November event intended to help drug addicts

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BUCYRUS — Robin Pangallo knows first-hand the effects of drug and alcohol addiction on families.

Pangallo spent the first years of her life with an alcoholic mother.

“My grandmother was raising all three of us — my sister, my brother and me — but due to health problems, she sent us to live with families she knew until she could take care of us again, but she was never able to,” she said.

Pangallo said her siblings ended up in the foster care system, and she ended up with a family who adopted her. She says she was molested by her adoptive father, but credits her adoptive mom, who was not aware of the molestation, with teaching her about God.

“I went to church at least three times a week. Because of her, I have always had faith in God to get me through the hard times,” Pangallo said.

And she has faced a lot of hard time.

There have been two failed marriages, due, in par to alcoholism, and the death of one husband shot by police at their home in Galion.

“I was married to William Kitzmiller and had never witnessed any violence from him until that day. His nickname was Time Bomb. I asked one of his co-workers why and he said it was because he could be fine then be enraged the next minute,” Pangallo said.

According to Galion police reports, officers were called to the Kitzmiller home in July 2009 after a report of a domestic dispute involving Pangallo. Kitzmiller was shot and killed by officers when they tried to take his gun away from him.

“I loved him so much so the whole situation was so hard to make sense of,” Pangallo said.

Today, Pangallo is married to Butch Pangallo, the manager of Suburban Lanes in Bucyrus, and has joined forces with her first husband, Ken Fraser, to offer the GRACE (Give Recovery A Chance Everyday) event Nov. 12.

“My son is suffering from heroin addiction and is currently in jail,” she explained. “We want to do everything we can for people throughout Crawford County who are suffering from drug addiction.”

Fraser said the event was created to provide treatment scholarships for local residents in need of treatment.

“Right now, we have at least six scholarships donated from a few treatment centers, “said Fraser, Director of Community Outreach for Beachside Rehab in Fort Pierce, Florida. “Our goal is to have at least 20 to give out during this event. We are giving scholarships to people in Crawford County for treatment at high-quality treatment facilities including Beachside.”

The event will include at least three live bands, food, bowling, an auction and raffles.

“We are raffling off a large, flat-screen TV and a local custom guitar builder is donating a guitar for the silent auction,” Fraser said.

Pangallo said anyone wishing to donate to the silent auction can drop off donations to the bowling alley during normal business hours.

For information, call Suburban Lanes at 419-562-2249.

For information about Beachside Rehab, visit www.beachsiderehab.com.

Robin Pangallo of Suburban Lanes talks about the effects of addiction on her life and the upcoming event at the bowling alley, Give Recovery A Chance Everyday, that includes the giveaway of at least 20 scholarships to top treatment facillities throughout the country to people in Crawford County who need it. (Kimberly Gasuras | Galion Inquirer)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2016/09/web1_Robin-two.jpgRobin Pangallo of Suburban Lanes talks about the effects of addiction on her life and the upcoming event at the bowling alley, Give Recovery A Chance Everyday, that includes the giveaway of at least 20 scholarships to top treatment facillities throughout the country to people in Crawford County who need it. (Kimberly Gasuras | Galion Inquirer)
Treatment scholarships will be available at Suburban Lanes

By Kimberly Gasuras

[email protected]

 

Reach Gasuras on Twitter: @kimberlygasuras

 

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