KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson has been covering the plane crash in Butler, Missouri this week. If you know of any acts of community support happening in town, share your story idea with Alyssa.
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The 12 victims killed Sunday in the crash of a Pacific Aerospace 750XL aircraft during takeoff for a skydiving event were officially identified Tuesday by the Bates County Coroner's Office.
KSHB 41 Kansas City Reporter Alyssa Jackson spent time in Butler, Mo., this week to learn more about the victims and how the community is offering support to victim's families, along with first responders.
The American Red Cross is serving families and first responders at an undisclosed location in Butler to maintain the privacy of those seeking help.
A #Butler Strong sign greets residents and visitors as they pull into town, but the sign's message reaches far beyond Butler.
McPappys food truck is hosting a memorial ride on Saturday to raise money for the family of Dane Cordes, who died in the plane crash.
Koehn Bakery in Butler offered first responders free coffee and a donut on Monday and Tuesday.
In the nearby city of Adrian, Byrd's Pecan Delights is stepping up to help.
Days after the plane crash, the owner of the cafe said they've seen the exhaustion on the faces of first responders when they sit down to eat.
"It’s a heavy weight," said Jennifer Cassaday, owner of Byrd's Pecan Delights. "Your heart breaks for them."
The cafe is offering free food to first responders through Wednesday.
Cassaday's husband has worked as a volunteer fire fighter in the past. Many of the local first responders are her customers.
Cassaday said: "We’re catching them before they get to the counter and letting them know their money is not welcome today."
Megan Rostollan operates Black Dog Bakery, a micro-bakery, from her home in Butler. This week, she's baking free sourdough loafs for first responders.
"Offering a few loaves of bread feels like nothing, but we love all these people," Rostollan said. "Scripture talks about how God is abundantly kind — I want people to feel that."
When words are sometimes not enough, these bakers know that comfort food can be a Band-Aid.
"When we’re grieving, we don’t want to eat," Cassaday said. "We don’t want to take care of ourselves. That’s one of those things, I guess as a chef, I can help people through food sometimes. It’s embedded in us when something happens this close to home we feel like we need to do something."
The signs of #Butlerstrong this week are coming from neighbors a few doors down and sometimes several miles away.
"As a Christian person, the great commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and your neighbor as yourself," Rostollan said.
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