THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605040111
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 40 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Education
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
It's not unusual to see fire department vehicles parked in front of schools in the Indian River section of town.
Firefighters often are there, eating lunch with the kids, collecting canned food for charity or helping administrators make sure the buildings are safe.
So when firefighters John R. Hudgins Jr. and Frank E. Young died in March fighting a blaze, students, teachers and administrators felt they had lost one of their own.
``It was like when something happens to any extended family member,'' said Glenn E. Brown, principal of Georgetown Primary School. ``Everyone wanted to help.''
Help they did, with a $1,000 donation to the fund that will help support the families of the two fallen firefighters.
All five Indian River schools participated - Indian River High, Indian River and Sparrow Road intermediates and Georgetown and Norfolk Highlands primaries.
Hudgins was assigned permanently to Fire Department Company No. 3, which serves those schools. Young was on temporary assignment there.
``We felt like John Hudgins was one of ours, a family member,'' said Deborah Hunley-Stukes, principal of Sparrow Road Intermediate and coordinator of the effort. ``He looked out for us.''
Every school made a sizable contribution, Hunley-Stukes said.
Teachers collected the donations during one week in April. Parents, students, teachers and other staff members also contributed.
``We wanted to show that they were in our thoughts and in our prayers,'' Hunley-Stukes said.
The money was presented to fire officials and the crew at the Company No. 3 station last month.
Meanwhile, students aren't finished showing how much they care about the firefighters who protect their schools and homes.
They're creating a banner to be hung in the station. The banner reads: ``You are Chesapeake's Shining Stars.''
KEYWORDS: FUND RAISER CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS FIREFIGHTER by CNB