| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Fund-raising golf tournament canceled in Merced
Friday April 11, 2003MERCED, Calif. (AP) A fund-raising golf tournament set for Friday in Thousand Oaks for the mother of four murdered children was canceled due to lack of participation.
Celebrities expected to have played included Martin Sheen, Cheech Marin and Richard Roundtree, said Christine McFadden, of Merced, whose four children were murdered by her ex-husband a year ago.
``We had all the big things in place,'' McFadden said.
The tournament was canceled earlier in the week.
McFadden said only 70 of the needed 130 golfers signed up to participate.
She had hoped to raise nearly $30,000 to help fund a memorial scholarship in memory of her children.
The 45-year-old veterinarian has also pledged $250,000 to the library at the planned University of California, Merced campus for a memorial room. McFadden took out a loan against her house to make the initial $125,000 payment.
Another golf tournament is set for June 6 near Merced.
On the Net:
McFadden-Willis Children Memorial Foundation: www.mssmfoundation.com
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