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Some new and some returning faces have joined the ranks of the Petersburg School District staff in preparation for the upcoming school year. Elsa Wintersteen will teach English language arts and a drama class at Petersburg High School. She completed her undergraduate studies at Montana State University, earning a literature degree and an interdisciplinary degree, and for a short time studied theater at the University of Montana. Wintersteen is originally from Montana, but her mother's family is...
The period to file for candidacy in this year's municipal election ended on Tuesday, signaling the start of campaign season. The election will feature contested races for mayor, Petersburg Borough Assembly, the Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board, and the Harbor and Ports Advisory Board. Mayor Mark Jensen will run for reelection against two sitting assembly members-Bob Lynn and Jeff Meucci. Meucci ran against Jensen in the 2019 mayoral election, coming up short by 61 votes. Assembly...
The Clausen Museum has been getting some much needed restoration work done over the summer to help keep the building standing. Building Maintenance Techs Jim Holder and Sam Jackson have been working since June, replacing rotting wood, putting on a fresh coat of paint, and adding safety equipment as part of the work. "They really have been going to town," Museum Director Cindi Lagoudakis said. The museum, built in 1967 and expanded in 1976 with the Heritage of the Sea wing, needed some serious...
Petersburg's Rainforest Festival has two seasons under their belt now working in their new year-round format. Since their start on Earth Day, they've hosted six events, including guided walks, art workshops and a solstice ephemeral art show. "I think it's going pretty well," said festival organizer Sunny Rice. "We've been able to spread out the work a little bit and take advantage of people coming through town that we otherwise would have missed." As they move into the season when the festival w...
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he will cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for Pell Grant borrowers and up to $10,000 for all other borrowers with an income of less than $125,000 for an individual and $250,000 for a household. Biden also announced his administration is extending a pause on student loan repayments until Dec. 31. The decision comes one week before the expiration of a pause of student loan repayments put in place at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. “Here’s the deal, the cost... Full story
At least 26,400 votes are still left to be counted in the Aug. 16 election in Alaska. Democrat Mary Peltola currently leads the special general election race to fill the remainder of the late Congressman Don Young’s term with about 38% of the votes counted so far ranking her first. The remaining more than 60% of votes are mostly split between two Republican candidates. Whoever comes in third place in this race will be eliminated first under the state’s new ranked choice voting system. While it remains to be seen how the uncounted votes mig... Full story
Some new and some returning faces have joined the ranks of the Petersburg School District staff in preparation for the upcoming school year. Erin Hofacre will be starting her first year of teaching in one of Stedman Elementary School's two first grade classrooms. She earned her bachelor's degree at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington where she received endorsements for elementary, reading, and special education. "I was able to go to a great program with lots of practical work so I feel l...
The Petersburg School Board updated its COVID-19 mitigation plan for the upcoming school year during its meeting last week. The school district is required to update its plan by the Alaska Department of Education and under the American Rescue Plan funding. The new guidelines resemble those the district had at the end of the previous school year but with a couple of changes. Masking will remain optional for students, staff, and visitors and there will be no trigger for universal masking or...
Bear sightings are continuing to rise as they frequent the streets of Petersburg in search of garbage. In response, Petersburg Police Department Chief Jim Kerr spoke during Monday's Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on the threat bears pose and actions the police department has taken to reduce their presence. "To try and get the bear issue to drop before school starts we started issuing citations enforcing the new garbage ordinance," Kerr said. The ordinance, which was approved by the...
The popular custom benches began years ago, when Karen Hofstad and Sue Paulson approached Josef Quitslund with the idea of creating something that could be at the center of Cannery Park. The women both had an interest in establishing the space to showcase the local history of the town and pay tribute to their loved ones that had a hand in that history, Quitslund says. "A memorial bench is a nice way to honor someone's memory," he says. "It's a place for the ones left behind to reflect and other...
Tens of thousands of Alaskans will lose access to expanded food stamp benefits in September after the state ended its public health emergency in July. The end of certain additional benefits under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program comes as food aid groups say need is reaching previous pandemic highs while prices are soaring. Plus, other pandemic-era benefits, like the child tax credit and rental assistance, are expiring too, said Cara Durr, director of public engagement at the Food Bank of Alaska. “We know families are s...
8,832 passengers and 2,515 vehicles boarded the ferry in Petersburg in 2011, and 9046 passengers and 2,434 vehicles arrived in town. In 2021, the ridership into Petersburg was 829 passengers, a decrease of about 90 percent from a decade before. Vehicles dropped 75 percent to 595, according to statistics provided by the Alaska Marine Highway System. And 2021's numbers are up from the pandemic-worst travel year. In 2020, just 409 passengers and 313 vehicles disembarked in Petersburg. But...
The state will receive about $36 million less in federal funding than expected for this year’s Alaska Marine Highway System operating budget, requiring the use of state dollars to cover the gap. No reduction in service is expected because of the budget shuffle, state officials said. But it could mean that legislators next year will need to approve additional state funds to fully make up for the loss of federal aid, exposing the ferries to another vote in the political process. The governor had looked to federal infrastructure money to r...
