Alger benefit aims to aid victims' families in Zamora shooting

Days after alleged gunman Isaac Zamora went on a shooting rampage that left six dead and four injured, the Secret Sisters of Alger — an informal group of community women who meet monthly at the Alger Bar & Grille — helped organize a candlelight vigil on the lawn of a local church.

More than 500 people came to mourn the dead and comfort the survivors.

But the Secret Sisters of Alger, who range in age from their 20s to their 70s, wanted to do more to help heal their community's wounds. This weekend, the sisterhood is hosting a community benefit — and all proceeds will be evenly split among the victims' families.

It's been just over a month since the horror of Sept. 2, when six were gunned down — a sheriff's deputy, a grocery-store clerk, two construction workers, a retired contractor and a former Boeing worker who was on his way home to Oregon.

Four other people, including a State Patrol trooper, were injured in the rampage that began in Alger, traveled south on Interstate 5 and ended with arrest of Zamora in Mount Vernon. He is charged with 20 felonies, including six counts of aggravated, first-degree murder.

The money raised will help provide "a little relief" for families struggling to put the pieces of their lives back together, said Dawn Thomas, 40, a member of the Secret Sisters, a volunteer firefighter and the co-owner of the Alger Bar & Grille.

"Just knowing the community cares that much is probably worth more than the money we can raise," she said.

Thomas said the outpouring from individuals and businesses throughout Skagit County has "been overwhelming."

Local business people have donated everything from massages to camping gear for the hourly raffle drawings planned for both Saturday and Sunday. People also continue to flood a Bellingham church and an Alger storage facility with items for a massive rummage sale.

One man will be recharging fire extinguishers in exchange for donations and Thomas even hopes the local food bank will benefit from an influx of donated food.

"We're healing, we're definitely healing," she said.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com