CHIMACUM — Their teacher might have gambled away their trip to Europe, but the Chimacum High School band may leave their hearts in San Francisco.
Parents of the band members have laid out an ambitious plan to raise enough money — around $20,000 — to send around 50 band members to San Francisco for three days in April.
The trip would serve as a replacement for a trip to Italy and Germany that vanished when band teacher David R. Jones gambled away more than $4,000 in band funds at 7 Cedars Casino in Blyn last August.
Jones pleaded guilty last month to first-degree theft for stealing money that was raised during a pie sale at the Jefferson County Fair last August.
He resigned from the Chimacum School District last month and was sentenced to one month of home detention by visiting Judge Ken Williams in Jefferson County Superior Court.
Dee Butchart of Port Ludlow, whose son is in the band, said the idea for a trip to San Francisco came up about a month ago, and planning started last week.
“It’s been a rough year on the kids,” she said. “It’s one of those things you have to get over and move on.”
The parents group, Chimacum Band Boosters, are hoping a whirlwind regime of spaghetti dinners and car washes will help raise around $325 per band member for the trip. Parents will likely pick up the slack if they don’t reach that goal, Butchart said.
Car washes will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following dates and locations:
* March 16 at Ferino’s Pizzeria, 846 Nesses Corner Road in Port Hadlock.
* March 2, March 9 and March 23 at Les Schwab Tires, 2355 Sims Way in Port Townsend.
Dates and times for dinner fund-raisers have not yet been set, Butchart said.
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