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Health & Fitness

Beat The Heat, Enjoy Great Eats And Help Family of Late Detective

This Friday night, let Manchester's finest serve you dinner, and help benefit the family of late Detective David Prouty.

I am not one of those women who just naturally feels at home in the kitchen. Sure, after twenty years of marriage, I can follow a recipe and I don't usually burn anything anymore, but ask me what my favorite thing to make for dinner is and I  say "Reservations!" 

At the Smith house, one of the perks of summertime is that my role as head chef is usually diminished due to that wonderful, exotic dish known as "barbecue."  Like car repairs, lawn maintenance and home improvement projects, barbecuing falls strictly under the "men's work" category in my book.  Yes, I make sure all the ingredients are there, but after that, my work is done, and I escape from the kitchen while my husband tends to the grill. 

This summer, however, things have gone terribly awry.  In June, the deafening cicada invasion and subsequent bombardment drove us all indoors, and I found myself once again the target of that burning question..."What's for dinner?"  Fine. 

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It wasn't my husband's fault we were under siege, and there was still plenty of summer left after the cicadas went away where the manly act of barbecuing could take place and relieve me of kitchen duty.  Until, of course, St. Louis turned into the steaming pit of Hell. 

Now I've lived here for almost 40 years, and I'm used to St. Louis summers, but when birds are using potholders to pull worms out of the ground and hot water is coming out of both taps, you KNOW it's hot.  Nobody wants to be outside, including the barbecue king.  But I have a plan that will take me out of the kitchen this Friday night, and that also will help make a difference for the grieving family of a Manchester Police Officer.

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This Friday, August 5th, the is sponsoring a Spaghetti Dinner to benefit the family of in May at the age of 37.  Detective Prouty, who joined the Manchester Police Department in 1997, was hailed by his fellow officers as an accomplished problem solver and peacemaker, whose diligent, dependable work led to his promotion to Detective in 2009.  An avid fan of hunting and fishing, Prouty was also a licensed pilot. 

He is survived by his wife, Holli, and four children.  All proceeds from the benefit will be donated to his family. 

The dinner includes spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, dessert and drink, and will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 567 St. Joseph Lane in Manchester.  It will be held from 3:30-8 p.m. and costs $10 (checks and cash only.)  Memorial t-shirts will also be available for $15 each. 

So if, like me, you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen this Friday and head to St. Joseph's Church, where some of Manchester's finest will be making and serving you dinner.  Not only will you enjoy a fine meal at a bargain price, you'll be helping the family of Detective David Wayne Prouty, who served our city well for nearly 14 years and who made a difference in the lives of so many right here in Manchester. 

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