Published: December 10, 2008 05:52 pm      

Despite loss of his home to fire, Jasper man still wants to give

Kalvin Jones and wife Angela lost their home to a fire. That won’t stop him from helping local children, he says.

Jasper Fire Rescue was called to a mobile home fire on 39th Way (LaBarfield’s Trailer Park), Tuesday morning. Upon arrival, flames were projecting from the rear windows of the home, which is the residence of Kalvin and Angela Jones.

According to the Jasper Fire Rescue Department, the blaze appears to have begun in the bedroom with a space heater. While the shell of the home was salvaged, the entire contents and interior are a loss.

Kalvin Jones is a well loved and respected resident of the trailer park and recently began clearing a vacant lot adjacent to his property to create a safe haven for children to play, off the street. Securing playground equipment from donations, his dream was to present the garden/park to the children by Christmas.

Saddened by the Oct. 9 shooting death in the Mitchell Street extension neighborhood, Jones felt that if children could find a beautiful garden spot, an oasis in the midst of the neighborhood that they feared, maybe it could help ease their minds and erase some bad memories.

Undaunted by personal tragedy, Jones continues to place others ahead of himself. “These children deserve something good,” he told the News. “They deserve a safe place to play and I intend to complete the project just as soon as we can get settled back in. We can’t give up no matter how hard things are for us.”

The Jones Family plans to remain in the trailer park and will move temporarily across the street into a vacant home. The home is unfurnished and all their belongings were lost to the fire and smoke damage.