Bingo For Blue

Saturday, August 27th at the Fort Colville Grange, the public is invited to come out in force to support long time local law enforcement officer Tim Blackman in his brave battle against cancer. Bingo for Blue begins at 5:00 PM with a spaghetti feed and is followed by a fun night of bingo, raffles, silent and live auctions and more. 

Shortly after his retirement from the Stevens County Sheriff’s Department, Tim was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, which is terminal. He has undergone surgery and chemotherapy during the last few months and between treatments he and his family are spending time camping and fishing and traveling, making the most of every moment. 

Tim served as a police officer for the city of Colville for 11 years before he joined the Stevens County Sheriff’s Department. For nearly 30 years he faithfully protected and served the citizens of Stevens County, while his wife Barb worked for the Colville National Forest and volunteered for Stevens County Sheriff’s Ambulance. Both retired now, they hope to spend as much quality time with friends and family as Tim is able to during his treatments, pursuing his motto of “get ‘er done.”

Bingo for Blue is a great chance for the community that Tim and Barb have served to give back to the family and make this difficult road for them a tiny bit more comfortable. Every dollar goes to help cover the costs of transportation for chemo treatments, living expenses during medical stays in Spokane, and other outlying costs that the family is facing.

There is a $5 buy in to play bingo, and opportunities to win tons of great prizes. Donations will be accepted as well and while cash is preferred at the event they will be equipped to accept credit and debit cards as well. If you can’t make it to Bingo for Blue you can drop off a donation at Key Bank at any time. 

The Fort Colville Grange is located at 157 E. Highway 20, just across from Colville High School. Spaghetti dinner starts at 5:00 PM, Bingo begins directly afters. $5 for Spaghetti dinner, $5 bingo buy in. Check out the Bingo For Blue facebook page for more information. If you are interested in donating, contact organizer Erika Boswell at 253-334-6906 or bingoforblue@yahoo.com. There is also a GoFundMe page set up for The Blackman family at https://www.gofundme.com/s2sxebhg.