OFFICER STARTS FUND FOR BURIAL OF CHILD.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer She was a happy little third-grader at Haycox Elementary School elementary school: see school. who dreamed of becoming a nurse or maybe a teacher. She beamed when she smiled, and she smiled a lot. On Wednesday, classmates Classmates can refer to either:
``I know yesterday, when they heard about it, one of them came in crying,'' said Delfina Zermeno, one of Alicia's teachers at Haycox. ``But most of them took it pretty well. They say she's a little angel in heaven.'' Alicia's father died several years ago, and her mother needed to return to Mexico. So Alicia had been staying in Oxnard with relatives, who did not recognize the seriousness of her illness, authorities said. Burial burial, disposal of a corpse in a grave or tomb. The first evidence of deliberate burial was found in European caves of the Paleolithic period. Prehistoric discoveries include both individual and communal burials, the latter indicating that pits or ossuaries were costs are expected to be about $3,000, ``and her relatives don't have any money,'' said Oxnard police Officer Jeff Shelton, who met Alicia through his work at elementary and junior high schools. ``So they need some assistance so she can have a proper burial,'' said the police officer, who has started a fund to pay the costs. Zermeno said she noticed last week that Alicia wasn't cheerful at school - unusual for the little girl. ``She had a little cold and just wasn't her self,'' the teacher said. ``She didn't look very well, so I told her she needed to stay home.'' Alicia's relatives thought she had the flu and planned to take her to a doctor Monday. But she wasn't breathing when a cousin went to wake her Monday morning. Paramedics were called, and she was pronounced dead at St. John's Regional Medical Center St. John's Regional Medical Center may refer to: In the United States:
Coroner's officials say she died of natural causes and expect to pinpoint the exact illness later this week. This isn't the first time Shelton has stepped forward to help those suffering after a child's death. Last April, Shelton launched a fund-raising campaign Noun 1. fund-raising campaign - a campaign to raise money for some cause fund-raising drive, fund-raising effort crusade, campaign, cause, drive, effort, movement - a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported when the family of Kenny Wells, an 11-year-old Oxnard boy who died of asthma, were unable to pay to bury Bury (bĕ`rē), city (1991 pop. 60,785) and metropolitan district, NE England, located in the Manchester metropolitan area on the Irwell River and linked by canal with Bolton and Manchester. him. A respectful re·spect·ful adj. Showing or marked by proper respect. re·spect  ful·ly adv. burial helps mourners start recovering from anguish, Shelton believes. ``Sometimes,'' Shelton said, ``families don't have any money, and they really need someone's assistance.'' |
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