Wightman-Wieber issues new round of grants

Tom Murray died on July 27, 2024, and the trustees of The Michelle Wightman and Karrie Wieber Charitable Foundation wish to acknowledge him with the highest respect and appreciation. His work, altruistic support, input and friendship has remained an important influence in the functioning of the Wightman-Wieber Charitable Foundation. On Feb. 19, 1989, 16-year-old sophomores at Sandusky High School, Michelle Wightman and Karrie Wieber, were killed in a tragic train-car accident. The girlfriends sat in the car for 20 minutes behind the down-positioned crossing gates. At the same time, the Sandusky police notified Conrail that a disabled train of theirs was blocking the tracks' crossing. The train also blocked the girls' view as they followed several cars that drove around the gates and crossed the double tracks. The girls never saw the train coming as they proceeded, thinking they could cross safely as the other cars did. The law, at that time, stated that a stopped train could not obstruct a public street for more than five minutes. Conrail had been in violation of the law. The car also disobeyed the law by crossing the tracks when the gates were down. In the Conrail lawsuit, the largest percentage of the responsibility for the accident was acknowledged to be the railroad's. A Sandusky lawyer, Tom used a concept he called "curative damages" at the end of the award phase of the trial. Ohio allowed jurors to learn about the plan for the use of a settlement or award. Tom had approached Michele's mother with the idea of creating a charitable foundation to which most of the punitive damages award and a portion of his legal fees would be used to create The Michelle Wightman and Karrie Wieber Charitable Foundation to help the community, families and children and to promote public safety. Established in 2000, the foundation has given away nearly $7 million to Erie County nonprofits. The foundation is a permanent nonprofit public charity. Grant recipients The trustees of the foundation approved October 2024 grants in the amount of $105,400: • Back to the Wild for pre-release raptor flight unit, $3,000 • Cancer Services for cancer patient care program, $5,000 • Care & Share of Erie County for choice pantry, food and hygiene, $10,000 • Caryl Crane Youth Theatre for Disney's "My Son Pinocchio," $3,000 • Erie County Community Foundation for Community Links internship program, $5,000 • Erie Shore Network for health and wellness program, $2,000 • Firelands Symphony Orchestra for 2024-25 music education program, $3,000 • Friends of Huron Public Library for technology literacy, $3,000 • Goodwill Industries for technical assistance for disabled individuals, $8,100 • Greater Sandusky Partnership for strategic priorities and goals, $20,000 • Huron Public Library for Wonderbook and VOX books, $3,200 • Julie Roth Memorial Foundation for emergency identification awareness, $5,000 • New Jerusalem Baptist Church for community Christmas gathering, $4,100 • OHgo for Empty Bowls grant match, $10,000 • Salvation Army for emergency social services, $5,000 • Sandusky Middle School for eighth-grade Washington, D.C. trip, $5,000 • Second Harvest Food Bank of North-Central Ohio for Erie County food distributions, $10,000 • Holy Angels/Zion Lutheran Church for Community Thanksgiving Dinner, $1,000