Submitted photo

The Fairbanks group of pad-dlers poses for a photo follow-ing an eventful Gulkana River trip earlier this week. Left to right are (standing) Larry Fogleson, Alice Stickney, Terry Glendinning, Todd Davis, Ron Davis, Lou Davis, Dave Gronemeier and Les Graves and (on the trail-er) Brad Snow, Angela Payer, Linda Winters and Dave Payer.

By WESTON MORROWwmorrow@newsminer.com

If they hadn’t been there, he would have died. That’s what doc-tors, rescuers and family mem-bers told a dozen Fairbanks pad-dlers who came to the aid of Kraig Hammond this week.

The group, consisting mostly of Fairbanks Paddlers club mem-bers, was a couple of days into a five-day trip down the river when they first passed Kraig, 17, and his father, Rick.

When the two groups first floated past each other Sunday evening, they exchanged nothing more than the usual river pleas-antries. When the Fairbanks pad-dlers floated by the father and son’s campsite the next morning, something was wrong.

“The father signaled us over and told us that his son was hav-ing a bad time of it,” said Brad Snow, a member of the Fairbanks group.

Before the trip, Kraig had injured his knee but supposedly received the OK from his doc-tor to go. Now, part way down the Gulkana, the knee was swol-len and inflamed and Kraig was exhibiting a number of flu-like signs — signs that point to a dan-gerous infection.

At that point, the members

Paddlers help save teen on GulkanaBoy suffered life-threatening infection during trip with father

Please see RESCUE, Page A6

Eric Engman/News-Miner

Jane Lanford carries the torch during the 11th annual Alaska International Senior Games opening ceremonies and gala games Friday evening at Pioneer Park. Lanford, one of several athletes to carry the torch to kick off the games, competed in the National Senior Games last month in Cleveland, winning a gold medal in the women’s 55-to-59-year-old 10-kilometer run, and a bronze in the 5k. For more on the games, see Sports, Page D1.

Staff Reportnewsroom@newsminer.com

Fire officials issued a warning Friday for extreme fire danger caused by unsea-sonably dry and hot condi-tions in the Interior.

“Record heat and dry fuels for much of central and eastern Interior Alaska continues to produce record-setting fire spread poten-tial and high resistance to suppression efforts across boreal spruce and tussock tundra fuels,” the warning reads.

August usually brings reg-ular rains that end the fire threat for the year. Instead, the Interior has received only a smattering of rain in recent weeks because of the presence of high pressure over Canada and low pres-sure over the Bering Sea, which are keeping a strong Chinook in place over the Alaska Range, according to the notice.

“This has created an extremely dry air mass over the central and eastern Inte-rior,” it reads. “The associ-ated wind events are finding receptive fuels around ongo-ing fires, producing rapid spread rates, crown fire behavior and extended burn periods in those areas.”

No rain is expected in the next 10 days.

The warning says season-al severity will continue to build, with conditions “hav-ing reached levels that indi-cate intense surface fires that resist control and deep burning severity.”

Several wildfires that ignited earlier in the sea-son have gained renewed strength, bringing a return of smoky conditions to com-munities, including Fair-banks and Delta Junction.

Contact the newsroom at 459-7572.

Officialswarn of‘intense’wildfirepotential

252-C Vol. CIX, No. 22020 pages

Classified ................... C3Comics ...................... C2Dear Abby .................. B4Interior/Alaska ............ B1Obituaries .................. B2Opinion .......................A4

Inside Sourdough Jack sez:

“I thought ’bout enterin’ the Senior Games, then I remembered I have no

game.”

All but one embassy reopened after terror threats.

Page A5

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Let the Games BeGin

By MATT BUXTONmbuxton@newsminer.com

One of the two 18-year-old males accused of the May 26 theft and vandal-ism at Two Rivers Elemen-tary School agreed to a plea deal Friday morning and was sentenced in Fairbanks Superior Court.

For pleading guilty to second-degree burglary, sec-ond-degree theft and third-degree criminal mischief, Two Rivers resident Wesley Travis Phillips will serve 45 days in jail, perform 200 hours of community ser-vice, be on probation for five years, and pay resti- tution for damages to the school.

The plea agreement referred to the time in Fair-banks Correctional Center as “shock” incarceration, but his attorney clarified that it’s just a shorter sen-tence and not a special pro-gram.

The second 18-year-old charged in the incident was expected to agree to the same plea deal but backed out after a lengthy talk from Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle about the risk of being defended by the same lawyer as Phillips.

Mason Silas Bizzarro, also from Two Rivers, and Phillips were both repre-sented by attorney Jason

Beatty. It was an unusual situation that Lyle said could prevent both from getting a fair hearing.

“Tell me why you’re going forward with an attorney that isn’t fully loyal to you,” he told the defendants.

Lyle told the two that if one person was more responsible for the crimes, their shared attorney would not be able to arrange a better deal for the other because the attorney would be at risk of violating confi-dentiality.

The two, as well as a

One of two teens sentenced in Two Rivers vandalism

Matt Buxton/News-Miner

Wesley Travis Phillips, center, listens to Judge Paul Lyle before pleading guilty to three charges relating to the May vandalism and theft at Two Rivers Elemen-tary School. Seated with him are defendant Mason Silas Bizzarro, right, and lawyer Jason Beatty.

Please see PLEA, Page A6

State Am 2nd round

SPORTS, PAGE D1 PAGE C1

A new contest in OTP