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The school board met for its monthly meeting Tuesday, and worked its way through a full agenda including the FY17 budget, changes to student handbooks and an activity fee increase. The Petersburg district, like many others in Alaska, is dealing with a tighter budget due to lack of funding. Karen Quitslund, director of finance for the district, presented the budget she’s been working on for months. The board approved the budget with a 4-0 vote, after receiving a summary. “One thing that’s definitely different about this budget, that I’ve...
WRANGELL - The planning team for future development at Wrangell's former Institute site returned this week for a second round of public discussions. At a presentation Monday night, information gleaned from previous sessions in March had been narrowed down into three different concepts. Project lead Chris Mertl of Corvus Design was joined by architect James Bibb of NorthWind Architects and analyst Meilani Schijvens of Rain Coast Data. A surveyor with R&M Engineering joined them the following day...
Wrangell's tribal government is continuing to cooperate with Central Council Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on its baseline water testing of the Stikine River. Initiated in November by Central Council's Native Lands and Resources Department (NLRD), each month two technicians have headed upriver to collect water samples, testing them for their chemical and physical properties in order to establish average conditions. This information eventually may be used in the management of these...
JUNEAU (AP) — Alaska regulators were applauded Thursday as they approved the first licenses for legal marijuana growing and testing facilities — another milestone for the fledgling industry. Priority was being given to growing and testing operations to ensure that retail stores will have legal product to sell. The first retail licenses are expected to be issued later this year. Thirty applications were on the agenda Thursday at a meeting of the Marijuana Control Board in Anchorage. Two were for testing facilities. The rest were for grow ope...
Visitors will soon be able to request the last four daily permits for the Anan Wildlife Observatory this summer. Requests will be made by filling out a form at the front desk of the Wrangell Ranger District office. Individuals listed on the form must be physically present at the time of request, with the exception of family members. Weekly requests will be collected by Mondays at 4:30 p.m. and awarded on Tuesdays by noon. If several requests are for the same day, a lottery for awarding reservation space will be held on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. If...
On November 4, 2014 614 Petersburg voters, 58 percent of those who turned out, scratched their pencils on a ballot, darkening a little oval marked ‘yes’ to Ballot Measure 2, titled “An Act to Tax and Regulate the Production, Sale and Use of Marijuana.” In the description of the potential law, the first line of the ballot measure read, “This bill would tax and regulate the production, sale and use of marijuana.” According to Petersburg Borough data, 39 percent of voters turned out for the November 2014 election, which, besides the vote for borou... Full story
The first of two sessions for the Sprouts Summer Gardening Program will begin Monday at the garden behind the elementary school. This will be the third summer overseeing the program for Christina Sargent, who typically has around five kids participate. Sargent says limiting the group to a total of 10 allows her to maintain safety for the kids and garden. "The kids do get really enthusiastic about being in the garden they want to know, can I pull this, is this a weed, can I eat this, can I try... Full story
The Alaska Marine Highway System’s fall, winter and spring 2016-2017 schedule is now available online for public review. The comment period opened in May 19 and runs until June 22. Because the AMHS is such an important means of transportation for many communities this time allows the public opportunity to review and comment on the proposed schedule. “There are no major changes from this year to the previous year,” said Jeremy Woodrow, Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman. “There are less service weeks planned and that is because... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly continued to discuss the prudence of taking ownership of three dock facilities after the state offered to transfer the facilities along with more than $700,000 and the responsibility of operation and maintenance. Last February, the state offered to transfer the Entrance Island, Kupreanof and Papke’s dock facilities to the borough. In a letter from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Commissioner Marc Luiken said he applauds the borough’s willingness to accept responsibility and ste...
The Alaska Division of Forestry has announced the award of a $3,500,000 construction contract for the Vallenar Bay Access Road to Rock-N-Road Construction of Petersburg. The project provides access to 2,500 acres of the Southeast state forest lands from the existing road system on Gravina Island. The contract is for construction of a forest road from the Lewis Reef area to the existing logging road on the southeast side of Vallenar Bay and establishes access across Vallenar Creek to State land on the west side of Gravina. The project is being f...
In last week’s edition of the Petersburg Pilot it was stated, “The Rasmuson Foundation has also issued an $8,000 challenge for the Petersburg Community Foundation. If the PCF can receive $8,000 from new donors, Rasmuson will provide PCF with a matching grant.” It is more accurate to state, “The Petersburg Community Foundation has a challenge grant on the table. If new donors match $8000, we will receive the same from the Rasmuson Foundation AND a local donor who has joined the match.” Part of this year’s grant funding helped purchase a...
While we see little need for the Entrance Island state float in Hobart Bay, the Borough Assembly should devise and negotiate a way to acquire the docks and floats on Kupreanof Island and Papke’s Landing. Both are located along Wrangell Narrows. Yes, significant repair and upkeep costs will be required to maintain the facilities but enough people within the Borough make use of them to justify ownership of the structures. We support the takeover for the same reasons we supported the Borough purchase of Mental Health properties at Papke’s Lan...
