Wrangell residents faced a catastrophic landslide during the night of November 20th. As the community of 2,000 rallied together and helped out one another, the schools also quickly adapted to a new norm – finding a balance somewhere between grieving and routine.
In the aftermath of the slide, Wrangell volunteers and officials tirelessly worked to find the victims – five dead, one survivor, and one still missing.
Three were school-aged Heller siblings: 16-year-old Mara, 11-year-old Kara and 12-year-old Derek, who is still missing.
Wrangell Public Schools swiftly moved into action to accommodate the needs of both their students and staff, who were grieving. In addition to the school district’s own behavioral health team, counselors with Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) Behavioral Health Services were also brought in. Wrangell Superintendent Bill Burr says they came from Ketchikan, Sitka and even as far as Anchorage to assist students and staff who were seeking help.
“We also have Addy Esco, who used to be the counselor here and work for behavioral services from SEARHC, who the Anchorage School District gave her time to come down and and work with us here in Wrangell,” Burr said. “She knows the area, she knows a lot of the students and is also a big help.”
He says they will continue working with SEARHC and other school districts who volunteer help as time goes on.
“I know there has been active conversations about as this rolls out, our students are still going to need options,” Burr said. “It’s not something that is short term and the school knows that.”
Burr says that the school district has online resources for parents, staff, students and anyone in the community.
He says teachers and staff are known to give their all to their students, but they also need to take care of themselves.
“Teachers and administrators are notorious at holding it back for the sake of our students and others,” Burr said.
Additionally he says it’s important for everyone to feel supported and everyone is in this together, while moving forward.
“A lot of it has been a return to the new normal, which is going to be what goes forward,” he said. “It’s not the memories or it’s not to get rid of remembrances but it’s to continue and working with some routines.”
Laura Davies, who leads the middle school running club, knew students would be home two days after the landslide for Thanksgiving break.
She wanted to hold a community run because she felt like it was something she could organize for people to heal together.
Davies originally thought everyone could do the turkey trot on Thanksgiving but since the weather forecast didn’t seem ideal, she organized the run for that Wednesday at the golf course. Some students ran a couple times around the course while the others – she, other students and parents – walked around it.
“We walked at a leisurely pace around the golf course,” Davies said. “We took in the fresh air and we talked a light hearted conversation. It was a really nice way to get together and just be present with one another.”
Other teachers also put together activities for students, including a grief scrapbook organizing the wrestlers to help move donations from Petersburg.
Jack Carney, a wrestling coach and high school and middle school instructor who teaches social studies, strength training and English, said he and his wrestlers are the “informal moving people of the community.” They help out if people need assistance, but the need for help after the landslide was different.
He said that “Lucy and the ladies down at Parks and Rec just sent me a quick text saying, ‘Hey, could you help us move all this? These emergency supplies from the airplane float up to the Parks and Rec?’ And we said, Sure.”
Carney sent out the message and people showed up.
“So we had a bunch of people down there,” he said. “Then there was a bunch more that showed up as well, in addition to the wrestling community, so it was just awesome. We took two full boat loads and we did it in a matter of like 20 minutes. So it was pretty cool. We had moving vans, it was easy.”
He says that the whole community is grieving and when school reopened his classes were more relaxed. He noticed that kids looked for normalcy, structure and something to do.
“We played some games, kids laughing,” Carney said. “We actually had a basketball tournament for the elementary over in Petersburg and it was just great to see them show up, do a really good job and have something to work for. So even even in all the sadness and grief, it’s nice to see people moving forward.”
Carney says he and others are still upset. And the support from outside communities has been overwhelming at times but also a huge help.
People sticking together – whether that’s person to person or community to community – can help heal wounds over time. Although healing is a process, Wrangell residents have shown the support they need to continue on.
