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When clients aboard the charter vessel Dauntless suggested helping chef Alisa Jestel create her long-dreamed-of cookbook two years ago, she didn't imagine it would lead to cameras, a film crew, and a documentary premiering at Petersburg's Wright Auditorium next week. "Tide and Table," a short documentary from Two Doors Down Productions, began as a modest 8-10 minute film concept. But after Emmy-winning director Brian Bill and his crew arrived in Petersburg last May, they realized they'd... Full story
Inside a workshop tucked behind Charles Davis's legendary junkyard, Jordan Reid stands beside a nearly completed aluminum 17-foot jet sled which has taken shape over the prior three days, its pre-cut panels fitting together with the precision of a high-end puzzle. "Everything is self-jigging," Reid explains. "It took years of math and design engineering, CAD drawing, trial and error to get to this point, to be able to have everything click together like this." After 20 years of running jet...
State ferry officials on Monday were trying to work out a new early-December schedule after learning that the Kennicott will be delayed coming out of a yearlong layup at a Puget Sound shipyard for new generators and maintenance work. The Columbia had been scheduled to leave service to go into its winter maintenance layup starting Wednesday, Nov. 26, when it pulls into Ketchikan on its southbound run. The Kennicott had been scheduled to pick up the route, replacing the Columbia, between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska starting Dec....
"Just get it out of me. I don't want to play games," this is what 68-year-old Jim Stolpe said when he got diagnosed with prostate cancer. His choice lead him to needing several types of therapy: radiation, drugs, etc. in hopes of slowing down the testosterone, one of the things that makes prostate cancer worse. Since his diagnosis in 2005, Stolpe has, as he would describe, "gone up and down the chemo ladder," which has resulted in the loss of several things for Stolpe. "Get in the shower and...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved the hiring of Steve Harbour as the borough's next utility director at their early November meeting. Harbour, currently an electrician-operator at the borough's power plant, will begin his new role on December 30, 2025, at an annual salary of $160,000. Current Utility Director Karl Hagerman will remain in the position until July 2026, providing a six-month overlap period that borough officials praised. "This doesn't happen very often where we...
On a Sunday afternoon in Wright Auditorium, Abbey Hardie works alongside a crew of volunteers painting set pieces for their upcoming Mitkof Mummers production, which will be Hardie's directorial debut. Around her, as the days count down until showtime, power tools are buzzing, music is bumping, people are laughing and problem-solving together to make a set that can help bring their fairy tale to life. "Just seeing everybody have fun," that's the best part for her, says Hardie. "It gets really...
Petersburg artist Ashley Lohr will open her 17th consecutive annual solo exhibition at the Clausen Memorial Museum on Friday, Nov. 21. "The history there ... it's always been a nice reminder to make work and have something to look forward to, to show my work," Lohr said of the sustained opportunity at the museum. This year's exhibition, titled "Drifting Colorways," features three distinct bodies of work: enamel earrings, acrylic abstracts, and new artistic territory for Lohr: oil paintings of...
Petersburg District Ranger Carey Case announced at the Nov. 3 Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting that the Thomas Bay timber stewardship contract has been awarded. The Petersburg Pilot has confirmed that Alaska Timber and Truss, owned in partnership by Brett Martin and Mike Duman, was awarded the contract. The stewardship project represents a significant milestone for the local sawmill and the broader second-growth timber industry in Southeast Alaska. The contract encompasses 4.6 million board feet of timber spread across approximately 140 acre...
Around three years ago Petersburg's 100-year-old American Legion post, the Edward Locken Post 14, had dwindled to three members – Paul Anderson, Butch Anderson, and Stan Hjort. Paul Anderson carried a tremendous amount of the responsibility for the veteran community in Petersburg. When he died in Jan. 2023, a new generation of local veterans stepped up to carry the mantle. Petersburg resident Garrett Kravitz was just retiring from his career in the Navy. He, along with Tony and Tracy Vinson, l...
When SNAP benefits failed to arrive this month, Petersburg residents responded with an outpouring of coordinated support across multiple organizations and businesses. Jim Floyd CEO of Hammer & Wikan organized donation efforts, offering discounts to customers who contributed food and making monetary donations to support the purchase of perishables. Rocky's Marine also contributed cash toward the food drive. "This is about understanding there's a need and figuring out how we can meet it," Floyd...
