By: Jake Uitti
MONTGOMERY The Princeton Elks Lodge on Route 518 will be holding a benefit roast-beef dinner for Stephen Haggan, who is fighting cancer, on May 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Stephen is 3 years old and is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia, said Allen Seitz, a member of the Elks Lodge. Stephen lives in Rocky Hill with his parents, David and Jackie, and brothers Daniel, age 6, and Joshua, age 5.
Stephen was born with Down syndrome and shortly after birth, had surgery to correct a heart condition called tetralogy of Fallot. The leukemia diagnosis came at the age of 2 and he spent the first half of 2005 at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia as a full-time patient, Mr. Seitz said.
He has since been an outpatient for chemotherapy and other treatments. With one year completed, Stephen has roughly two years of chemotherapy remaining.
The dinner will be "all you can eat," and will cost $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 6 to 12 and children under 6 are free.
All profits will go to The Stephen Haggan Medical Fund, 345 Opossum Road, Skillman, NJ 08558.
"This is a child local to us that we can help," Mr. Seitz said. "When someone comes to you to ask for help, we try to see what we can do."
Also, the Princeton Elks Lodge will be presenting its first May Flea Market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 21, with a rain date of June 11. Table space is $10 or $15.
The flea market will be held at the Elks Lodge parking lot. For more information and to reserve a spot, call Frank Hoh at (908) 359-0644 or Millard Horner at (908) 359-2920. The flea market is expected to be an annual event.
In addition, the Elks Lodge, in conjunction with the Montgomery Township/Rocky Hill Municipal Alliance and Youth Services Commission, will be hosting an evening of Montgomery’s "Metal Mania," which will include seven local bands, 6 to 11 p.m. June 10. Admission will be $5. Pizza and soda will be sold on site.
The bands that will perform are To Kill The King, Your Friend Affliction, In Letters of Blood and Fire, a Trail of Blood and A World Without.
"We wanted to provide a drug- and alcohol-free environment where the kids can come and listen to music," Mr. Seitz said.