For the first time in a decade, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., source of more than half of Alaska’s general-purpose state revenue, posted negative investment returns for an entire fiscal year. As of June 30, the last day of the just-ended fiscal year 2022, the fund reported having earned minus-1.32% over the preceding 12 months. The decline will not have an immediate effect on state finances, but continued losses over multiple years would reduce the amount of money available each year for state services and the Permanent Fund dividend. B... Full story
Democratic candidate Mary Peltola left election day leading Alaska's special election for U.S. House, but the state's new ranked choice voting system may leave Republican candidate and former governor Sarah Palin the ultimate winner. As of Wednesday afternoon, with 395 of 402 precincts reporting, Peltola had earned 38.03% of first-choice vote in a race that will determine who fills Alaska's lone U.S. House seat until January, completing the term left unfinished by the death of Congressman Don... Full story
Special General Election: In Petersburg 725, or 24.22%, of the precinct’s 2,993 registered voters turned out. The preliminary numbers for Petersburg show Sarah Palin in the lead by a single vote. Sarah Palin: 256 Mary Peltola: 255 Nick Begich: 192 Absentee ballots postmarked by election day will still be counted until August 31st, at which time the ranked choice tabulations will determine the winner of the US House seat. Primary Election results in Petersburg U.S. Senate Lisa Murkowski: 312 votes (44.44%) Kelly Tshibaka: 258 (36.75%) U.S. H...
A pre-construction conference for the South Harbor dredge project was held on August 2 to review the contract requirements and proposed schedule as the project nears its start date. The conference was attended by contractor Western Marine, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project team, and Harbormaster Glo Wollen. "Everybody's feeling pretty good about this project and the Corps has worked on many projects with our company as well," Wollen said. "Everybody in the room knew each other which is a...
Alaska voters will go to the polls on Tuesday, August 16 to mark their ballots in a couple of firsts: The first election under the state's new ranked-choice voting system and the election of Alaska's first new member of the U.S. House in 49 years. The three finalists for Congress selected in the July special primary election are Republicans Nick Begich, a Chugiak businessman, and former Gov. Sarah Palin, and former Bethel state legislator Democrat Mary Peltola. At a recent candidate forum in...
The U.S. Forest Service is looking at potential sites for new cabins in the Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger Districts in hopes of increasing accessibility for cabin users. According to the project's pre-scoping letter, the weather, tides, and the need for boat or plane transportation have limited people from reaching many of the current cabins, while demand for cabins that are more accessible has increased. Because of this, the project seeks to accommodate users current needs by building cabins...
Bikers and paddlers gathered at Scow Bay Saturday morning to participate in the annual Paddle and Pedal Battle fundraiser, which raised about $15,000 according to Community Wellness Coordinator Julie Walker. The donations will go toward continuing education for Petersburg Medical Center staff and scholarships for Petersburg High School graduates. "I think our goal this year was to revive the event and it really felt like we did that," Walker said. About 70 participants made it out to the event... Full story
During its meeting on August 1, the Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance in its first reading which would increase the purchasing power authorization limits to $10,000 for administrative officers of the borough and $75,000 for the borough manager. All five assembly members present voted in favor of the ordinance while Mayor Mark Jensen and Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh were excused. The current limits, put in place by the City of Petersburg in March 2004, allow department heads to approve purchases up to $5,000 and allow the...
During Monday's meeting, the Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 4-1 to establish a new task force to address the housing crisis in Petersburg. Assembly Member Jeff Meucci said the task force would work with the assembly's backing to look at housing needs in the community and he equated it to the Early Childhood Education Task Force which the assembly created earlier this year. "Like child care, I think this is one of the most important issues facing Petersburg," Meucci said. "Every person that...
Utility Director Karl Hagerman recently provided an update on the Blind Slough hydroelectric refurbishment and Scow Bay standby diesel generation projects which voters approved to fund with $7.8 million in electric utility revenue bonds during the 2021 municipal election. The current focuses for the hydroelectric refurbishment are on equipment procurements and design. The borough has a contract with Gilkes Hydro to provide components including the generator, the main turbine inlet valve, and...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 5-0 to approve a list ranking its top capital projects for FY24 during Monday’s meeting. Mayor Mark Jensen and Assembly Member Thomas Fine-Walsh were excused. The priority list was organized by Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht who presented it to the assembly to amend and approve it. It originally featured the 15 highest priority capital projects for FY24 but was decreased to 13 projects after the assembly removed the Blind Slough hydroelectric refurbishment and the South Harbor dredging projects, which a...
At 8 a.m on Saturday, Andrew Simmonds, 60, entered the chilling waters of Sandy Beach, setting out to prove that age has not slowed him down one bit. His goal-to swim across Frederick Sound to the mainland over six miles away. Though his swim began on Saturday, his journey to that moment began much earlier. Soon after arriving in Petersburg in November, Simmonds, who is a physical therapist at the Petersburg Medical Center, visited Sandy Beach to gaze out over Frederick Sound. There he admired t... Full story
