# Fund-raising effort bites dust



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Fund-raising effort bites dust; donated kits include filet knives

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/10160000.htm

GERMANTOWN, Wis. - A donation of 2,200 fishing kits to raise money for the Germantown High School band has hit a snag.
The kits aren't even allowed on school property because each contains a 6-inch filet knife, administrators say.

Band leader Jim Barnes said no one was aware of the knives until a truck arrived with the shipment of kits.

"It seemed like a kit with a fishing lure, fish batter, a recipe book and a videotape," he said. "We were not aware of the filet knife. It was there, but it wasn't obvious. I didn't realize it until the truck came around."

Principal Janet Barnes, no relation to Jim Barnes, said she didn't learn about the filet knives until the truck driver commented about them.

"The semi driver was the one who said, 'Do you know that there are filet knives in those?' " she said. "I immediately said, 'They're not coming in the school.' "

School Superintendent Victor Rossetti temporarily halted the fund-raiser after he heard about the knives Monday.

The kits are now being stored in the band leader's garage.

Ted Stephenson, a salesman for Shore Lunch Inc. which makes the kits, said he only wanted to help band members raise money for a trip to Scotland at the end of March.

He donated $10,000 worth of the kits, which go by the product name Catch'Em, Cook'Em and Eat'Em.

"As a businessman, I was trying to help the community," he said. "And here it is backfiring. It's very hurtful. We thought we were doing something good for the school."

Rosetti planned to meet with organizers of the fund-raising campaign to decide what to do next. One possibility, he said, would be allowing the kits to be sold by adults to other adults.


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