| BANNING
- The City Council chambers were transformed into a
television studio Saturday for a mini-telethon, which
raked in more than $10,000 for victims of Hurricane
Katrina. Horses and home furnishings were auctioned
off on Time Warner's cable Channel 10, and a steady
stream of callers bid on paintings and gift baskets
during the telethon from 1 to 4 p.m. A giant thermometer
tracked the money raised as a handful of residents
watched from the sidelines.
While eating lunch last week and discussing the
horror that thousands of New Orleans residents have
suffered after one of the nation's worst disasters, four
friends decided to organize a fund-raiser to help.
Gail Paparian, Sara Parker, Allen Parker and David
Fairrington wanted to lend financial and emotional
support to the survivors and figured others in the
community would feel the same.
"I think everybody is touched by the enormousness of
this,' said Paparian, 61. "We all watched the people
suffer through the tsunami, and this is our American
tsunami. Whatever we can do to help, I think that's the
American thing to do.'
Although eager to contribute to the Katrina fund,
some attended the event more in the name of community
support.
Rick Blackford, 55,spent three hours watching the
telecast and bid on a handful of items, including an
$1,800 ballet scholarship for his granddaughter,
furniture, paintings and Starbucks coffee.
Gary Carlton, owner of Patio Concepts, offered to
match the first $2,500 donated by residents.
"Those poor people what they had was not very much,
but what they had was theirs and now they don't have
it,' he said. "If that happened to me, I would hope that
someone would reach out and help.'
Just up the street at Repplier Park, a small crowd
gathered to watch a string of performances put on by the
San Gorgonio Dance Company, the Banning Center for Arts
and the Banning Cultural Alliance.
Attendance was slightly disappointing, but those who
came gave generously, said 40-year-old Beverly Harris as
she sold refreshments.
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