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Benefit Concert, Funeral Set For Teen

A central Ohio school is collecting donations and having fundraisers to help with funeral expenses for a student who saved her month-old daughter from a fire but died two days later. The Columbus district says Acairia Watkins was a sophomore at Columbus Alternative High School, where she played the viola with the orchestra. On Thursday, April 18, at 7 p.m., the orchestra will dedicate the show and all proceeds from both ticket and concessions sales to the family and Acairia’s newborn daughter. There will be a slide show, and the Watkins family will be present. Concert tickets are $5. Students will also hold a loose change fund in which students can deposit any loose change they may have. Funeral and burial arrangements are planned for Monday, April 22, at 1 p.m., at Diehl-Whittaker Funeral Services, located at 720 E. Long Street, Columbus. Donations to help defer funeral expenses can also be sent directly to Diehl-Whittaker Funeral Services, in Acairia’s name. Watkins died two days after the duplex fire that also killed a 28-year-old woman. Relatives and witnesses say Watkins saved her daughter by putting the baby on the roof of the porch to be rescued by firefighters.

Mike Foley joined WCBE in February 2000, coming from WUFT in Gainesville, Florida. Foley has worked in various roles, from producing news and feature stories to engineering Live From Studio A sessions. A series of music features Foley started in 2018 called Music Journeys has grown into a podcast and radio show. He also assists in developing other programs in WCBE's Podcast Experience. Foley hosts The Morning Mix, a weekday music show featuring emerging and established musicians, our Columbus-area and Ohio-based talent, and additional artists that inspire him.