BURNETT COUNTY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016 VOL. 54 NO. 32 www.burnettcountysentinel.com $1.00
EMPLOYMENT CHOICES: The kick-off of a 6-week series looking at careers for kids. P2
Sunday fire claims home
GRANTSBURG—A homeowner and his son, who were home at the time of the blaze, escaped injury as a fire engulfed the Loren Baker home on Gardner Road south of Grantsburg Sunday morning. “The fire appears to have started in the exterior wall on the south side of the house, but the cause of the blaze is still under investigation,” Derek Zeiler, chief of the Grantsburg Fire Department, explained. He said if the fire stayed in that area, firefighters could have had the chance to contain it. “The fire spread to the second floor,” he continued. “We had to back out of the house and fight it from outside.” Zeiler said the home sustained heavy water damage, especially the second floor, after crews used more than 24,000-gallons of water to extinguish the fire. The Grantsburg department initially responded to the fire at 4:46 a.m. Sunday morning. Mutual aid calls to Siren and Pine City, Minn. soon went out for manpower and tenders (water-carrying vehicles). Subsequent mutual aid calls for tenders went to the Cushing, Frederic and Webster Fire Departments. Zeiler said Wisconsin DNR was also on the scene. The Grantsburg Fire Department was on the scene for about five hours. by Todd Beckmann, Sentinel
State Rep. Jarchow seeks re-election BALSAM LAKE–State Representative Adam Jarchow (R-Balsam Lake) has announced he will seek re-election to the Wisconsin Assembly. Jarchow made the announcement Thursday via a
TODD BECKMANN | SENTINEL
Lyn Sahr, founder of Ruby’s Pantry and executive director of Home and Away Ministries.
Filling a void Home and Away Ministries helps put food on the table and more. BY TODD BECKMANN SENTINEL
LUCK—Is there a need? Decide for yourself. “We distributed 15 million pounds of food in 2015 at our 60 distribution sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin,” Lyn Sahr, founder and executive director of Home
SEE JARCHOW, PAGE 6
one event.” Ruby’s was working with three non-profits which provided the trinkets free-of-charge but they had to pay a yearly fee to obtain the trinkets and chose not to continue. Sahr learned Ruby’s could join if they were a 501(c)3, a non-profit group. “It took seven months for us to get our 501(c)3 status,” he pointed SEE SAHR, PAGE 7
G’burg native unhurt in Japanese quake BY STEVE BRIGGS SENTINEL
Adam Jarchow
and Away Ministries, the umbrella corporation under which Ruby’s Pantry exists, pointed out. “We provided food for 132,000 families.” Ruby’s Pantry, named for Sahr’s grandmother, was founded in May 2003. “We were doing mission work in Mexico and we were always bringing trinkets we could give away to the kids who showed up at our events,” he explained. “Sometimes there’d be as many as 500 kids at
KUMAMOTO, KYUSHU, JAPAN — A Grantsburg native survived unharmed the 6.7 magnitude earthquake Thursday and a much stronger 7.3 earthquake about 52 hours later on the island of Kyushu, where he teaches English in a Japanese Lutheran School. Zach Corbin, 26, a 2008 Grantsburg High School graduate, was able to contact his mother, Kim Corbin of Grantsburg after both of the quakes to assure her he was
unhurt. Only five miles away from his home, at the earthquake’s epicenter, houses and other structures were flattened. A recent count put the death toll from the quakes at 40, with hundreds injured. Aftershocks, experts say, may continue for days or weeks. Corbin’s school leaders first told him and other teachers the school would close for a week, but later changed the estimate to two weeks. The school was not seriously damaged and is being used as an
emergency shelter. The city’s airport is closed due to major damage, and the main hospital in Kumamoto was evacuated. Roads around the city are impassable, and the rail system has also been closed. “We assume they are helicoptering supplies in,” Kim said. Zach was at home in his apartment when the first quake hit about 9:30 Thursday evening, local time, which is 14 hours ahead of SEE CORBIN, PAGE 6
Preventive check-ups for a healthier tomorrow. Amery | Clear Lake | Luck | Turtle Lake
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