News
Bottineau High School students raise money for a local family
Scott Wagar
10/08/2013
For the students of Bottineau High School they took it upon themselves during their homecoming this year to help a family in need, and did so by collecting over $500 for the family.
During the high school’s homecoming, Bud and Katie Saykally were on the mind of the students after the Saykally family lost their home in the Turtle Mountains due to a fire. Since it was homecoming, the students made the decision to have all four classes go out and raise money for the Saykallys with the class raising the most money earning extra points in the students’ class competition.
Through the fundraiser, the high school students raised $507.
The Saykallys lost their home during the early morning hours of Aug. 29 when a fire from an unknown source started outside of the home and quickly overcame the house.
At the time of the fire, Bud Saykally was attending a memorial service for his grandfather in Wisconsin. Katie Saykally and the couple’s two children, Bella, 8 and Bryce, 4, were asleep when the fire started, but Bella awoke to the sounds of the windows cracking from the heat of the fire. She quickly woke her mother up, who then assisted the two children out of the house with the family’s dog.
The flames were so intense they shot above trees and seared the leaves and branches off the top of the trees. The flames were around 40 feet high and could be seen from the city of Souris just over 16 miles away.
The money raised by the students will go to assist the family.