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The Petersburg Medical Center reported 31 active cases of COVID-19 amid community spread, impacting all sectors of the Petersburg Borough. According to a PMC press release from October 1, none of the then observed 38 cases were travel related. Three of the cases were between 0-9 years old, 10 were between 10-19 years old, five were between 20-29 years old, 10 were between 30-39 years old, five were between 40-49 years old, 11 were between 50-59 years old, and five were 60 or older. The Alaska...
Petersburg Parks and Recreation and Public Works completed improvements to Sandy Beach Saturday. The project added space for parking at shelter one and along the road according to Public Works Director Chris Cotta. Construction also widened the entry road and replaced the culvert near the park. Cotta estimated there is room for five parking spaces combined in the areas they cleared behind the shelter and by the road. Some dead trees were taken down because they posed safety hazards while others...
Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter gave an update to the Borough Assembly during Monday's meeting on the current COVID-19 situation at the hospital. During the current outbreak beginning on September 20, the hospital had recorded 54 total positive cases with 35 cases considered active at the time of the meeting according to Hofstetter. As of Wednesday that number has dropped to 31 active cases. "Encouraging facilities to mask inside, distance, and vaccines, obviously are a way out of...
The Borough Assembly discussed a new sanitation ordinance during Monday's meeting, Ordinance #2021-17 would aim to mitigate bears getting into garbage and make changes to the recycling program. Public Works Director Chris Cotta spoke to the assembly on the four focuses of the ordinance and the purposes of it. The ordinance would require a reasonable effort must be made to secure garbage from bears and other wildlife. It lists examples of measures that could be taken including tying down the lid...
The moose harvest is in full swing this year with a count of 81 reported moose as of Tuesday according to Hilary Wood of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. During Hunt RM038, Unit 3, which is mainly comprised of Mitkof Island and Kupreanof Island, has seen the most activity. 35 legal moose have been taken so far on Kupreanof Island. Of that, 20 were taken in the area near Kake. With less than ten days to go in the season, 17 more would be needed to reach last year's final tally of 55. Kuiu...
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht issued an emergency proclamation Friday recommending actions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Petersburg. The proclamation recommends masking and social distancing in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, it encourages organizations and businesses to reduce capacity and avoid large gatherings. It recommends people to get vaccinated, saying they are safe, effective, and free, and get tested if they plan on traveling, are exp...
A daily record of 3.54 inches of rain fell while hurricane force winds with gusts up to 70 mph dropped trees into power lines, bringing out borough line crews, Alaska Department of Transportation workers, emergency services personnel, borough staff, and volunteers until 2 a.m according to Utility Director Karl Hagerman. Employees and volunteers first responded to a tree in the line at 919 Sandy Beach Road which the crew cleared without damage to the power or telecom lines. Though the trees...
Mayor Mark Jensen proclaimed October 2021 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month during Monday's meeting. He also declared October 21, 2021 as Wear Purple Thursday and encouraged members of the community to participate in activities organized by Working Against Violence for Everyone (WAVE) and other national organizations. According to the declaration, one in four women and one in seven men will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes and anyone can become a victim of domestic violence. Do...
The State of Alaska activated its crisis standards of care document Saturday for 20 health care facilities across the state according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The list of facilities includes Petersburg Medical Center and Wrangell Medical Center as well as facilities in Anchorage, Juneau, and other cities. A lack of resources within some hospitals, limited health care staffing, and the increase in COVID-19 cases in the state caused the state’s Crisis Care Committee to request the document be a...
WRANGELL - Wrangell has begun its search for a new borough manager. On Friday, the assembly accepted the resignation of Lisa Von Bargen from the post, effective Oct. 29. “It is with sadness I submit my letter of resignation as borough manager for this amazing community. The strain of the past year and a half has helped me realize I need to take a pause and focus on the needs of my family and myself,” Von Bargen wrote in her resignation letter, dated Sept. 28. She has been on the job since July 2017, moving to Wrangell from Valdez, where she...
WRANGEL - Wrangell will share a tire cutter with other Southeast communities, intending to cut down on the thousands of tires stacked at the dump by making it easier to ship out the smaller pieces. The borough assembly last Tuesday approved a resolution to share the equipment with the Southeast Alaska Solid Waste Authority. The mobile unit can separate tires from rims and then, using a powerful cutting arm, chop up the rubber into smaller, more easily transportable chunks. The tires stacked at the landfill are too bulky to efficiently and...
WRANGELL - The borough is taking a closer look at the cost of shipping goods by barge to Wrangell. The assembly last Tuesday approved a $7,300 study by Rain Coast Data, prompted, in part, after Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski raised “the very serious issue of shipping rates as a concern” when she was in town earlier in September. “The senator asked if the borough had documentation of the increases. The answer is no,” borough officials reported to the assembly for its consideration of the rate-history contract. Mayor Steve Prysunka had request...
