Haines celebrates over 30 years of service from a hometown hero

Haines residents celebrated the career of one of the longest-serving borough employees today. Scott Bradford will be leaving his job with the borough’s water and sewer department after more than 30 years of service to the community.

Mayor Jan Hill proclaimed May 31st as Scott Bradford day to celebrate his hard work.

Dozens of residents line Main Street to send Scott Bradford off in style before his last day on the job. As the fire engine rolls by, the water and sewer plant manager can be seen waving to the crowd in a T-shirt that reads “retired, not my problem anymore.”

For over 30 years, Bradford has been a go-to problem solver for the Haines Borough.

He started working for the City of Haines as a dog catcher in 1986. A year later he began a career maintaining the town’s sewers and drinking water.

“Yeah it’s a big responsibility. Basically, I serve the community, providing water and making sure the sewer is treated properly. I’m going to miss that a little bit.”

That’s just one aspect of the work he does for the community.

Bradford was chief of the Haines Volunteer Fire Department for 18 years and continues to serve on the crew to this day. Just this week he helped fight the fire at 8 and a half mile on the Haines Highway.

At a recent Haines Borough Assembly meeting, Mayor Jan Hill commended Bradford for taking on multiple responsibilities for the community.

“Being on call for both the water and fire departments meant that the phone at the Bradford home rang at all hours and that Scott was ready to respond quickly. He was the fireman to beat to the hall when there was a tone out. He would show up in not more than just his shorts to set an example.”

This willingness to lend a hand extends to his personal life. Bradford has helped out friends off the clock when they were having water troubles during the holidays.

He has dedicated his time to the youth of the community, serving as president of Chilkat Valley Preschool and the Haines Dolphins Swim Team as well as coaching little league.

Now that he’s retired Bradford plans to spend more time helping his wife Candi Bradford with their furniture store. And even though he won’t be working for the borough, Bradford says he’ll still be there for the community.

“You know I’ll still be on call. I’ve already told them if you lose a valve let me know, I’ll go help you find it. I’ll still be on the fire department. Still going to help out with some disaster planning and things like that. I’ll be right across the street on Main Street at the store where everybody can find me.”

After the parade, Mayor Jan Hill presented the Scott Bradford day proclamation at the fire hall. As soon as the applause died down, Bradford got to work cutting cake for the crowd.