The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Community reaches out to fire victims
Local volunteers lend a helping hand
By Dan DuChene, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2007
Despite the cold and wintry conditions, area residents kept victims of the fire, that killed three children, warm in their hearts.
Advertisement
Reica McGuire, a Paradise Manor resident, watched as residents placed toys in front of the destroyed apartment where Destiny Mitchell, 7, Christopher Barginere II, 5, and Legend Lyle-Mitchell, 1, had died while trapped in the February 8 fire.
McGuire said the giving started with Eastern Michigan Univerity students on the night of the fire, and kept growing from offerings of people throughout the community.
"It's been growing since (the night of the fire)," she said.
Starting as an accidental blaze in the kitchen, the fire spread to destroy five units. The children were trapped on the second floor of their apartment during the fire, which displaced five other families that day.
Shawntez Paul and Deneath Saxton, both 15-year-old Paradise Manor residents, donated their own toys to the growing pile. The two, along with Aantonia Paul, 6, offered a purple teddy bear and a brown stuffed dog.
"They were like my brothers and sisters," Saxton said of the victims.
Spaghetti dinner
Aubree's restaurant, a pizzeria and bar in Depot Town, was swarmed with television cameras and news reporters as they held their Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser for the families affected by the fire.
"It's really sad," said Lori LaRonde, while eating spaghetti during the Feb. 12 event. "I used to see the little boy every day."
Both LaRonde and Allison Crowley teach kindergarten at Perry Elementary. They said both Mitchell and Barginere attended the school.
More than 1,000 people attended to the event, raising $11,116 for victims of the fire. The money was donated to a fund for victims set up through the county.
Bob Roberts, Aubree's general manager, said patrons of the fundraiser donated $10 and received a plate of spaghetti, a tossed salad, breadsticks and a soft beverage. He said all of the money from the door was donated to the fund, as well as the money made from tips.
"We had a situation where we had an opportunity to help," Roberts said. "We tried to step forward."
During the night of the fire, Roberts said he was watching the events on television, when he received a call from Leonardo Christian, an Ypsilanti resident.
Christian said he saw the smoke while walking home from a meeting at a church.
"I said, 'something needs to be done,'" Christian said. "So I called Bob. He took it and ran with it from that."
Stacey Morris, a 21-year-old Eastern Michigan student, volunteered her time to wait tables at the spaghetti dinner. An employee at the restaurant, Morris said she asked some of her sorority sisters from Alpha Xi Delta if they wanted to come, and many decided to help out.
"I don't know why you wouldn't want to help out," Morris said.
Comedy show
Hearing people laugh while walking past Pub 13 is not unusual. It is, however, if there's no piano playing at the same time.
On Washington Street in downtown, Pub 13 spends most of the week showcasing piano player during the bar's dueling pianos' performances. However, the format switched gears a little Sunday night.
"We've been wanting to do some comedy here at the Pub," said David Curtis, owner of Pub 13. "The comedians came in and said, 'we want to do this, too.'"
Russell Rabb, a local comedian, lives next door to Christian. Rabb said Christian had asked him if there was anything he could do to help out.
"Because I'm a comedian, I'd put this together," Rabb said.
Rabb said he enlisted the help of five other comedians in the Metro-Detroit area to donate their time and put on a stand-up comedy show to benefit the families.
"I came because I heard it was a fundraiser," Cynthia Freter said.
An Ann Arbor resident, Freter said she had wanted to attend other fundraisers for the victims, but her schedule had forced her to miss the events. She ended up skipping out of a wedding shower in Detroit early to catch the comedy show at Pub 13.
"I missed them, so I was excited to come here," Freter said.
"It's really sad," she said. "Some people lost their lives and you can't replace that."
She said the comedy show helped her feel better about the tragedy.
About 20 people turned out to the comedy show, raising $288 from a $5 cover charge and a buffet. Pub 13 donated another $500 on top of the event proceeds.
"This community came together," Christian said. "People decided to put aside their differences to help out these families."
Washtenaw County Fund
Friday, Washtenaw County Treasurer Cathrine McClary said there was $14,000 in a fund established to aid the fire victims. She said that money included funds raised at Aubree's spaghetti dinner.
Because of timing, neither Pub13 nor Andrew's had been donated yet.
"It's been really phenomenal," McClary said.
Called the Paradise Manor Fire Family Fund, the county established it the day after the fire. Funds raised will pay for the burial costs for the three children, and then go to aid those families displaced by the fire. McCauly said the money will generate 5 percent interest until closed out because it is pooled with the county's general ledger.
"The fund will be open as long as it's needed," she said. "The county pretty much keeps funds until the end of the calendar year."
One of the benefits of having the county fund, McCauly said, is the ablity to make a donation on-line or over the phone by visiting the Web site www.ewashtenaw.org, or calling 1-734-222-6600.
"The county safeguards people's bank account information," she said. "It is a safe site."
Checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 8645, Ann Arbor, 48107-8645. Drop-off donations can be made at 200 N. Main St., Ann Arbor, at the corner of Ann and Main Streets.
Boxes of Love
Local non-profit organization, Students Offering Support Community Services, aids about 9,000 needy citizens a year through four locations in Ypsilanti.
Nancy Shore, community relations director for support organization, said almost half of those people are families.
"We see hundreds of families come in every year," she said.
On Valentine's Day, 30 volunteers helped assemble and decorate more than 100 boxes of personal care items in an event called Boxes of Love. The items, such as shampoo and toothpaste, went to families through their housing crisis center, 114 River Street, Ypsilanti.
Shore said the support organization is providing services for two of the five families affected by the fire.
Donated personal care items help those in the housing crisis center, but she said money can help purchase food and supplies at a discounted cost.
To make a donation, or to learn more about SOS, visit the Web site www.soscs.org.
Protect and Serve Banquet
There is one more event from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Cady's Bar and Grill, in Depot Town.
The Ypsilanti Area Jaycees are helping the Ypsilanti Police Department organize the second annual Protect and Serve Banquet.
Megan Turf, who is helping to organize the event, said the event gets its name because eight Ypsilanti police officers will be serving dinner to those who come out.
"The Jaycees will be their back up," she said.
Twenty-five percent of the sales that night will be donated to the county's fund. Another 10 percent of the tips will be donated to the same place.
Turf said the group hopes to raise $15,000 from the banquet this year.
"As much as we can raise would be wonderful," she said.
Last year, the event raised nearly $19,000. The proceeds from that event helped to fund several community police programs ran by the Ypsilanti Police Department. This year, the officers elected to have the funds go to the fire victims.
"It's such a unique idea," Turf said, "police officers in uniform waiting tabels."
Matt Harshberger, chief of police for the city of Ypsilanti said, "I think it's a great idea.
"It's nice to see everyone come together for a common cause," He said. "It kind of bridges all the issues out there."
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
