Murder mystery benefits C-TH cancer center

Museum tours and train rides, dancing, a play and other events are part of the Carson-Tahoe Hospital Auxiliary's "Murder Mystery Dinner on the V&T" at the Nevada State Railroad Museum on Sept. 20.

The event is part of a series of fund-raisers by the auxiliary to benefit the Carson-Tahoe Cancer Center. Ground-breaking ceremonies for the $12 million center in northwest Carson City are scheduled for October.

The auxiliary has pledged $250,000 over five years for the center on the campus of the new Regional Medical Center, for which ground-breaking ceremonies were held last month.

The Sept. 20 fund-raiser begins at 2 p.m. with live music by Craig Fletcher, a no-host bar and hors d'oeuvres, and a silent auction before a barbecued steak and chicken dinner.

The Reno-based Funtime Theatre group will perform a murder mystery during the dinner at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and may be purchased by calling Rosemary Smith at 882-7057 or Joy Shanahan at 246-7998 by Sept. 12.

The hospital auxiliary is seeking sponsorships to defray expenses for the event. The names of individuals and businesses who contribute will be placed on a "Sponsors Train" at the fund-raiser. The levels of sponsorships are caboose, $100; touring car, $500; and locomotive, $1,000.

For information on sponsorships call 885-4140 or 882-7057.

The proposed 38,000-square-foot, single-story cancer center is designed to bring all aspects of cancer treatment under one roof. Plans for the center have been under way since 1999.

Among the projects the auxiliary has undertaken are funding a $140,000 helipad, funding more than $100,000 to purchase a hospitality house across from the hospital for out-of-town family members of patients, and providing the hospital with equipment for labs and the emergency room. The auxiliary also provides annual scholarships for future nurses, maintains the Lifeline project, and furnishes layette items for newborns. The most recent gift was the $15,000 Healing Healthcare Channel, which pipes music and soothing pictures into patients' rooms.