A mystery was solved and over $15,000 was raised for arthritis at a mystery dinner-theatre Dec. 15 in Falher, presented by several local theatrical stars. “We raised about $16,000 for the Arthritis Society of Canada, after expenses” says Shelley Lauze, who organized the event with Denise Maisonneuve. About 440 people dined and pondered the mystery – Murder Me Always – during the evening at the Chevaliers Community Centre, says Lauze. “We weren’t expecting this many people and this much support,” says Lauze. “I think it was something different and a lot of people have arthritis or know someone who does.” “Not a lot of funds are donated to arthritis, so that’s why we decided to host a mystery-dinner fundraiser,” says Lauze who thanked supporters after the production. “It’s been a huge success,” says Maisonneuve. With two standing ovations for the murder-mystery, many in the audience gave the evening rave reviews. “We had several requests to do a murder-mystery again next year,” says Lauze. Ladies complete marathon in Jamaica Lauze and Maisonneuve completed the 26-mile (42-kilometre) Reggae Marathon in Negril, Jamaica on Dec. 2. “We had to raise $5,000 each to get a free trip, and we raised that from these ticket sales and from other general donations.” Arthritis is dear to the hearts of both ladies. “Right now in Canada, there are five million people suffering from a form of arthritis. It’s too easy to think of some family member or friend who has been affected by this disease,” says Lauze. Arthritis is the leading cause of pain and disability in Canadians today. The long-term disability of Arthritis in Canada accounts for 10.3 per cent of all economic burdens of all illnesses, yet only 1.3 per cent of health science research is devoted to the disease.