Dear Friends In Deer Park Friends And Relatives Pig Out, Sing And Dance To Help With Family’s Bills After Car Accident

Thu., Aug. 28, 1997

Sandra Billings Staff writer

Star Reopelle recited her son’s injuries - broken collar bone, three broken ribs, three skull fractures, a broken hip, bruised brain, heart and lungs, and a brain stem injury - with the same rhythm and pauses for breath that the 3-year-old boy used while singing the alphabet song for an enthusiastic audience of relatives and friends Saturday.

A week and a half after Jesse Ayers’ release from St. Luke’s, the tot sang, ran and played with his cousins at Trax West in Deer Park during a pig roast fund-raiser for his family.

Jesse and Star were injured in a July 16th car accident. Although the Northside family has medical insurance, Star soon lost her new nursing home job when her broken ribs kept her from lifting patients and she needed to spend time with Jesse during his recovery. Shilo Ayers, Jesse’s dad, has continued working.

Trax West owner Dawn Smathers organized the party - Star’s stepfather Ralph Myer works at the bar - complete with a 160-pound roasted pig, corn on the cob, potato salad, beans and Karaoke.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 4 Photos

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This sidebar appeared with the story: UNTOLD STORY? PLEASE TELL US We really want to tell your stories. What are the Untold Stories of the people and places, events and trends in your neighborhood? Spokesman-Review photographers are just itching to tell them in photos and a few words. Tell us your ideas by calling Sandra Billings in the photo department at 459-5418; voice mail 459-5415; or e-mail at sandrab@spokesman.com. Or write to Sandra at The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201.