By Fred Woods
Editor
Friends of David Eastridge, a senior at Beulah High School who was seriously injured in an auto accident in early June, are holding a fundraiser on Oct. 2 to help with his medical expenses.
After his accident, David was airlifted to Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was in the Intensive Care Unit for 29 days until he began to show signs of recovery. He was later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Atlanta for rehabilitation. He will “graduate” from the hospital this week after being hospitalized for nearly four months.
Although David still has a ways to go before being fully “well,” including at least one more surgery in November, his recovery to date, family members said, is nothing short of miraculous. David is the grandson of Cora Reames (Mrs. Story’s Dairy Bar) and the nephew of Rhonda Booth of Opelika.
David’s family has no medical insurance, hence the need for financial help from the community. The fundraiser, in the form of a grilled hamburger lunch, will be in Valley, in the parking lot across the street from the Valley Walmart. Chambers County Sheriff Sid Lockhart, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones and Jerome Bailey will be grilling the hamburgers from 10 a.m. until noon Oct. 2. Tickets cost $7 each must be presented at pick-up. A ticket entitles a person to two hamburgers and a bag of chips.
The hamburger patties are coming from Givorn’s, a Valley-area grocery with quite a reputation for high quality patties.
Oct. 2 is a Thursday, and the Valley site is inconvenient for many “Observer” readers, but plans are being made for distributing the hamburgers at a site more convenient for residents of Opelika and surrounding areas – for example, the parking lot at the rear of the Lee County Courthouse. Editor’s note: We’ll publicize this as it develops. To pick hamburgers up in Valley, take exit 79 off I-85 North, turn right and go two or three miles to the Valley Walmart on the right.
Tickets may be purchased at the “Observer office,” 225 S. 8th St., in downtown Opelika; from Robert Ham, Lee County Commissioner; Itsee’s Tobacco Shop, near El Gallo, just off Hwy. 29 in Beulah; Hwy. 29 Express Lube in Lanett; and Chambley’s on Hwy. 29 in Valley.