2/4/13 - Organizers of an event held last week to assist a local youth soccer coach diagnosed with pancreatic cancer say they more than doubled their original goal. The fundraiser for 30-year-old Mark Howell brought out more than 600 people to Crystal Gardens and raised as much as $80,000. Event coordinator Barb Binkley had originally hoped to collect about $30,000 to help offset the medical bills for Howell, who was diagnosed in October and has already undergone an extensive surgery that removed a 15-pound tumor, as well as a portion of his pancreas, half of his stomach and all of his gallbladder. Heâs expected to soon begin chemotherapy and Binkley says she was overwhelmed by the community response to help Howell, a former Brighton High School assistant varsity soccer coach. Binkley said more fundraisers are planned depending on how Howell responds to the treatments. A link to donate online is posted below. (JK)
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