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$3000 Reward for Information About N&N Market Arson and Burglary

Avery Lill

Owners of the N&N Market are offering $3000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the burglary and arson suspect(s) who broke in and set fire to the store on Sunday.

The N&N Market in downtown Dillingham is still closed for business following last Sunday’s arson fire. United Companies Incorporated and Choggiung Investment Corporation are 49% owners of the store. They are offering a $3000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the burglary and arson suspects. They are asking anyone with information to contact the Dillingham Police Department.

Rose Tennyson is one of the dozens of N&N employees who found themselves out of work Sunday after waking up to the news that the store was on fire.

"My heart broke," she said, "because we've been through so much with the store already for years and years, and with this going on, it just breaks our hearts to think, you know, somebody would do this to us."

She's sad, and she's also frustrated.

"These people that did this to our store--it doesn't only affect the community, but it affects us employees," says Tennyson. "We're out of jobs right now."

Many others around town, like Ed Willis, are frustrated, even as they don’t have answers to help understand why someone would set fire to one of Dillingham’s two downtown groceries.

"I don't know that much about it. I understood that somebody had been upset and set a fire. So that's about all I know about it," says Willis. "It's pretty sad really."

My heart broke because we've been through so much with the store already for years and years, and with this going on, it just breaks our hearts to think, you know, somebody would do this to us.

Police say they are making progress in their investigation, but so far haven’t named any suspects. Whoever broke into the store last Sunday knew how to turn off the power and avoid the surveillance cameras. They stole some goods and money, then used lighter fluid near combustible material to light two fires. The sprinkler system kept those fires from spreading and saved the store, but the water and smoke tooktheir toll on the inside. Store manager Eric Dennis has been overseeing the cleanup all week.

"There was some damage done back in the produce area but nothing major. We'll have to replace some floor boards. Obviously, smoke damage, but we'll have clean up basically the whole store as far as that goes. It's actually not too bad. I think we'll be open in the next couple of weeks."

He thinks the store will probably open first for a fire sale to move some inventory, then close again for another top to bottom clean before it opens again for regular business. The clothing section, which sustained the most damage, could remain closed even after the rest of the store reopens.

"We're just excited to get the store back open for the community," Dennis says. "We've got a lot of people stopping by every day wishing we were open right now. So everyone has definitely been positive about this."

Insurance adjusters were inspecting the store Friday. Dennis doesn’t think the losses will impact N&N in the long term, though he is ready to see his workers get back on the clock as soon as possible.

United Companies Incorporated and Choggiung Investment Corporation are 49 percent owners of the store.

They are offering a $3000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the burglary and arson suspects. They are asking anyone with information about who broke in and set fire to the N&N Market to contact the Dillingham Police Department.

Reach the author at avery@kdlg.org or 907-842-5281.