To the editor:

Iíd like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of the staff and students of Rush City schools. The outpouring of love and generosity that culminated with Brettís benefit dinner was a testament to the true spirit of community.

We have a lot of things to be proud of here at ISD #139. Definitely one of which is our students. Brett and his family may never know the individual efforts that were put forth by children but for those of us that were witness to it, it was a thing of beauty. Rush City truly has good kids.

Our staff took this initial challenge and ran with it. When the bell was sounded for volunteers, person after person chimed in with their willingness to help. The word of a special night was spread, and the ìhuman machineî quietly began working. Food was prepared and a meal was served, tables were cleaned and dishes were washed. Meanwhile, our community was given a chance to meet mid-winter and exchange our cordial ìHow have you beens?î and ìWhatís new with you and yours?î It was by no means a mournful event. It was actually a celebration of being a small town.

A special thank you goes to those individuals and businesses that made this event possible. First let me say ñ the Rush City Lions is a class act organization! Also ìthank youî goes to: First State Bank of Rush City, Culligan of Pine City, Starbucks, Office Max, and Wal-Mart (all of Forest Lake), Pearsonís Candy Co. of St. Paul, First National Bank of North Branch, the STAR, the Scotsman and to those heroes who go unmentioned as well.

We can take pride in knowing that we served close to 400 folks on Feb. 18. Amazingly, we took in over $3,000 dollars for Brett and his family!
This meager spaghetti dinner gave Brettís family an opportunity to meet on neutral ground. It gave them a chance to embrace each other and smile. It gave them a visual to know that they are not alone. They are an important part of our community.

Brett continues to have high spirits. He is after all, just a 12 year old boy that still enjoys a silly e-mail or a goofy Web site. Brett is a smart young man and will explain to you his condition and whatís next in his treatment. I, myself, learned all about a bone marrow biopsy from him recently. It seems that the tables have turned ñ Brett has become MY TEACHER!
Thank you everyone.

Paul Kirby
C.E. Jacobson Elementary

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