Fund set up for Bartsch will be used, official says

7/27/2007

PANDORA, Ohio - While two individuals stepped up to cover room, board, and books for Manuel Bartsch's freshman year at Heidelberg College, donations made to a fund in his name will be put to good use.

Noralu Kahle, a member of the Pandora-Gilboa school board who has been assisting Mr. Bartsch, said yesterday that about $500 has been deposited in the fund at First National Bank of Pandora. She said Mr. Bartsch plans to use the money for other school expenses, such as a laptop computer.

Mr. Bartsch, who was born in Germany and came to the United States as a boy in 1997, was nearly deported in December, 2005, after he met with immigration officials in Cleveland to iron out his citizenship. His step-grandfather and legal guardian who brought him to Putnam County never completed the paperwork to give him legal status.

Heidelberg offered him a full-tuition scholarship and announced earlier this week that an anonymous donor agreed to pay his room and board, while a 1999 alumnus, Chris Monsour, will pay for his books.