A derelict, unmanned vessel is no longer drifting in the waters of the Wrangell Narrows. The Petersburg Borough's harbor department monitored the Valkyrie, a 34-foot fiberglass troller, for months as it drifted around a bay south of town. But Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen said it came too close for comfort in the town's Middle Harbor on Monday morning, after traveling a few miles overnight. "At that point, we decided we better address it," Wollen said. "It's just going to continue to be a... Full story
Scott Newman has returned to his seat at the dais as the seventh member of the Petersburg Borough Assembly. When voters in the October municipal election chose Bob Lynn as Petersburg's new mayor, the move opened up his seat on the borough assembly. Bob Martin and Jeff Meucci were sworn in last month as newly-elected assembly members. Their seats were previously filled by Newman and Donna Marsh. Marsh ran for reelection to the assembly this fall as the sole incumbent in the race for the two... Full story
Petersburg is feeling the impact of the federal government shutdown leaving families without their November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. But local organizations are responding quickly to ramp up food distribution efforts. "It's already hitting our community hard," said Veronica Ware, the Johnson O'Malley and Social Services Director at the Petersburg Indian Association. "I've already had calls from citizens in tears because they don't have any food and they don't have any...
Twelve Petersburg High School musicians traveled to Wrangell last week to participate in the Southeast Alaska Honor Music Festival. The students spent three intensive days rehearsing and performing alongside the region's top young musicians under the direction of guest conductors from Oregon and Southern California. The festival, held October 26-29, brings together students selected through a competitive audition process. Students record their auditions locally, which are then evaluated by...
When 16-year-old Jakob Preisler signed up for his international exchange program, he didn't expect to come to Alaska. "It was a really big surprise," Jakob said. "I choose USA, and then after a few weeks, I got the information: you go to Alaska." Since the early 1990s, Petersburg's Rotary Club has participated in international exchange programs. Each year, a student from Petersburg spends time in another country, and the community welcomes an international student for the school year. This... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted 6-0 last week to sell seven parcels of borough-owned land to Skylark Park LLC at half their appraised value. The reduced price reflects the project's public benefit purpose: creating at least 20 new residential lots in a community facing a dire housing shortage. The assembly authorized the sale of the lots for $55,500 - 50% of their $111,000 appraised value and well below their $188,300 assessed value. The sale includes Lots 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Block A of...
Two men arrested for scamming a Petersburg resident this summer have pleaded guilty to federal theft charges. One man has been released from jail and the other man awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled for November. On June 9, the FBI and Petersburg police arrested Shubaum Patel, 24, and Harshilkumar Patel, who was 22 at the time, as suspects connected to an elaborate phone scam that defrauded an elderly resident of over $100,000. The victim, who has asked not to be named, told investigators... Full story
After years of planning and development, Petersburg's Scow Bay Boat Haulout project is nearly ready for construction. PND Engineer Dick Somerville presented a progress report on the 65% design completion at a joint work session with harbor board, assembly and economic development officials on Wednesday morning. Somerville highlighted that all the necessary funding has been secured for the $15.07 million project, the permitting is in progress, and as long as the federal government eventually...
The final piece of funding is in place for replacement of the deteriorating breakwater system at Banana Point, with construction expected to begin next spring. The Petersburg Borough Assembly accepted a $78,000 contribution last week from the Petersburg Indian Association to close a gap between the project's existing budget and the lowest construction bid. The borough has issued a notice to award to bidders and plans to present a contract for assembly authorization at its next meeting,...
Jaime Cabral, Petersburg High School and Mitkof Middle School Assistant Principal and Activities Director, was named the 2026 Assistant Principal of the Year by the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals (AASSP) at a ceremony in Anchorage last weekend. The recognition came while Cabral was already in Anchorage, in the middle of coaching his volleyball team at a tournament. Cabral's wife Heidi picked him up between games, drove him across town to accept the award, and rushed him back...
Though the federal government shutdown jeopardizes the program that subsidizes scheduled air service to more than 170 cities nationwide - including Wrangell and Petersburg - Alaska Airlines has said it will continue uninterrupted service to its contract communities in the state. The U.S. Department of Transportation, which manages the almost 50-year-old Essential Air Service program, had notified participating carriers that funding would run out on Oct. 12. But the department later sent out a...
Petersburg's municipal election received the highest number of ballots this year in over a decade. A total of 1,280 ballots were cast and canvassed, including one outstanding ballot. It was the highest turnout since Petersburg voted to become a borough in December 2012, which saw just over a hundred more ballots than this year. There were a couple of contested races for local office this year, namely for mayor and for Petersburg's Borough Assembly. It was Bob Martin's first time running for an a...
The engine of a small plane failed on Oct. 7 near Petersburg with two occupants on board. The pilot emergency landed on a remote road on northern Kupreanof Island. But the plane - a Cessna 172 wheeled general aircraft, with small tires - hit a rock when landing and flipped over in the muskeg; both occupants were able to get out and walk away uninjured. That's according to two people from Petersburg's volunteer fire department, the pilot from Petersburg who picked them up from Kupreanof, and...
Construction is underway on an open-sided equipment storage shed adjacent to the Petersburg harbormaster's office, a project designed to protect the harbor's maintenance equipment from winter weather. The steel structure, being built on an existing timber dock at the intersection of Excel Street and Harbor Way, features a 10-foot interior clearance that slopes to 13 feet. The roof-only design, with open sides, will shelter harbor equipment including a telehandler, four-wheelers for snowplowing,...
