CLC students to honor crash victim

LITTLE FALLS - Central Lakes College students of American Sign Language will help celebrate the life of the late Melissa Wooden, a member of the central Minnesota deaf community from 4-8 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Little Falls VFW.

Wooden died in a car accident this fall. She was a Little Falls resident who taught ASL in Brainerd. She was a long-term substitute for Central Lakes College and more recently an instructor in the College in Schools program.

The Dec. 4 event is a spaghetti supper and silent auction that will be co-hosted by family and friends. Proceeds are dedicated to the Melissa Wooden Memorial Scholarship endowed in honor of Melissa Wooden with the CLC Foundation.

Tickets are $7 adults, $5 children ages 4-7, free to age 3-under.

Fundraising is under way to reach a goal of $10,000 for the endowment. ASL students, working with CLC instructor Tanya Hoting-Mrazek, worked as part of the "scare team" at Paul Bunyan Land this fall and are planning the Dec. 4 supper, as well as one in February that will be at Brainerd High School.

"Melissa's dedication to students was remarkable and she touched the lives of so many," the students said in a news release. "Her beautiful smile, positive attitude, and love for others made her a joy to be around."

The students said that Wooden's collaboration with CLC to bring activities and events to the community was a testament to her dedication to deaf awareness and teaching.

Information is available from Amanda Wooden at (320) 282-6388, or by e-mail to amandawooden@hotmail.com or Greg Zylka at (320) 232-9336, gzylka@charter.net.

A similar spaghetti dinner and silent auction benefit is scheduled 4-8 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Brainerd High School cafeteria.