of preparation, planning and prototyping, the two...
June 27, 1924 – The cannery of P.E. Harris at Scow Bay ran through 800 salmon Monday. This was the second salmon to be canned this season around Petersburg. The Mountain Packing Company was the first, having run through 86 cases last Saturday. The trollers have been making big hauls. Otto Sutter of the Fidalgo Packing Company, who was in town recently, reported that the big run in the Copper River district near Cordova was of short duration. The Petersburg packing Company canned fish Thursday. The Kingsmill Brought the fish from Colpoys and Eag...
Letter to the Editor: Support teachers to keep Petersburg competitive Contract negotiations between the Petersburg School District and the Associated Teachers of Petersburg began in January. The current contract, which is set to expire at the end of this school year, allowed for a 1% increase across the certified salary schedule in each of the last three years. This was in line with similar increases in previous contracts. As we all know, the last three years have brought significantly steeper inflation - roughly 15% in Alaska. We have all...
April 18, 1924 – Boats which sold halibut to the Glacier & Deep Sea Food Company Tuesday for 9 and 5 were Audrey, 2,000 lbs; Irma, 500; Alfa, 500; Gertrude, 1,500; Hulda, 1,200; Rival, 2,500; Era, 2,500; Thelma, 3,500; Success, 7,500. Boats which sold to Storfold & Grondahl the same day were Lund, 6,000; Valhalla, 2,500; at 9 and 5 cents. Boats which sold to Ness Fish Company were Sunset, 8,000; Unimak, 8,000; Neptune, 4,000; at 9 and 5. The Glacier and Deep Sea Food Company shipped on the Alameda 63 boxes of halibut and 20 boxes of shrimp. T...
Wrangell borough officials are concerned that Wrangell continues to lose population, while those who stay in town grow older and leave the workforce. As a whole, the state has lost more residents than it has gained in new arrivals every year since 2013, with only the birth rate keeping Alaska from showing a population decline. However, unlike the statewide totals, Wrangell recorded more deaths than births between 2017 and 2022, adding to the community’s overall population decline. The state’s latest estimate for Wrangell’s population, as of las...
February 15, 1924 – Petersburg is a real home town. Home conditions are ideal. Lots for building can be bought from $50 up. There is just the right drainage to the land for sanitation; the water is pure; no better school facilities can be found anywhere; there are many beautiful places for summer picnics and outings; there are churches, social halls, a library and, last but not least, there is the most beautiful and safe harbor in Alaska. Wind storms that rage elsewhere never cause more than a ripple in Petersburg Harbor. Once a boat is tied u...
The seventh annual Project Connect Resource Fair was held in Petersburg on Jan. 30. Organized under the umbrella of nonprofit Humanity In Progress (HIP), the event provided access to free basic necessities and local resources for people in Petersburg who are experiencing housing insecurity - and was an opportunity to survey attendees about their present housing situation for a Point-In-Time count that records the status of homelessness and housing insecurity in Petersburg. When the doors to...
January 11, 1924 – With $30,000 capital, subscribed by forty residents of Wrangell, a cold storage plant will be erected at Wrangell and be placed in operation in the spring, according to the Wrangell Sentinel. The plant will be in the charge of Oliver D. Leet, a cold storage engineer. The coming of Mr. Leet to establish a business that is greatly needed here is an example of how the tourist business may become a means of developing the country. During the past summer, Dr. D.H. Leet, a prominent surgeon of the Buckeye state, accompanied by h...
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...
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 U.S. Forest Service is still seeking volunteers to fill out seats on the South Tongass Secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committee (SRS RAC), but with the deadline to apply fast approaching the committee is at risk of not having enough members to hold meetings. According to the Forest Service, RACs review proposals for projects on National Forest System lands, provide advice to the department, and vote on recommendations for the allocation of federal Secure Rural Schools Act funding to...
