Pupils, teachers to raise funds

Participants hope to raise $8,000 locally to fight blood cancer.
SALEM -- Salem pupils and teachers continue to take part in events to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Some 121 pupils in the seventh and eighth grades will take part in a lock-in tonight at the district's high school. The pupils are part of the Salem Middle School Starfish program that is designed to promote a friendlier environment in the school and the community.
The pupils in the lock-in have obtained pledges from friends, family and members of the community to benefit the society. They will spend 11 hours listening to educational films and speakers and taking part in dances, races and other activities.
Team in Training, an endurance sports training program, is the top fund-raising program for the society. The speakers include Northeastern Ohio TNT cycling coach, Benny Antognoli and his daughter, Lauren, a cancer survivor. Lauren, 21, was in high school when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
Another 74 Starfish members who are not taking part in the lock-in will seek pledges for another two weeks.
Lisa Frederick, a middle school art teacher and a Starfish promotional committee adviser, said the group raised $8,000 last year and hopes to raise the same amount this year. Frederick's mother died last year from a rare form of cancer.
Honoring counselor
The lock-in and other events will honor Richard Washinko, a high school guidance counselor who was diagnosed with acute leukemia in November 2004. He had a bone marrow transplant in April 2005, and his cancer is in remission.
For the first time, Frederick and her husband, Brian, will join the Northern Ohio TNT team for "America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride Event" on June 4 at Lake Tahoe. Riders will bicycle 100 miles around the lake, which is more than 6,000 feet above sea level.
Jan Frandsen, a nurse practitioner in the lymphoma program at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation's Taussig Cancer Center, will also speak during the lock-in. Frandsen represented Salem in last year's cycling event at Lake Tahoe.
All proceeds from Northeast Ohio stay here. Donations are tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Donations may be sent to Salem Middle School Starfish Lock-In, 230 N. Lincoln Ave., Salem, Ohio 44460. For more information, call (330) 332-8914.
XFor more information on the Ohio Northern Chapter of LLS, visit http://www.lls.org/hm_lls.