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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...
Students in Petersburg outperformed their peers across the state when tested on core school subjects last spring. Statewide assessment data recently released to the public by Alaska's Department of Education and Early Development revealed most students in Alaska are not proficient in the core subjects of science, mathematics and English language arts. In Alaska, almost 32% of students met grade-level proficiency standards in both the English language arts and mathematics tests; and not quite 37%...
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary officially stands up the Petersburg Flotilla on the sunny afternoon of Sept. 11, 2024. At the drive down dock, the USCG Cutters Pike and Elderberry tied up bow to bow, with active duty Coast Guard crew standing on each side to set the stage for the Auxiliary Flotilla ceremony....
A warm aroma of cooked food and the scent of cedar embers sifted through Sandy Beach during the first ever Rainforest Survival series, hosted by Petersburg Parks and Recreation on Saturday Sept. 7. The two-day event focused on helping teach kids about survival skills. The class on Friday consisted of emergency bag preparation and knot tying lessons. On Saturday, lessons featured shelter building, flare signaling for rescue and fire building. "For the most part, I think it went beautifully,"...
There is a nationwide shortage of providers for behavioral health services, and Petersburg is no different. "We've definitely had times in Petersburg where we've had more providers, and there's still been people on a wait list. That's just the reality of it," said Ashley Kawashima, a behavioral health clinician at Petersburg Medical Center. Because there are wait lists, Kawashima said less preventative care is provided as providers, like herself, must triage based on severity: "We're really...
Southeast Alaska subsistence users who want current information on sockeye escapement numbers, deer seasons and detailed maps now have a single website providing all the information. The U.S. Forest Service on Sept. 2 went live with its new subsistence dashboard. "This tool was created in response to feedback and requests by tribal organizations and subsistence users throughout Southeast Alaska," Tongass Subsistence Program Manager Robert Cross said in a prepared statement. "We heard how... Full story
Ketchikan's police chief has resigned under an agreement that dismisses criminal charges against him stemming from a 2022 off-duty altercation in a restaurant that injured another man. Jeffrey Walls, 48, signed the agreement with state prosecutors on Aug. 27. He stepped down as chief effective Sept. 10. Walls was hired as Ketchikan police chief in 2021. Before that, he worked at the New Orleans Police Department for 24 years. He was accused of injuring a man during an encounter at the Salmon...
As Alaskans from different organizations convened at the University of Alaska Anchorage to brainstorm ways to reverse the state’s continuing population outmigration, a leading state economist delivered some bad news. Dan Robinson, research chief at the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, revealed that the latest data shows that Alaska has now had 12 consecutive years with more residents leaving than arriving. That is unprecedented, he said. “This is not normal for us. It hasn’t happened before,” Robinson said on Thursda... Full story
Petersburg Medical Center is beginning a new program for folks to come together, chat about health, and go for a stroll with a healthcare professional. "Walk with a Doc" serves as an opportunity to promote health while also fostering community relationships - by simply going for a walk together. Started in 2005 by a cardiologist in Ohio, the nonprofit Walk with a Doc program now has over 500 chapters worldwide. The first walk of this program in Petersburg will take place this Saturday, Sept....
Alaskans still making ornaments to hang on the Capitol Christmas Tree now have a little more time. The original submission deadline of Sept. 16 has been extended two weeks to Sept. 30. "Sept. 16 ... that was the deadline we were given about a year ago when we started planning this," said Claire Froelich, interpretation and education specialist with the U.S. Forest Service in Wrangell. "But because we are now working with Alaska Airlines, our shipping is going to take less time, so now we have... Full story
In Sitka, some hospital surgeries are on hold. Many shops and restaurants are operating on a cash-only basis. Contact with the outside world comes mostly through satellites. A break in the sole cable that provides Sitka's internet and phone service has wreaked havoc on residents and businesses - and, at the same time, effectively launched a massive social and economic experiment: What happens for 8,000 people who have deeply integrated the internet into their lives, when the switch gets flipped... Full story
WRANGELL — The borough hopes to learn this week the exact location and condition of the kinked blockage in the treatment plant outfall pipeline that has forced a temporary solution — discharging the wastewater on the beach near City Park. “It’s essentially been bent in half,” Public Works Director Tom Wetor said of the 12-inch-diameter plastic pipe, which was hooked Aug. 30 by a boat anchor and damaged as the anchor line was being pulled up. Repairs could take a couple of months, he said Sept. 6. It just depends on how much work is needed. T...
