'Play for a Cure' another success

Jan. 18—COLLINS — The Western Reserve and Edison girls basketball programs held their annual "Play for a Cure" basketball game Tuesday night.

The two schools, separated by 10 miles, have been playing game with special uniforms for several years each winter.

"This event is special because our communities are so close together," Western Reserve head coach Carli Ashley said. "It's always an emotional game because we honor family and community members with cancer.

"The games are always competitive with a great crowd, which leads to an exciting, intense, and fun atmosphere."

Several fundraisers were involved prior to and during the game, including a 50/50 raffle and silent auctions. All the proceeds went to the Fisher-Titus Mammography Fund.

Each team also designated a special acknowledgement during the game for anyone in attendance who has or is currently battling cancer.

The Roughriders dedicated the game to three individuals, including Marc Kauble, Carol Butler and Kathy Kinney. Kauble has Stage IV bladder cancer, while Butler has Myelodysplastic syndrome cancer and has Glioblastoma cancer.

All three are also part of the same family. They or their family members in attendance were presented with game balls by their daughter, nieces and granddaughters — Layken Barnhart, Maylee Wetzel and Claire Kinney.

"Every year after the game is done, both teams still gather up for a group picture," Ashley said. "It's one of those 'It's not about basketball, it's about life,' type of moments. These two groups of high school girls came together to raise over $1,000 so women in the area can have affordable access to mammograms.

"That is something special and why we participate in 'Play for a Cure' each year."

Meanwhile, Edison recognized Donna Leimeister, Angie Quillen, Patty Moyer, Jennifer Kurt, Gail Jones and Dennis Weilnau.

"It is always great to compete for a cause, and this is something that has directly impacted a lot of the girls and the Edison community," Edison head coach Ryan Kurt said. "The girls always look forward to this and raising money for a great cause. We look forward to continuing this event in the future."

The Roughriders (11-3) won the game, 54-39, behind the strength of a big second quarter over the Chargers (5-10).

"We also want to thank Fisher-Titus for sponsoring the game, providing t-shirts, helping work the silent auction — and providing educational wellness materials," Ashley said. "We also want to thanks all the parents and family members that made the silent auction and raffle possible."

Christina Canfield, the Chief Medical Officer at Fisher-Titus Medical Care, spoke about the importance of Tuesday's fundraiser.

"We only had a little over 50 percent of Medicare patients complete mammograms last year," Canfield said. "The numbers are down from pre-COVID years, and our numbers of later stage breast cancer are up due to the decrease in screening.

"We want to take every opportunity we can to encourage women to complete their mammograms," she added. "Thank you to both schools for this donation that will help provide our community with this lifesaving screening."