Scholarship fundraiser event packs community center Saturday
Event raised money for scholarships, teen center
– An Evening of Aloha packed the gym at Atascadero Colony Community Center Saturday night. The event was a fundraiser for scholarships for Atascadero and Paloma High School students and the Teen Center at the Atascadero Recreation Center.
Carmen Velci organized the event as a Celebration for her 19-year-old son who died after someone sold him a Percocet Pill which was actually Fentanyl. He was working at a Paso Robles restaurant, and had a toothache. The dishwasher allegedly sold him a painkiller which he said was a pharmaceutical Percocet. The pill was actually Fentanyl. Emilio died the next morning. The man who sold her son the Fentanyl has been charged with second-degree murder.
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow planned to speak, but he was called away while he was waiting for the event to begin. Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth spoke to the group about the dangers of Fentanyl, and what the county is doing about it.
Besides the $38 cost of attendance, the event raised money through the sale of silent auction items, and merchandise donated to the group. Carmen Velci grew up in Hawaii, which inspired the Aloha theme.