Sorted by date Results 1826 - 1850 of 6836
Anyone arriving in Petersburg from another Alaskan community are no longer mandated to test for COVID-19 before and after their arrival in town after the Borough Assembly voted in favor of terminating Public Health Mandate #9 at their meeting on Monday. Instead, the assembly approved Public Health Alert #4. The health alert includes most of the same language as Public Health Mandate #9, but it recommends, not mandates, all intrastate travelers arriving at the James A. Johnson Airport and at the...
The State of Alaska is proposing to convey and reject land selected by the Petersburg Borough in Thomas Bay as part of a general grant land entitlement in a preliminary land decision. The borough has selected 701 acres of land near the Patterson River, according to the state's preliminary decision. The state's Land Conveyance Section is proposing to convey approximately 616 acres of state owned vacant, unappropriated, unreserved general grant land to the borough. Of the total acreage selected...
Since the fall of 1989, Patrick Wilson has been the plant manager for Icicle Seafoods, later OBI Seafoods, but this summer he'll be leaving Petersburg to enjoy a retirement split between the Bahamas and Washington state. Originally from the greater Seattle area, Wilson got his start in the seafood business in 1975. He took a job working for Cossack Caviar in Seattle, because he heard the company sent workers to Alaska during the summers. "I thought that was pretty exciting," said Wilson. "It...
Nikolai Wendel has taken over as plant manager at OBI Seafoods, bringing 13 years of cannery experience with him. He arrived in town in late January, and following a two week quarantine, began transitioning into the role of plant manager. Wendel is taking over from longtime plant manager Patrick Wilson who will be retiring this summer. Wendel first experienced Southeast Alaska on a cruise through the Inside Passage after graduating from high school in 2007. It was then that he discovered that th...
The Petersburg Borough will have to wait until June 2 to see its first cruise ship of the season following a change to the local tour ship schedule. In December, eight ships were expected to make a combined 85 stops in Petersburg. As of April 10, seven ships will be making a total of 66 stops. The Alaskan Dream will be the first cruise ship to stop in Petersburg on June 2. Previously, National Geographic's Venture was going to dock in town and kick off the local cruise ship season on May 11....
The 2021 tanner crab harvest in Southeast Alaska was the fourth largest tanner harvest in the last 15 seasons, according to preliminary data from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In Registration Area A, which includes the inside waters of Southeast Alaska, the preliminary estimate of harvest for the 2021 tanner crab fishery is 1.26 million pounds of reported landings among 70 permit holders. Additionally, the harvest exceeded the 2020 run by 52,500 pounds, according to preliminary data....
OBI Seafoods employed about 90 local residents for the 2021 tanner crab season in an effort to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 in the community, according to Plant Manager Nikolai Wendel. Additionally, the production season lasted just 10 days. Any employees who would have been brought into town from outside of the community would have had to arrive two weeks prior to the season to quarantine themselves. "To bring a crew up this early and quarantine them for two weeks for ten days worth...
The local Emergency Operations Center will be presenting the Borough Assembly with recommendations to change some local health mandates at their meeting on Monday. Incident Commander Karl Hagerman said the EOC's recommendations tie into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention move towards loosening COVID-19 protocols for Americans who are fully vaccinated against the virus. The recommendations also come at a time when Petersburg is reporting zero active cases of COVID-19 for the first tim...
On page 12 in last week’s issue of the Petersburg Pilot, a headline for a story about Alaskans unhappy with planned upgrades to the airport in Gustavus incorrectly stated the airport was in Juneau....
The lawns and flower beds around town have been immaculately kept for the last two decades thanks to the Petersburg Borough's groundskeeper, but, at the end of the month, Jesse O'Connor will be retiring. He first joined the City of Petersburg in 1996 as an assistant groundskeeper. Several months later he transferred over to the city's bailer facility where he worked until 2000 when he became the head groundskeeper for the city. "Once I started doing the gardening, I didn't want to do anything...
