Bogalusa City Council member Teddy Drummond is selling tickets to a drawing in a bid to raise funds for Cassidy Park.

The park was badly damaged by March 11 flooding.

Drummond said that on the morning of March 11, he was on the phone with his brother Sam in Maryland, and his brother suggested donating money to the city.

“He wanted to do something,” Drummond said. “Then it hit me, the city’s going to need some money to fix up Cassidy Park.”

The brothers agreed to pay for pay for raffle tickets and put up the money for a prize. The drawing will be July 4, and in the meantime, Drummond is hoping to sell as many tickets as possible. The tickets are $2 each.

Drummond enlisted a handful of volunteers to sell tickets — including fellow city council member Tamira Smith — and they’ve been selling for over a month. Drummond said he’s not sure how many tickets have been sold.

“I don’t know the numbers right off, but I still have more than half to sell,” he said. “If it all goes accordingly, then we should raise $10,000.”

Of course, for a lucky winner, a ticket could net a payout as well. As each ticket is sold, buyers can write down who to give the money to, in case they’re the winner. Drummond said that some people who buy tickets have asked that the prize money go toward the park if they win, but he pointed out each person who buys a ticket can determine how the prize money is used if they’re the winner.

“If you know someone who is hurting bad, put their name on it,” Drummond said. “That way you’ll be helping two people at one time.”

To date, no one from the city has said publicly what it might cost the city to repair Cassidy because the city is still hopeful FEMA will kick in some money. But there is no doubt the city will have to spend something. Drummond said he’s just hopeful everyone can pull together to make it happen. He pointed out that $2 a ticket may not be much, but if everyone buys a ticket or two, it could make a difference.

“Someone said, ‘that’s nothing but spit in a bucket,’” Drummond said. “But if every one of us would go and spit in a bucket, we can fill the bucket up.”

And, so far, quite a few people are pitching into the proverbial bucket.

“It’s been well-received,” Drummond said. “They’re selling like hotcakes.”

Drummond added that not only are people in Bogalusa buying tickets, but people from all over the country with a Bogalusa connection are buying tickets.

“A large number of out-of-towners have purchased tickets,” he said. “I have got them in from California, New York, Baton Rouge and Washington, D.C.”

Drummond said it shows how important the park and the city are, even to former members of the community.

“A lot of them have left here and Bogalusa is still dear to their heart,” he said.

To buy a ticket or for more information, call Drummond at 985-750-2799.