Local, state and federal law enforcement made two arrests this week associated with the possession and distribution of methamphetamine. After the Petersburg Court issued a warrant June 6, police searched 214 North Nordic Drive Apt # 5 and found suspect Mao Sovanmony, 43, hiding in a closet. “In the closet where Mao was hiding, a knife was found, multiple baggies, a scale and more packaged suspected methamphetamine,” a criminal complaint states. “The total weight of methamphetamine recovered was approximately 60.00 grams. Officers recov...
The Summer Reading Challenge at the Petersburg Public Library kicked off this week and excited youngsters are already well on their way to earning prizes. So far, over 100 kids have signed up for the event, and anyone interested is welcome to join the fun. The program is open to anyone under the age of 20, and runs through July 24. Program coordinator Jessica Ieremia says participants earn tickets by reading books, magazines, newspapers, and even comic books count. The tickets then get placed in...
A handful of local women took part in the 17th Annual Prince of Wales Island Marathon held on May 28. The women participating in the half marathon placed high, including Jo Ann Day. This year's event marked the fourth time participating for Day, and her finish was her best yet. It was her second year taking on the half marathon. Her previous best was 14th place in 2015. "I was so excited, it'll probably never happen again, so I'm just going to enjoy the moment," she says laughing. "I have...
Petersburg Chamber of Commerce manager Mara Lutomski was treated to an action-packed ending of the 35th Annual Salmon Derby on Monday night. It was the first year overseeing the derby for Lutomski, who had fished the derby before, but never experienced the final minutes at the weigh station before. "It was nice to see that a crowd of people had gathered, which I had been told would happen," she said. "People wanted to see the last action. But everything had been so slow, kind of trickling in thr... Full story
People driving by the first gravel pit out of town on Frederick Drive are accustomed to seeing small, scattered signs of graffiti. However, the freshly painted markings found by the Petersburg Police Department (PPD) last Friday while on patrol were completely unacceptable. The gravel pit is three to four miles down the twisting dirt road, and offers privacy and quiet scenery. The area is popular for bonfires. People stopping by the location can see a slightly faded "Jimi" on one side of the... Full story
The Petersburg Community Foundation awarded $15,000 worth of grants this year to six Petersburg organizations. WAVE, KFSK, The Children’s Center, The Petersburg Arts Council, the Salvation Army and the Mitkof Dance Troupe were all beneficiaries of the grant monies. Petersburg Community Foundation chair David Wallen said this was the first year PCF was able to give out that much money. “It was an easy choice because we had more money than we needed available and we ended up just giving it all,” Wallen said. “(The money) is derived from how muc...
Hana Newman recently received her Girl Scout Gold Award for her project promoting the Petersburg Medical Center's (PMC) new digital mammography machine. Reaching the level of Gold Award takes many years of dedication, and completing the project took a huge investment of time, during an already busy schedule for Newman. "Getting everything together and getting everything organized while collaborating with the hospital took time," she says. "I actually had to stay in town and miss a volleyball...
The Juneau Student Symphony and the Juneau String Ensemble are traveling to Petersburg and will put on a free performance in the Wright Auditorium Saturday, June 4 at 2:30 p.m. Juneau Symphony Program Coordinator Teresa Bleakly said students young and old compose the symphony. "The Student Symphony here in Juneau is made up of musicians young and not so young," Bleakly said. "We call ourselves students but it's anyone who wants to play an instrument and get better at it. We have musicians both...
The Petersburg Medical Center board passed its annual capital and operating budget last Thursday, May 26. The $406,207 capital project list includes a new emergency room information system, a replacement chiller, a cardiac stress test/treadmill along with other equipment and infrastructure. $100,000 of that budget is directed toward facility improvement, a kind of contingency fund. PMC department heads come up with a list of projects and prioritize them with administration and the PMC board. PMC CFO Doran Hammett said around $117,000 of the...
Ever since Karen Hofstad was a kid, she possessed a strong desire to preserve history through collections. She often thought of herself as a detective gathering postcards or matchbook covers, sleuthing out treasure for her collections. Around 1965, her passion for collecting salmon labels became a lifestyle, resulting in decades of effort to document the fishing heritage crucial to the story of Alaska and many Alaskan families. When Hofstad moved to Petersburg in 1960, she was in her mid-20s,...
The Class of 2016 graduated Tuesday night in the Petersburg High School gymnasium. Thirty-three seniors were members of this year's class, which PHS principal Rick Dormer described as the "nicest" group of people he's encountered. "To begin my speech every year I do my best to tell these students and the audience my impression of the graduating class or maybe rather how I will at least remember them," Dormer said as he opened up the ceremony. "We've had our dominant classes, we've had our quiet...
The 35th Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday, May 27 at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. Two tagged fish worth $10,000 and $5,000 will be available for anglers this year. Derby committee member Doug Welde reported the king salmon were tagged on Wednesday morning near the mouth of Wrangell Narrows. The $10,000 prize is sponsored by Alaska Marine Lines and the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. The $5,000 tagged fish is sponsored by Hammer and Wikan. N... Full story
This year's graduating class at Petersburg High School donned their caps and gowns early for a very important walk around campus. The senior class started a tradition called a Senior Walk that will hopefully inspire younger students to set graduation goals early, and stay in school. On Monday, the seniors dressed up and started the event by walking through the middle school while students lined the hallways, cheering the seniors on. Then things got loud when the graduates entered the elementary... Full story
