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Mountain Home News

For Hailey: Community honors child's memory

Saturday, November 7, 2009
Hailey Woods died in January after she fell off her bicycle into the path of a teenage motorcyclist. Those that knew her best continue to honor her memory.

The memory of Hailey Woods, a fourth grade student at West Elementary who died in a tragic accident earlier this year, has left a lasting effect on her family, her school and the local community.

Her death has given life to a number of good works in her name.

In January, Woods was killed when she fell off her bicycle into the path of a teenage motorcyclist.

Wood's parents, mother Christina Cnudde and stepfather Gary Cnudde, received a huge outpouring of love and support from the community in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Hailey was memorialized at her school with a special tree dedication ceremony back in April. That tree is now part of a memorial garden at West, which also includes a forsythia bush dedicated to Hailey and donated by the student council, and a tree that was dedicated to Dustin McClure, a fellow student at the school who died last year.

See the Mountain Home News for the complete story.

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  • We miss you every day, Hailey!

    -- Posted by MommiezBoyz on Mon, Nov 9, 2009, at 6:10 AM

  • This story about my niece is beautiful, but some things were left out and misquoted from the interview my family and myself gave.

    Hailey loved animals very much and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. This reason is why I am donating 100% of all profits made from the scarves to the Mountain Home Animal Shelter in her name. My project is called "Hailey's Hugs"...not "Hailey's Hearts" as misquoted in the news article.

    The citizens of Mountain Home were amazing- the sympathy and compassion of these people towards my family was unbelievable--never in our lives have we ever been embraced by such kindness. The local businesses and citizens of Mountain Home donated money for any expenses towards Hailey's funeral as did our extended family and friends in Pennsylvania, including Sallie Mae and Calex Logistics. Friends of Hailey's father and stepmother, James and Amy, also donated money from San Antonio, Texas. Luckily, all expenses of the funeral were covered by insurance, and all of the money donated was put back into the community through donations to West Elementary's playground and the school's library as well as other good causes.

    West Elementary's dedication ceremony in Hailey's name was a beautiful and emotional tribute. Hailey's teachers and fellow classmates wrote little messages to Hailey and tied them onto purple balloons, sending the messages up into the sky.

    Hailey's class also put together a beautiful quilt which was presented to my sister. On one side, each child was given a block to write a message. On the other side of the quilt, Hailey's actual school work was copied into fabric. A beautifully written poem by Hailey's teacher was placed on the quilt as well as Hailey's picture.

    My family and I miss her every minute of every day--life is not the same without Hailey. She was the sweetest, most loving, kind hearted child I have ever known. In our darkest moments, we felt the love and compassion from the citizens of Mountain Home. My family would like to say, from the depths of our hearts, thank you all.

    ~Kimberly Fowler, Hailey's aunt and godmother

    -- Posted by Kiki83 on Thu, Nov 12, 2009, at 7:33 AM
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