USADonateCar

After auto shop students in Tom Dougherty’s Vintage High auto shop class spent weeks refurbishing the electrical system of a donated car, they needed to give it away to a worthy recipient. Through Dougherty and Superintendent Barbara Nemko, students got advice from the staff at The Pathway Home, the nationally recognized program for wounded warriors on the campus of the California Veterans Home in Yountville. The car was given to a Napa man, Xavier Bianchi, a veteran of three tours in Afghanistan, who helps fellow student-veterans attending Napa Valley College find housing, education and job opportunities through the Pathway Home. On May 16, the auto shop students presented the car to Bianchi, who thanked and praised the students and offered to help them after graduation. “I hope this will be an annual event,” said Dougherty, who developed a similar auto shop donation program in Solano County before joining Vintage High. He said his students exhibited “tenacity and critical ...

BAY CITY, MI -- The community has come together again to support the family of Sgt. 1st Class Michael Cathcart, the Bay City soldier who died in action in November 2014. This past week, Jeanne Cathcart, the late soldier's mother, was driving her red Ford Focus home to Michigan from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where she attended a service honoring her son. While driving on Interstate 77 in Virginia, she noticed black smoke coming from the dash. She pulled over, exited the vehicle and then watched flames erupt and the car burn. Following the incident, a family member in California started a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to help Cathcart purchase a new vehicle. But a Bay County dealership decided it was best to get the mother in a new set of wheels sooner rather than later. The management team at RightWay Auto Sales, 3725 Wilder Road, decided to donate a 2002 Chevrolet Malibu to Cathcart after reading about her misfortune. The car, which has about 150,000, won't la...