Remembrance raffle

OTHELLO — A few of his friends are trying to help Charlie Peralta's family, $2 at a time.

Peralta was 17 when he died in February from injuries sustained during a fight in Othello, and family expenses for his funeral have begun to add up.

Now a few friends have decided to do their part to help Peralta's family with the bills. Tara Rattray and Karson Dockins are part of a group of teens who have taken and restored a demolition derby car, and are raffling it off to help the Peralta family's finances.

Rattray remembers Peralta as a friend who brought humor to any conversation.

"He always seemed to make the most serious situation the most hilarious," Rattray said of her friend.

The 1973 Chevrolet Malibu is a car the teens said Peralta would have liked to see. After his death, they spent a trimester working on the demo car during their first period class. The car has since been totally stripped, with windows taken out and metal covered with decals. Dockins saw Peralta as a person who loved demolition cars, wanting to race them himself. The two feel the completed car is one Peralta would have liked to have seen.

"Oh yeah," Dockins said, "he could have a blast if he could race it."

The cars decals reveal much about who Peralta was and what he loved in life. The orange color and the number "5" painted on the side were his favorite color and number. A decal on the trunk lets passersby see his favorite farewell, "Toodles."

"That's how he ended conversations," Dockins remarked.

At $2 a ticket, she said the raffle has raised about $200 so far. Those tickets have only been on sale since Sunday, when Dockins and Rattray, and a few others, helped put the finishing touches on the car. Those tickets will be on sale through the Othello Sun Faire Monday, with the winner announced at the Othello Demolition Derby Monday night.

The raffle is one of a number of fund-raisers friends have put on in honor of Charlie Peralta. A recent fun run, and a dinner auction later this month are also aimed to help Peralta's family put a dent in their expenses. Peralta's mother Lynette Voth admits she has been overwhelmed by the amount of support.

"I've been really touched by the support of this community," she said, "especially the teenagers."

The family is still short about $4,000 for funeral and medical expenses, and Voth said she has been moved by the support of her son's friends. Peralta was a teen with many interests; and his mother said he also loved jazz choir and snowboarding. If money is left over from the various fundraisers, Voth said it will go to the Charlie Peralta Memorial Scholarship fund, which Voth said will go to a student who includes music such as jazz choir in their curriculum.

The teens have been selling raffle tickets along Main Street all week, and many passersby have waved and smiled at the car. The teens said many have remarked about how it reminds them of the famed General Lee from the "Dukes of Hazard" television show. Many ticket-buyers have told Dockins and Rattray they would race the car instead of entering it in a future demolition derby. But Rattray said Peralta might have a different idea.

"Most people would race it," she said. "But I think it would be cool to see it smashed up, because that's what Charlie would do."

Time trials for the derby at the Othello Rodeo Grounds start at 5 p.m., with racing beginning at 6 p.m. Rattray, who will also act as rodeo queen, said the car will likely be raffled off following the national anthem.

Tickets for the demo derby car will be on sale all day at the Othello Sun Faire Monday. Tickets can also be bought from Rattray by calling her at (509) 989-1580.