Benefit for RHS grad suffering from ALS this weekend

Members of Ritzville High School’s Class of 1987 are hosting a benefit fundraiser for a classmate this Friday and Saturday at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie No. 2739.

A no-host social hour is at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 17, with a dinner and auction on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The fundraiser is for Kevin Hartman, a 1987 graduate of Ritzville High School, who is in the advanced stages of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

According to the ALS Association’s website (http://www.alsa.org), ALS “is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually lead to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.”

The ALS Association also notes that the cause of the disease is not completely understood. There is no treatment or cure that halts or reverses ALS.

Organizers have set up an account at US Bank. Anyone may donate to the Kevin Hartman Benefit account at any US Bank or online at http://www.usbank.com.

For more information or to donate items for the silent auction as well as services, contact Shelly Bulow Noyer (Class of 1987) at (208) 755-0845.