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For many, classical music evokes images of evening gowns, baroque concert halls and impassioned, white-gloved conductors. Its mood is reverent, its audiences are serious and ever-so-slightly snobbish. But concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky has set out to buck classical piano's black-tie reputation. The music, he argues, is not only for a knowledgeable few - its beauty can be appreciated by everyone, regardless of whether they know a "madrigal" from a "minuet." Rudnytsky, a professional musician...
Community members are preparing to welcome the crew of the Hōkūle'a when it visits Petersburg this week as part of its Moananuiākea Voyage, a journey that will cover 43,000 nautical miles around the Pacific Ocean over the next four years. According to the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Hōkūle'a, meaning "Star of Gladness," is a deep sea double-hulled voyaging canoe built in a traditional Hawaiian style that can be crewed by about a dozen people. Its voyage will take 400 crew members, who will...
The Planning Commission voted against recommending that the Petersburg Borough Assembly approve the Petersburg Medical Center's application to rezone 43 undeveloped lots on the proposed site for the new hospital facility at its meeting on Tuesday. The 43 lots are owned by the borough and are located north of Haugen Drive and behind the Elizabeth Peratrovich Building. They are currently zoned as single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, and open space-recreational, but the...
On Tuesday afternoon, cellphones across the state beeped with emergency tones as the Alaska State Troopers attempted to find two-year-old Karma Brown, who briefly went missing in Fairbanks. Brown was found safe within 40 minutes, but not before Alaskans from Adak to Metlakatla were alerted via the national Wireless Emergency Alert system. “The Amber Alert was deliberately sent statewide due to family connections of the suspect to multiple areas of the state. In most instances, Amber Alerts are sent within 300 miles of the location of the a... Full story
Petersburg is ramping up preparations for this year's star-spangled celebration as Independence Day draws near. On Monday, it was announced that "Let Freedom Ring" would be the theme for floats participating in the Fourth of July parade, beating out other contenders "Tour America," "Create Hope in the World," and "Celebrate U.S." The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce is organizing the parade and Administrator Mindy Lopez is encouraging any and all local organizations, nonprofits, churches,...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed an ordinance that will raise the amount that sewer utility rates will increase by in FY24 during its June 5 meeting. In May 2022, the assembly voted to increase sewer utility rates by 3% annually from FY23-FY26, but this new ordinance will double the planned rate increase in FY24, raising rates for one year by 6%. According to an annual rate review of the utility, the 6% raise is needed to keep up with increased costs and expenses to the...
The Petersburg Borough's annual Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Event is returning at the end of this month after a three-year hiatus. The borough invites the public to deliver their materials to the baling facility on June 24-25 at no cost, encouraging community members to get hazardous substances out of their homes and disposed of in a safe manner. "COVID kind of interrupted our stride, and-you know-it's taken us a couple years to get back to where we need to be, so we fully intend to make...
The company behind the controversial Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska has agreed to pay nearly $6.4 million to a group of shareholders who claim they were misled by corporate leaders. Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. reached the settlement with the named plaintiffs, according to documents filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The settlement is the product of two lawsuits, later consolidated, alleging that Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Limited Partnership had defrauded investors through... Full story
Devil's Thumb Shooters (DTS) attended the 2023 Alaska YESS State Championship, themed "Home on the Range" this past week at the Birchwood Shooting Park just North of Anchorage. 11 youth marksmen from DTS spent five days breaking clays in seven different disciplines, partook in a special Sadie Hawkins shoot, and even shot a few hats. Hannah Slaven took second in the discipline of double sporting clay for intermediate females, Trent Kittams took second in male's varsity wobbles, Calden Smith...
WRANGELL — The U.S. Forest Service again this year is making available permits for unguided visits to the Anan Wildlife Observatory, limited to four per day. The permits must be requested in person at the Wrangell Ranger District office, up to one week in advance. Permits, at $10 each, are required for visiting Anan from July 5 through Aug. 25, when the popular bear-viewing site is limited to 60 visitors a day on guided tours. The four unguided visitor permits are in addition to the 60. “These (four) permits are for people arriving with the...
WRANGELL - Competitors made of the toughest stuff have less than a month to train for the Tongass Toughman Triathlon in Wrangell. Triathletes put their endurance, strength and fortitude on display in a contest which covers a combined 72.2 miles of water, pavement and earth. The race, which will unofficially kick off the Fourth of July festivities throughout town on July 1, starts with a swim of 1.2 miles to City Dock from a starting point out in Zimovia Strait. Once athletes reach the dock and c...
