Chicken barbecue for Emmit Stannard

Emmit John Stannard

MEDUSA — A chicken barbecue and live music at the Medusa firehouse on July 19 was scheduled in June to support 12-year-old Emmit Stannard, who was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. On June 17, Stannard died at home and the event is planned now as a celebration of his life and a benefit for his family.

The funds raised on Saturday will pay for Emmit Stannard’s medical and funeral expenses. He was treated at Boston Children’s Hospital before returning home for more treatments shortly before he died.

He was a sixth-grader at Greenville Middle School and was a “good student,” his family included in his obituary. “He loved Halloween and had a Halloween birthday party every year,” they wrote.

The event will start at 1 p.m. and feature cover band Up All Night from 2 to 4 p.m. It has no end time, said Chris Heath, a spokesman for the Medusa Volunteer Fire Company. A bounce house will be available for children to play in and a game of horseshoes will be set up.

“They’re a very well known family and what they’ve done for the community alone, just for the fire department and ambulance service, and being there for everybody else, they needed somebody to be there for them,” Heath said of the Case family, of which Stannard’s mother, Tina, is a member.

Still, Heath said, the fire company would hold a benefit for anyone in a similar situation.

“I think I would want to be around people who care,” he said. “I think it would help me through it. I can’t imagine losing a child."

Twelve dollars will pay for a meal of half of a chicken, corn on the cob, potatoes, and watermelon. Tickets will be sold and drawn for prizes, including two Build-A-Bears donated by the company. Price Chopper discounted the chickens, Tops Markets donated watermelons and dinner rolls, and Stanton’s Farms donated 400 ears of corn, Heath said.

Donations in memory of Emmit Stannard may be sent to Medusa Fire Company 28 Route 351 Medusa, NY 12120.

Members of the Medusa company have been collecting donations and hope to present the Stannards with a check on Saturday.

“When something like this happens, we try to stick together,” Heath said. “A fire department’s a family.”

More Hilltowns News

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  • Berne-Knox-Westerlo Superintendent Bonnie Kane laid out her goals for the district, and an accompanying action plan, publicly for the first time at the board of education’s September meeting, touching on all areas the district is involved in, from academics to community-building and more. 

  • The town of Berne’s payroll account hit a negative value on three different occasions last year, adding to an already large pile of evidence that the town is in poor financial condition. Bank statements show that the town has been relying on transfers between accounts to stay afloat. 

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