By Starla Pointer • Staff Writer • 

Birthday party will honor late Amity woman

She was a 2013 graduate of Amity High School, where she was a stand-out in multiple sports. In preparation for entering the vet tech program at Portland Community College, she was finishing up prerequisites at Chemeketa while clerking part time at Bi-Mart and running a combine part time with her grandfather at Ediger Farms.

She was on the way to work July 17, 2014, when her Camry ran off the road. She died just a few weeks after her 19th birthday.

“She was a bright, happy teen, a good one,” said her father, Dave.

To honor Ariel’s life, and raise funds for the causes she cared about, her family will host a community celebration on Friday, June 19, which would have been her 20th birthday.

The event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Amity High School football stadium. It will feature a balloon release, birthday cake and opportunities for attendees to write messages honoring Ariel.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for Homeward Bound Pets, Amity High athletic programs and scholarships for graduating seniors.

Her father and mother, Dawnie, presented the first scholarships in her name this week to a girl and a boy, both athletes, from the Class of 2015. Ariel’s sister, Caitlan, also was a member of this year’s graduating class.

In addition, T-shirts will be sold at the event to raise money for school athletics. The shirts say “Play for Ariel” or “Play for Angel,” her nickname, and bear her player numbers — 5 in basketball, 1 in softball and 4 in volleyball.

Ariel loved sports, her father said. She especially excelled at volleyball and basketball.

As a child, she played soccer with McMinnville Parks and Rec teams at Joe Dancer Park. In middle school, she joined a traveling team.

She really loved animals, Dave said, and that’s what led to her career plans. She always had dogs and cats. And she participated in 4-H for four years, raising and showing pigs.

She wore a tattoo of the logo of the Tim Tebow Foundation, which the football player created “to show God’s love to children around the world.” Her dad said, “She really believed in that.”

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