Sorted by date Results 1450 - 1474 of 6799
Parks and Recreation are working on a project to set up lights near the ballfield at the ice skate pond to provide safety to users of the pond during the dark winter months, according to Parks and Recreation Director Stephanie Payne. She hopes the two light posts standing next to the pond, which do not have lights installed yet, will allow the pond to get more use from members of the community. In the past, Rock-N-Road Construction has taken a light stand that runs on diesel to the pond so that...
With the holiday season coming up many people look to help the Salvation Army by either donating food and clothing or volunteering their time, but some recent challenges are affecting the charitable organization's operations according to Salvation Army Major Loni Upshaw. Bags of donations are sometimes being dropped off in front of the Salvation Army's thrift store after hours, leading to items intended to be donated being stolen or ruined by the weather. "We've been dealing with the stealers,...
The Petersburg Indian Association is making progress on constructing the Mountain View Manor boardwalk trail and now has a 2022 estimated completion date according to Tribal Administrator Tracy Welch. The Tribal Transportation Program works on projects such as trails, sidewalks, and street construction that are included in PIA's long range transportation plan which is updated every year. Members of the public can give feedback on future projects and the council makes a priority list of projects...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The U.S. Department of Interior said the first two federal land allotments to Alaska Native Vietnam War-era veterans have been finalized. Frank Nanooruk and Richard Boskoffsky received the first allotments under a 2019 law passed by Congress, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The allotments are east of Goodnews Bay in southwest Alaska, agency spokesperson Richard Packer said by email Friday. The Interior Department said the allotments were finalized Thursday. Under the 1906 Alaska Native Allotment Act, A...
Stedman Elementary School will transition to remote learning for the rest of the week due to the impact of COVID-19 according to an announcement Monday from Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. Kludt-Painter wrote that the elementary school is experiencing multiple staffing issues as Petersburg continues to see high community spread. Contact tracing efforts within the school district are also being impacted by the high number of cases and close contacts both inside and outside of the schools.... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday for a total of 48 active cases. Community spread is rapidly occurring, causing closures and staff shortages, and PMC is asking people to follow mitigation recommendations. 37 of the 48 cases were identified within the past seven days according to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard. 93 COVID-19 tests have been sent to a reference laboratory and results are expected in the next 3-5 business days. PMC has moved into red...
After months away from family and friends, Joseph Tagaban hopes to return home to Petersburg in time for Thanksgiving. Joseph was checked into Seattle Children's hospital in January after it was discovered that a lump underneath his tooth was a type of cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). So far he has gone through four rounds of chemotherapy and is now finishing his recovery from the fourth round. He was also taking an experimental drug called gilteritinib but is now off of it and is awa... Full story
The Borough Assembly approved ordinances #2021-15 and #2021-17 during Monday's meeting in each of their third and final readings. Ordinance #2021-15 would move a chapter of the old city code which centers on disease control into the borough code. The ordinance limits the powers of the health officer, such as the power to compel vaccination, and makes it so the officer must act under and report to the assembly and the borough manager. It was reviewed by the Petersburg Medical Center, the police...
The Vakker Sted affordable housing complex, soon to be home to 15 low income housing units, on Excel Street across from the Petersburg Medical Center will have to wait a while longer before it can welcome residents. The complex, which was expected to have tenants moved in by January 1, 2022, will likely not open until March according to Glenn Gellert of Swell, LLC. Though the project was pushed back, Gellert said it is progressing fine. "It's not the fastest project that we've ever done, but...
Trish Oppenheim was not actively seeking out opportunities for work, but when she heard about the need for a nurse at the Petersburg School District, she stepped up to the challenge. Oppenheim has 14 years of ICU experience in a range of settings including the NICU, PICU, recovery room, and the operating room. For the last two years she worked in triage for Providence battling COVID-19. "I'm typically an ICU nurse, but teaching is obviously a huge part of our job as a nurse," Oppenheim said....
During Monday's meeting the Borough Assembly listened to a presentation by John Heberling on the Petersburg Municipal Power & Light 2021 electric rate study conducted by D. Hittle & Associates. The rate study proposes increases to electrical rates for all classes of customers in Petersburg with the full rate adjustment being made over the span of two years. The study identified future energy issues and how they would impact the forecasted cost of energy to Petersburg. The two major factors...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board met Thursday to discuss the latest COVID-19 outbreak attributed to the delta variant and its effects on the community. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter presented a graph highlighting the two highest spikes in COVID-19 cases in Petersburg since September of 2020. The first spike occurred near the end of February and beginning of March 2020, shortly after Alaska's emergency declaration expired, and peaked at just under 70 cases. The second spike occurred near...