While the black bears on Mitkof Island usually eat their fill of natural resources like blueberries and salmon before it's time to hibernate, unsecured garbage cans in Petersburg tempt the animals with a buffet of easy eats. Black bears have made their trek to town, breaking into a number of garbage bins and stashing litter over the past several weeks. Local authorities on the situation stress that abiding by borough law and properly securing garbage is essential to deterring bears from town....
With repair of the GCI fiberoptic cable expected sometime in the next two weeks, Sitkans are using the Starlink at the library and “getting a crash course in Networking 101 today” from the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. Sitka lost internet sometime around 11:30 a.m. last Thursday when an undersea cable broke. GCI provided a statement to the Sentinel today: “A subsea fiber break occurred August 29, impacting all GCI services in Sitka. Our teams have successfully restored basic mobile voice and text services using...
Ketchikan Fire Department firefighters on Sunday brought joy and some relief to the community as it grieves the loss of life and homes caused by the landslide above town on Aug. 25 with the dramatic rescue of two small dogs thought to have been lost a week earlier in the incident. Four-year old Alani, a small, white maltese/shih tzu and 8-year old Cassie, a miniature longhaired dachshund, did not make it out when their owners, James and Bill Montiver escaped the wreckage of their home following...
SITKA — A woman and her dog, missing since last Wednesday, were found by searchers at 10 a.m. Saturday morning near the Katlian Bay road north of town, Sitka police said. The woman, Olivia Magni, 28, was airlifted back to town by a Coast Guard helicopter and taken to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, Sitka Police Department spokesperson Serena Wild said. Her dog, unharmed, walked out. “She was found with the dog... She was just hypothermic, bumps and bruises,” Wild said, noting that Magni apparently had fallen at some point. The publicly accessible...
Local nonprofit Humanity in Progress is partnering with Petersburg School District to launch a pantry on campus - a new stepping stone toward improving access to basic needs for students in all grades. Food and hygiene products line the shelves of the new pantry, which is located inconspicuously inside the door to an office supply room by the middle school/high school office. The idea to start a pantry was brought into conversation at a school wellness meeting just before summer, as the...
Clear skies on Monday morning showed the extent of Sunday afternoon's landslide that swept 1,100 feet down the steep, wooded hillside above a Ketchikan neighborhood, taking out a portion of the Rainbird Trail and pouring across the Third Avenue Bypass before damaging several homes in the Second Avenue area just west of Whitecliff Avenue. The landslide resulted in the death of one person, Sean Griffin, a City of Ketchikan Public Works senior maintenance technician who was on the Third Avenue...
The Southeast Alaska sport fishery is on track to exceed its king salmon allocation for the summer by 14,000 fish, prompting the state to close the region to sportfishing for kings. The closure went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 26. “King salmon may not be retained or possessed, and any king salmon caught must be released immediately and returned to the water unharmed,” according to the Department of Fish and Game announcement late Friday, Aug. 23. The king salmon sport fishery will reopen on Oct. 1 for the winter season. “While the (...
Disposing of large derelict vessels abandoned in Petersburg's harbors comes at a cost - one that the borough is taking steps to mitigate. In August, the Petersburg Borough Assembly amended municipal code and approved a significant budget adjustment to address the issue of derelict vessels in local harbors. The assembly authorized the transfer of $240,000 from the harbor department reserves to a derelict boat disposal budget item, bringing the total amount allocated to $250,000 to fund the...
In a strategic move to support management of critical services for the community, Petersburg Borough has made structural revisions to its utility departments, reorganizing responsibilities and reverting to a former leadership model. This change was made as Utility Director Karl Hagerman -who has overseen the borough's power, water, and sewer departments since 2018- plans to retire in 2026. In the past, the Public Works Director managed the water, sewer, roads, sanitation and motor pool...
A ballot measure that could repeal Alaska’s ranked choice election system is headed to a vote in November, the Alaska Supreme Court confirmed Thursday. In a brief order, the court’s five members upheld a lower court decision that certified Ballot Measure 2, which would repeal the laws that created the state’s ranked choice general election and open primary election. The order came shortly after justices heard oral arguments in an appeal claiming that the Alaska Division of Elections improperly certified the measure. “Today the Court quickly... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly has taken a stance against the potential listing of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Assembly members voted unanimously to send a letter of opposition to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in response to a petition from the Wild Fish Conservancy, an environmental group based in Washington state, which requested the ESA listing and designation of critical habitat of any GOA...
A bill aimed at attracting and keeping quality teachers in Alaska classrooms became law on Monday without Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s signature. The law’s changes to current education policy are threefold: It eliminates a state limit on experience-based compensation for teachers, allows retired teachers to serve as long-term substitutes and provides financial incentives for current teachers to seek certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka and a former teacher, sponsored the bill, whi... Full story