The Petersburg School Board passed a board policy that outlines professional boundaries between staff and students in its first reading at their meeting on Tuesday. Board Policy 5141.42 identifies boundary invasions that are inappropriate for Petersburg School District staff, volunteers and other members of the community to cross when dealing with a student. Examples include, taking an undue interest in a particular student, using poor judgement in relation to a particular student, becoming...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A federal agency announced Wednesday it has awarded a contract to rebuild its port facility in Ketchikan, work state leaders called overdue. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it awarded an $18.8 million contract to Ahtna Infrastructure and Technologies, LLC for the project, which includes upgrades such as a new office building, a floating pier and revamped utility systems for use by visiting ships. The existing pier will be removed, the agency said in a release. The project is set for completion i...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state health department Tuesday said upcoming appointments for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Alaska are being canceled or delayed after federal agencies recommended a “pause” to review reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots. State health officials told reporters the federal recommendation shows that safety checks are working and they hope this bolsters rather than hinders confidence in the vaccine rollout. Dr. Joe McLaughlin, the state epidemiologist, said people with appoi...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A preliminary report from the federal agency investigating the fatal helicopter crash in Alaska that killed five people, including the richest man in the Czech Republic, sheds little light on the cause. The Tuesday report from the National Transportation Safety Board said the helicopter involved in a heli-ski operation in the Chugach Mountains just north of Anchorage flew multiple legs on March 27, transporting the skiers to several starting points near Knik Glacier. Data obtained from a handheld GPS unit shows the h...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered Hilcorp Alaska to replace a 7-mile (11-kilometer) undersea pipeline after a helicopter pilot spotted a natural gas leak bubbling to the surface last week. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Tuesday said the company must also submit and the agency must approve a restart plan before the line in Cook Inlet can resume operations. The leak is the fifth one for the line since 2014, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The line must be temporarily repaired by April 17 a...
The Emergency Operations Center reported four new cases of COVID-19 in Petersburg on Thursday, according to a joint press release between the Petersburg Borough and Petersburg Medical Center. Three of the cases are limited to one household and are travel related, and the fourth case is still under investigation. All four individuals have been directed to isolate themselves. The four active cases are the first to be reported in the community in over two weeks. According to the press release, the... Full story
A motion to support the 2020 Tongass Exemption Rule failed to gain a second at a Borough Assembly meeting on Monday. Mayor Mark Jensen requested the action item be added to the assembly's agenda as a result of a March 23 press release from the Gov. Mike Dunleavy who asked for support of the 2020 Tongass Exemption Rule from Southeast Alaska communities. Assembly Member Bob Lynn made a motion to support the legislation, but his motion failed to gain a second. Because the motion wasn't seconded, th...
Just two weeks into the season, the Petersburg High School wrestling team has already competed in their first tournament this past weekend and will be competing in another tournament this weekend. The team took sixth place in the Brandon Pilot Invitational at Thunder Mountain High School, scoring 26 points over the course of the tournament. PHS wrestled against Mt. Edgecumbe, Ketchikan, Sitka, Wrangell and Thunder Mountain, who took first place in the tournament. The standouts for the Vikings...
The Borough Assembly on Monday determined that two parcels on Kupreanof Island obtained by the Petersburg Borough through tax foreclosure proceedings will be sold. Ordinance #2021-06 determines that parcel number 03-213-040 on Kupreanof Island is not needed by the borough for public purposes and shall be sold. Similarly, Ordinance #2021-07 identifies parcel number 03-210-310 on Kupreanof Island as not being needed by the borough and shall also be sold. Both properties were acquired by the boroug...
Due to a production error, photos appearing on pages 2, 5 and 8 in last week’s paper were incorrectly processed and appeared as single color images....
A case of COVID-19 was identified through testing at the James A. Johnson Airport on April 1 and reported on April 2, according to a joint press release from the Petersburg Borough and the Petersburg Medical Center. The incoming traveler was the eighth person to test positive for COVID-19 in about the last two weeks, though no new cases have been reported in the last seven days. According to the borough's COVID-19 Dashboard, Petersburg was reporting two active cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday....
At the April 2 COVID-19 community update, Petersburg Medical Center Director of Nursing Jennifer Bryner said following the upcoming COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the Parks and Recreation community gym on April 9, PMC will be holding smaller vaccine clinics in the hospital as more vaccines become available. She said the state has increased Petersburg's allocation of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine by 50 doses, ahead of the April 9 clinic, where both the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines...
The Borough Assembly approved an ordinance in its first reading on Monday that would make adjustments to the borough's fiscal year 2021 budget for known changes. If ordinance #2021-05 passes in three readings, it would transfer funds to the Property Development Fund and allocate money for a new E991 system, the Motor Pool Shop, and a wastewater project on Ira II St. Earlier this year, Finance Director Jody Tow identified a surplus in the borough's General Fund and suggested the assembly...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A plan to upgrade an Alaska airport has faced criticism from residents as contractors plan to begin construction on the $20 million federally funded project this month. Residents and organizations such as the Gustavus PFAS Action Coalition want more state accountability after toxic chemicals were found at the Gustavus airport in 2018, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Monday. The contaminants found are known as PFAS, a group of toxic chemicals found in firefighting foam that used to be required at airports and defense sit...
The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to a vessel fire in Petersburg Marine's shipyard on Sunday at about 1 P.M., which likely left the boat totaled, said Assistant Fire Chief Dave Berg. Berg, who was one of the first responders on the scene, said he saw the F/V Nitty Gritty, owned by Denny Heimdahl of Petersburg, engulfed with smoke and flames when he arrived. Two fire engines responded to the fire, along with 10 firefighters. They quickly began dousing the flames with water, and...