Utility Director Karl Hagerman gave a report on the Southeast Alaska Power Agency's recent board meeting to the Borough Assembly Monday. Hagerman stood in for Assembly Member Bob Lynn, Petersburg's voting member of the SEAPA Board, during the SEAPA meeting as Lynn was on vacation. Hagerman reported that the submarine cable project was complete and successful. SEAPA saved $2.2 million in contract costs by negotiating an assumption of risk related to weather delays for a cost per day of $258,000....
WRANGELL-The U.S. Forest Service got to most of its Wrangell-area work projects this past summer, with one big job pushed into next spring. The Anan Wildlife Observatory— which has reached the end of “its structural lifetime and needs replacement,” the agency’s website says — was supposed to be torn down in October, Corree Delabrue, U.S. Forest Service information assistant at the Wrangell Ranger District, said. Tory Houser, the recreation, lands, minerals and heritage staff officer for the Wrangell and Petersburg Ranger Districts, said deco...
The Petersburg High School cross country team traveled to Anchorage to race Saturday in the state championships. The boys team placed second in Division III with 44 points, just six behind first place Haines High School. Uriah Lucas finished first in the race, ending the season strong with a time of 17:38.7 and beating out Leo Wald of HHS by nine seconds. Michael Durkin moved up from his finish in the regionals meet, placing fifth at state in 18:15.4. Also in the top 20 were Valon Weathers in...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 19 active cases of COVID-19 Monday after several cases were cleared by Public Health. Seven new cases have been recorded, two of which were diagnosed in Petersburg while five cases were identified among Petersburg residents while in another Alaskan community. PMC says there is concern of significant community spread in Petersburg, especially from gatherings where people are not masking or social distancing. The Alaska Department of Health and Social... Full story
Hurricane force winds with gusts up to 70 mph dropped trees into power lines, bringing out borough line crews, public works employees and emergency services personnel on Friday night. According to a report from Utility Director Karl Hagerman it started with a tree in the line at 919 Sandy Beach Road across the street from the Bible Church. The crew was able to clear it without damage to the power or telecom lines. Many other trees at this location came down but they did not reach the road. The decision was made to close the road to traffic...
Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom gave a presentation during Thursday's Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board meeting on the status of the COVID-19 outbreak in the community. At the time of the board meeting there were 19 cases of COVID-19. That number has climbed to 32 as of Wednesday. Bacom's report included details on how the virus has spread, age demographics of positive cases, testing information, and contact tracing. Of the then 19 cases, one was travel related and...
The Petersburg Medical Center Foundation's cancer fundraising committee Beat the Odds hosted its 21st annual 5K run/walk Saturday. One hundred racers came out to participate and 14 Petersburg High School cross country runners competed virtually because they were traveling to a meet the day of the event. Participants gathered on the basketball court outside of Stedman Elementary School and enjoyed breakfast treats before the race. Pia Reilly, one of the event's organizers, said the event is held...
Voters will decide the future of Crystal Lake hydroelectric power in Petersburg on October 5. Proposition 1 aims to raise an amount not to exceed $7.8 million in electric utility revenue bonds to refurbish the Blind Slough hydroelectric plant and add additional standby diesel generation at Scow Bay. Though the borough will incur long-term indebtedness for a term not to exceed 25 years, supporters of the proposition say the upgrades are necessary and will benefit Petersburg. The plant was built...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported Wednesday that community spread of COVID-19 is occurring and there are now 32 active cases. Eight cases were reported from September 28-29. None of the 29 resident and three non-resident cases are travel related. The ages of the cases ranges from 3 years to 62 years with the majority of cases being under the age of 40. Four of the cases are students and three are workers at a local business. PMC also listed reasons why members of the community should be concerned including the rapid increase of cases over...
A headline to an election story appearing on page 5 of last week’s paper incorrectly stated the borough election will be on October 4. The election is on Tuesday October 5....
Petersburg Borough's Service Area One boundaries could shift depending on how people vote on Proposition 2 on the October 5, 2021 ballot. The proposition seeks to remove Frederick Point East Subdivision from Service Area One by reducing the service area's boundaries. The proposition can be voted on only by residents of Service Area One. The proposition requires a majority of residents in Service Area One and a majority of residents in Frederick Point East to vote yes to pass. Proponents of the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly candidates took part in a virtual forum Monday night hosted by KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. The candidates were asked about a range of topics including the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of a new hospital, and projects the candidates want to see completed. Paul Anderson, Lars Christensen, Thomas Fine-Walsh, Bob Lynn, Marc Martinsen, Brandi Thynes and Dana Thynes each gave an opening statement after which, each candidate began answering quest...
Heather Conn Age: 43 What experience do you have? When you look at board experience I have sat on three boards and one council. The experience I have had has been with the Petersburg Little League from 2002-2005, Early Childhood Education Board 2005 to 2009, The Viking Swim Club 2013-2016, and the Petersburg Indian Association Council 2017 to present. I have also been an involved community member with my presence during our local assembly and school board. Why do you seek public office? I...