The Borough Assembly approved Resolution #2021-14 during Monday's meeting, signifying their support of the map proposed by the Senate minority in the upcoming redistricting of the state. At the last assembly meeting on October 19, Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay presented each of the six maps that the Alaska Redistricting Board showcased when they recently traveled to Petersburg. Tremblay voiced her support for the Senate minority map at both the redistricting board's public hearing and after...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released its preliminary figures for the total harvest and value of this year’s commercial salmon fishery. 233.8 million fish were harvested statewide, amounting to 858.5 million pounds, with a total worth of $643.9 million according to the release. The number of fish and total pounds harvested this year was the third highest on record. This year’s harvest more than doubled the 116.8 million caught in 2020 and saw a 118% increase in total value from the $295.2 million recorded last year. The 2021 estimated...
(AP) – A man was arrested Tuesday in the southeast Alaska community of Kake, which a tribal official earlier said had gone into lockdown. Alaska State Troopers in a statement said they arrived in Kake and arrested the man on criminal trespass charges. Troopers said other charges were possible, pending the outcome of their investigation. No injuries were reported. Troopers said they received a call from a resident about 3:40 a.m. saying a window at a school had been broken but the person wasn’t sure when that happened. Another caller, around 4:3...
The Petersburg Medical Center is continuing to seek grant funding with its plan for a phased approach to build a new medical facility in Petersburg according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. PMC sent a letter to Congressman Don Young in February detailing the master planning of the facility with the hope of obtaining $14 million for the next steps of the projects. That value was based off an estimate drawn up by their grant writer and other consultants. The same letter was sent to Senator Lisa...
Salmon season in Southeast Alaska is wrapping up in a year that has seen an estimated 58 million fish harvested according to Troy Thynes, regional management coordinator for commercial fisheries with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The final numbers for fish tickets are still preliminary, but, of the estimated harvest, pink salmon was the clear leader with 48.2 million fish. It was also 41% higher than the recent 10-year average. "The main thing is the pink salmon run came in a lot stron...
The Borough Assembly discussed a resolution during their October 19 meeting which seeks to protect transboundary salmon rivers between Alaska and British Columbia. Resolution #2021-11 asks for a permanent ban on tailings dams and a temporary pause in activities relating to Canadian mines along the border. The resolution references the United States-Canada Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which support the need to maintain the...
The Petersburg Medical Center is recovering since the most recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Petersburg according to PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter. The number of cases across the State of Alaska began to climb in July of 2021 and hundreds of new cases are still being reported each day. The case count is causing high alert levels in many boroughs and census areas statewide according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services' COVID-19 Dashboard and the state activated its crisis standard of...
The active COVID-19 case count in Petersburg rose to 11 Wednesday according to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard. The count is up from the five reported on October 20 with six new positives in the last seven days. According to the dashboard, the risk level to both the Petersburg School District and the Petersburg Medical Center is moderate. The school district has continue to enforce universal masking and contact tracing is underway. 67.38% of Petersburg Borough residents are fully vaccinated...
After two years of COVID-19 impacting the livelihoods of performers and artists, the Petersburg Arts Council is looking to reunify people and bring about a return to normalcy. Canadian musical artist Royal Wood will come to Petersburg November 2 for a concert hosted by the arts council in the Wright Auditorium. At the onset of the pandemic Wood, like all other live performers, had his world flipped upside down as he faced the struggles of his new reality. "I've been in motion as a touring...
The Rasmus Enge bridge is expected to see repairs to its deck and structural components next summer according to Public Works Director Chris Cotta. The bridge was built in 1945 and last saw major work in 2014 after state inspectors identified some issues. It was closed Monday and Tuesday for periodic maintenance focused on repairing sections of rotting wood, but there is more work that needs to be done on the bridge in the future. "We are going to do a complete replacement of the deck, probably...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, one of the highest recorded in a single day, bringing the total active case count to 30. Community spread is occurring and PMC is asking people to follow mitigation recommendations. 28 of the 30 cases were identified within the past seven days according to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard. 67.6% of Petersburg Borough residents are fully vaccinated according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Vaccine... Full story
The moose harvest closed Friday with a final count of 129 moose according to Hilary Wood of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The total count, including illegal moose, was a four-year high, beating 2019's total by two. The number of moose harvested on Kupreanof Island, including the area around Kake, was higher than the previous three seasons, totaling 61, six of which were illegal. Though Kuiu Island's final count of 21 fell short of the 29 reported in 2020, it still numbered higher than...
The Borough Assembly held their second reading of Ordinance #2021-17 Tuesday night which would make changes to recycling collection and would introduce measures to combat problems with bears coming to town looking for food in garbage. The assembly also hosted a public forum on the ordinance, but no members of the public chose to speak. The ordinance is comprised of four key components which include preventative measures regarding bears, recycling collection changing from once every week to once...