The last year has been filled with many trials for Joseph Tagaban, but with each step he is proving that he has the courage to keep marching on. "Overall, feeling really good," Joseph said while resting in the comfort of his own home on Monday. "I have weekly labs, like with the doctor, and then we're also meeting with the doctor every week or so discussing about how I'm doing, you know, updates and then any changes to medications like that, but overall, I'm feeling really great." After...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed the borough's budget for the next year in its final reading during Monday's meeting. The final version of the FY24 budget fulfills the Petersburg School District's request to increase local funding to $3 million, up $1 million from last year. The district has been advocating for a bump in funding at the local level and from the state as it faces inflation, higher utility costs, and the implementation of the Alaska Reads Act next school year. "I...
JUNEAU - A fire in the engine room of a small cruise ship in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve prompted the evacuation of dozens of passengers and crew on Monday. No injuries were reported, and the fire was extinguished, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The fire on board the Wilderness Discoverer was reported to the Coast Guard around 7:30 a.m. UnCruise Adventures, which operates the ship, said 78 passengers and crew members were on board at the time. All 51 passengers and most crew...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to create a new utility assistant director/project manager position during Monday's meeting. The assistant director would work under the supervision of Utility Director Karl Hagerman who plans to retire in the next few years. The addition of the position intends to mitigate the impact of Hagerman's retirement on the borough and ensure his successor has a smooth transition into the role. Hagerman has worked for the borough for 31 years and became...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously during Monday's meeting to accept a proposal from Alaska Public Entity Insurance (APEI) to perform a review of the borough's hiring practices and safety programs. APEI, which is also the borough's insurance carrier, will conduct the review free of charge and will report its findings back to the assembly in 60 days. The move comes after community members pushed for a third-party investigation into the borough's policies in an effort to prevent...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will hold the third and final readings of two ordinances that could affect local harbor operations at its meeting next Monday. Ordinance #2023-07 would limit the amount of moorage space than can be used by live-aboards and increase fines for wake violations while Ordinance #2023-09 would codify harbor parking enforcement. Both ordinances were unanimously approved by the assembly during their first and second readings last month. The Harbor and Ports Advisory...
The Petersburg Medical Center is planning to hold free youth mental health first aid classes, teaching adult community members how to look for warning signs and help young people experiencing mental health problems. The classes are being made possible through a $10,000 grant awarded by the Petersburg Community Foundation. The grant will be used to get two hospital staff members-Katie Holmlund and Becky Turland-certified as youth mental health first aid facilitators so they can put on free...
Last week’s article “Petersburg Community Foundation awards $28,000 to local organizations” incorrectly stated that PMC’s grant funding would go to support establishing free of charge youth mental health services in town. As clarified in the story this week on page 3, the grant funding awarded to PMC will not establish direct mental health services, but is designed to provide training and tools to community members to be able to best respond to youth experiencing mental health issues....
The U.S. Forest Service is still seeking volunteers to fill out seats on the South Tongass Secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committee (SRS RAC), but with the deadline to apply fast approaching the committee is at risk of not having enough members to hold meetings. According to the Forest Service, RACs review proposals for projects on National Forest System lands, provide advice to the department, and vote on recommendations for the allocation of federal Secure Rural Schools Act funding to...
Petersburg Parks & Recreation closed the doors to the community center Monday to begin their annual summer maintenance, which will last until June 12. The fitness court and aquatic center are both receiving several important tune-ups during the two-week period, breathing new life into the facilities and ensuring that everything runs smoothly for another year. Parks & Recreation Director Stephanie Payne said, "We have a few surprises for the weight room...that way when people come in, they do...
Alaska lawmakers reached a compromise on the state budget and adjourned after a one-day special session last week, approving a $1,300 Permanent Fund dividend for this fall with the possibility of a second, smaller payment next year if oil revenues exceed projections. The amount of the PFD and the capital budget — construction and maintenance projects in legislators’ home districts — were the final items that forced legislators into a special session after the regular session ended May 17 without a budget. The governor called them back to work...
The Petersburg Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Alaska Community Foundation, presented eight grants last Saturday supporting community nonprofits. Hosted by Sue Paulsen, the event brought together volunteers, community members, and representatives from local organizations to award over $28,000 in grants. Before the grants were announced, Jeanette Ness was named as this year's recipient of the foundation's Volunteer of the Year award. Glo Wollen, who presented the award, said, "When...
This month, Alaska Airlines unveiled a new design that replaced the Salmon Thirty Salmon art known by many Alaskans. The new art still features salmon, but this time from an Indigenous perspective. Crystal Worl, Tlingit artist and business owner from Juneau, created the new design in the style of formline art. Worl said she hopes that the plane will inspire non-Indigenous people to learn about the rich cultural history between Native Alaskans and salmon - and she was excited to share that histor... Full story
The budget that legislators approved last week and will send to the governor for his signature into law or veto would provide around $804,000 in one-time additional state funding to the Petersburg school district for the 2023-2024 classroom year. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has not publicly stated whether he will approve the increase in state funding for public education. He did not propose any increase in the budget that he submitted to lawmakers at the start of the session in January, leaving it to legislators to decide an amount. State funding for pu...
