This is an invitation for you to help out a person that has helped so many others in our community. The Wickliffe Recreation Department is hosting a Spaghetti Dinner to raise funds for their employee, manager, coach, teacher, friend and cancer patient, Keith Peterson.

Keith Peterson, a Wickliffe resident and Wickliffe High School graduate, has been managing the City of Wickliffe pools for the past six years. He has taught hundreds of our children to swim through our swimming lessons program. Keith also coached hundreds while coaching the Wickliffe Swim Team, West End YMCA Swim Team, Phillips Osborne Swim Team and Lake Catholic Swim Team. He has been a leader for our young adult lifeguards from Wickliffe, Willowick, Eastlake, Mentor and other surrounding cities.

Keith was diagnosed with appendix and colon cancer this past November. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy at the Ireland Cancer Center in Mentor. Due to the strain that the chemotherapy has put on his body and the daily pain that the cancer causes, it has become impossible for Keith to work. Currently the doctors are trying to shrink the size of the tumors with chemotherapy. As long as the chemotherapy runs its course and Keith is well enough, he is scheduled to have surgery in April in Cincinnati to remove the tumors.

The Wickliffe Baseball League and the Wickliffe Recreation Department are sponsoring a Spaghetti Dinner on Sunday, March 26, 2006. With the support of the Wickliffe Knights of Columbus, Feathers Catering, Orlando-Donsante Funeral Home and Pro Sound of Wickliffe, we would like to raise enough funds to help offset his expenses during his recovery.

We are asking for any donations to help offset the cost of products needed for the Spaghetti Dinner or any donation toward a gift basket for a silent auction. Donations by check are payable to the “Friends of Keith Peterson”.  Please contact the Recreation Department at 440-943-7120 for any further questions or details. Our department will gladly contact a volunteer for this benefit to pick up any donations.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Timothy E. Stopp
Recreation Director