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November 19, 2008

Chilifest fundraiser heats up

Event to raise money for Rett Syndrome, vets memorial

By Dan Nienaber

MANKATO — For years firefighters and police officers, deputies and ambulance crew members have talked up chili recipesand bragged that their meat and bean mixtures would beat any other in a cook off.

It was all talk until a little girl’s struggle with a rare medical disorder made Chilifest a reality. Now area public safety workers are doing some simmering in their slow cookers and plan to bring bowls of their best stuff to the table.

The Saturday afternoon event at the Morson-Ario VFW on Riverfront Drive will raise money for the Minnesota Rett Syndrome Research Association and the Mankato Veterans Memorial Place, a planned memorial on the Mankato side of the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge. Live music and other attractions will round out the cooking competition.

While talking up their chili, Mankato police officers have always considered using their cooking skills to do something for veterans, said Cmdr. Amy Vokal. When officer Jason Bennett’s 3-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, the department had a cause to rally around.

“That was really the inspiration for doing something,” Vokal said. “We’ve always talked about Chilifest. When this happened, we said let’s do it and let’s do it for Jason and Ashlyn.”

Ashlyn was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that usually starts showing symptoms in infants and toddlers, in March 2007. It’s a disorder that interferes with every body movement and is found almost exclusively in females.

She has been at the Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare Hospital in St. Paul since Oct. 21. Ashlyn was hospitalized because she has been having frequent seizures since July, sometimes dozens a day. Medication has helped, however, and Jason Bennett said he’s planning to bring Ashlyn to Chilifest Saturday.

“We’ve been told we have to make it,” he said. “The doctor said she can be discharged this week if the medication is working, but I’ll look into a day pass if I have to.”

One encouraging aspect of raising money for Rett syndrome research is the recent progress that has been made in finding a cure. Researchers in England were able to reverse the disorder in mice. It could be years before that translates into similar benefits for humans, but there is hope, Bennett said.

“A lot of these parents of girls with Rett syndrome never had any hope,” he said. “They just had to be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week for their daughters.”

The local band Fish Frye will be providing the music Saturday. There also will be a silent auction, bake sale, an official flag retirement ceremony, face and fingernail painting, and military and public safety vehicles on display in the parking lot.

Oh, and there will be lots of chili. The officers, firefighters and emergency medical services people competing in the cookoff are bringing three to four gallons each. Others who aren’t competing, including a fire crew from Belle Plaine, are bringing specialty chili for people to try.

Everyone who buys a ticket will be able to taste the chili and have a bowl of something they like, Vokal said.

Tickets are $5 in advance at VFW, American Legion clubs and the Blue Earth County Law Enforcement Center or $7 at the door.

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