December 3, 2016 at 4:17 a.m.
Local effort will send semi of supplies to Gatlinburg
Freiburger leading after mentor’s death
Gatlinburg has long been a favorite vacation and honeymoon destination for folks from this part of Indiana. So it’s been particularly painful to watch an inferno consume large chunks of the Tennessee resort community in the Smoky Mountains.
Brittany Terrell loves the place and has been heartbroken by the fires. But she’s decided to turn that heartbreak into action.
“Gatlinburg is a vacation location that my family and I have been going to since I was born,” she said this week. “The vast majority of my family vacations come from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I know the place like the back of my hand.”
In fact, a return to Gatlinburg is on the calendar for later this month.
A teacher at Apple Tree Child Development Center in Muncie, Brittany is the daughter of Stu Terrell, owner of Stu’s Garage in Fairview. Her dad had already booked a cabin for a Christmas party get-away in the middle of December.
“I was driving home from work, wondering how these fires would affect our trip to Gatlinburg in a couple weeks. The idea just popped into my head. How selfish would it be of us to go on vacation when so many people around us are without house and home,” she said.
She ran the idea of taking a U-Haul trailer of relief supplies past her mother and got an immediate green light. Then she posted a short message on Facebook.
And it exploded.
Churches, businesses and schools lined up to accept donations.
And instead of a U-Haul, a semi trailer is being provided for the trip.
“I truly am so humbled by everything everyone has donated. My dad’s employees have taken off with this idea and have just made it into what it has turned into,” she said.
The semi will head south with the Terrell family and employees from Stu’s Garage on Dec. 15.
In the meantime, donations are being accepted to fill the semi trailer.
Brittany Terrell loves the place and has been heartbroken by the fires. But she’s decided to turn that heartbreak into action.
“Gatlinburg is a vacation location that my family and I have been going to since I was born,” she said this week. “The vast majority of my family vacations come from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I know the place like the back of my hand.”
In fact, a return to Gatlinburg is on the calendar for later this month.
A teacher at Apple Tree Child Development Center in Muncie, Brittany is the daughter of Stu Terrell, owner of Stu’s Garage in Fairview. Her dad had already booked a cabin for a Christmas party get-away in the middle of December.
“I was driving home from work, wondering how these fires would affect our trip to Gatlinburg in a couple weeks. The idea just popped into my head. How selfish would it be of us to go on vacation when so many people around us are without house and home,” she said.
She ran the idea of taking a U-Haul trailer of relief supplies past her mother and got an immediate green light. Then she posted a short message on Facebook.
And it exploded.
Churches, businesses and schools lined up to accept donations.
And instead of a U-Haul, a semi trailer is being provided for the trip.
“I truly am so humbled by everything everyone has donated. My dad’s employees have taken off with this idea and have just made it into what it has turned into,” she said.
The semi will head south with the Terrell family and employees from Stu’s Garage on Dec. 15.
In the meantime, donations are being accepted to fill the semi trailer.
Among the high priority items being sought are baby diapers, baby clothes, pillows, lotions, plastic bags, baby wipes, underwear, toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, combs and brushes, cat litter, cases of bottle water, boxed dinners, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, dog and cat food, canned food, towels, blankets, children’s clothing, coloring books and toys, and over-the-counter medicine like aspirin and Tylenol.
Drop-off locations include:
•Stu’s Garage, 11490 W. Indiana 28, rural Redkey.
•CVS in Dunkirk.
•Aker-Taylor Plumbing, 206 W. Main St., Portland.
•Apple Tree Child Development Center, 3501 N. Chadam Lane, Muncie.
•Pete’s Duck Inn, Albany.
•Matt’s Garage, Portland.
•Jay County High School.
•A Place to Grow Child Care, 455 N. Union St., Pennville.
•Suman Brothers Pizza, 170 N. Union St., Pennville.
•McDonald’s in Albany.
•Calvary Christian Lighthouse Church, 2101 N. Walnut St., Hartford City.
The semi trailer will also be parked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 10 and 11 at Wal-Mart, 4801 W. Clara Lane, Muncie.
If all goes as planned, the semi will be full when it heads south.
Drop-off locations include:
•Stu’s Garage, 11490 W. Indiana 28, rural Redkey.
•CVS in Dunkirk.
•Aker-Taylor Plumbing, 206 W. Main St., Portland.
•Apple Tree Child Development Center, 3501 N. Chadam Lane, Muncie.
•Pete’s Duck Inn, Albany.
•Matt’s Garage, Portland.
•Jay County High School.
•A Place to Grow Child Care, 455 N. Union St., Pennville.
•Suman Brothers Pizza, 170 N. Union St., Pennville.
•McDonald’s in Albany.
•Calvary Christian Lighthouse Church, 2101 N. Walnut St., Hartford City.
The semi trailer will also be parked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 10 and 11 at Wal-Mart, 4801 W. Clara Lane, Muncie.
If all goes as planned, the semi will be full when it heads south.
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