Supper to aid Sumner student hurt in crash

SULLIVAN – Parents are baking desserts, students are collecting canned milk and area lobstermen are donating hundreds of pounds of shellfish – all for a local student who was hurt in a car crash on her way to school last month.

Staff at Sumner Memorial High School and members of the local community have organized a lobster stew dinner to benefit the family of senior Shaye Sumner, who recently returned home after spending more than two weeks at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The dinner will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, at the school on U.S. Route 1.

So far, local fishermen have donated more than 700 pounds of lobster for the stew, according to Lucille Null, a part-time school secretary who is helping organize the event.

“There are a lot of people who are making this happen,” she said Wednesday. “Shaye is an awesome kid. We just want her to know that we love her and care about her.”

The 17-year-old suffered broken bones in her legs, shoulder, hand and jaw on Oct. 13, when her car was hit head-on by another driver who was passing a vehicle in a no-passing zone on Route 1.

Shaye is back at home with her father, Robbie, but she has yet to return to school. When she does, she will be in a wheelchair.

The teen is a top-ranked student and a member of the cheering squad, but she will have to sit out the season because of her injuries.

At Sunday’s dinner, her fellow cheerleaders will show their support by serving the food, Null said. There will also be live entertainment by a blues band, in which the school’s assistant principal, Christopher Moreau, is a performer.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children. Proceeds will help Shaye’s family cover her medical expenses.

Organizers are still looking for a few menu items, like rolls and crackers. Anyone who would like to help can call Null at 963-2114.