By Matt Combs
The Register-Herald, Beckley, W. Va.
ALDERSON, W. Va. — If there is one thing that can be said about small communities, it is that in times of need and crisis, those small communities gather around one another and offer a helping hand.
A fine example of that community cohesiveness has been on display in the town of Alderson.
On the evening of Oct. 27, Mac Brackenrich, an off-duty Alderson police officer, was shot in the neck while riding an ATV in Summers County and airlifted to a hospital in Charleston where he still remains fighting through his wounds.
On Sunday morning, the Alderson Volunteer Fire Department held a fundraiser breakfast for the wounded officer at their station in Alderson’s Historic District.
Although Brackenrich may be best known as Alderson PD’s K9 officer, he was also a member of the fire department in the small town straddling the Greenbrier.
Mike Vandall, with the fire department, had nothing but praise for the young man.
“Mac is very warm,” Vandall said. “He’s never met a stranger. He’s the kind of guy that will give you the shirt off his back; he’ll do anything for you.”
Those feelings were also shared by Jeremy Bennett, the town’s police chief.
“Super good kid,” Bennett said. “Young. Had such drive, loved helping his community. He was a firefighter, police officer. He was also an EMT or working on becoming an EMT. A father, son, grandson. Just an all-around good kid. That’s all you can really say.”
Bennett was at a loss for words about the whole situation.
“There’s so many emotions,” Bennett said. “I mean why him?”
Although Bennett may be at a loss for words on the situation, he isn’t lost when it comes to the steps that need to be taken.
“Just to support the family, that’s it,” Bennett said. “There’s a long-term need. We all got to come together and do what we can to help him.”
Vandall highlighted some of those costs.
According to Vandall, the emergency flight to the hospital will cost upward of $50,000, with bills from over three weeks in intensive care also pilling up.
“The cost of this is going to be astronomical,” Vandall said. “He’s improving; it’s just slow.”
The support that the community has shown Brackenrich has impressed Vandall.
“To have the support that the community has given Mac is overwhelming,” the firefighter said.
Another person who has been impressed by the support is Tracie Brackenrich, the young officer’s mother.
Staying by the side of her wounded son, Tracie Brackenrich said that she has received prayers and well wishes from as far away as Texas and North Dakota.
The officer’s mother said that countless numbers of people her know her son even in the smallest way have reached out with their thoughts.
“Just overwhelming is about the only word I can come up with,” Tracie Brackenrich said.
The officer’s mother believes that the outpouring of support shown to her son is in part because of the love and respect that the community has for him.
“He knew everybody,” Tracie Brackenrich said. “If he didn’t know everybody, everybody knew him.”
©2017 The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.)