CONTINUING THE WORK OF KATHY BARR

Boys & Girls Club teen director Kristal Van Selus, Sequim Police Department officers Don Reidel and Maris Turner, Kathy Barr’s older sister Jackie Brown, Boys & Girls Club executive director Bob Schilling and Police Sgt. Sheri Crain join together to talk about Barr. Photo by Avani Nadkarni

Late school resource officer left a lasting impression

by AVANI NADKARNI
Staff writer

Kathy Barr had a tough time assimilating during her high school years in Great Falls, Mont.

“She felt like she didn’t fit in,” said her older sister Jackie Brown. “She didn’t feel that there was anyone she could go to within the school district.”

Brown said that is what prompted her sister to volunteer so much time to Sequim’s children, both as a school resource officer with the Sequim Police Department and as a volunteer with the teens at the Boys & Girls Club.

When 27-year-old Barr’s motorcycle veered across the center line and collided head-on with a truck on July 24, 2005, on Highway 113 near Forks, Sequim’s young adults lost a big advocate, said Brown.

“(Since) she was kind of the outsider (in high school), that pursued her into being the protector for the teens,” Brown explained. “From what I understand, the kids ? loved her.”

To continue her work, the Barr family has teamed with the Sequim Police Department and the Boys & Girls Club to jumpstart a fundraising campaign to benefit the club’s teen center.

Brown said that her and Barr’s mother, Christine, threw herself into preparing for the campaign.

“Mom is the one that stuffed all the envelopes, addressed them,” Brown said. “She has really gotten into this.”

According to Sequim Police officer Maris Turner, self-addressed, stamped envelopes are available at the Sequim Police Department headquarters and the Boys & Girls Club, where residents can make a tax-deductible donation in the amount of their choice. In addition, said Turner, volunteers will be handing out envelopes to downtown Sequim businesses. All proceeds will go to the Boys & Girls Club teen activities and programs.

“(Kathy) did everything at 150 percent, whether it was work at the police department or working with the Boys & Girls Club,” said Brown. “We want to try to continue her work.” 
The fundraising campaign raised about $5000 in 2006.


Donation envelopes for the Kathy Barr Memorial Teen Fund can be found at the Sequim Police Department at 609 W. Washington St. No. 16 or the Carroll C. Kendall unit of the Boys & Girls Club at 450 W. Fir St. Downtown Sequim businesses also will be given envelopes.