[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5249-5250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING SAIGE HALSETH

  (Ms. JENKINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JENKINS. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honor Saige Halseth, 
a fifth-grade student at Shawnee Heights Elementary School in Topeka, 
Kansas, who has brought together her community by helping her 
classmate, Alex White.
  Alex suffers from a progressive neurological condition that affects 
his balance and mobility, and relied on a special companion, a service 
dog named Hope, until March, when Hope was tragically killed by a 
motorist. For Alex, Hope was a blessing, a best friend and, to quote 
Alex directly, quite the ``chick magnet.''
  Saige knows how much Alex depended on Hope, and she started a 
fundraising campaign to help him afford a new service dog. She wrote 
letters sharing his story and sold wristbands that read, ``Always Have 
Hope.''

[[Page 5250]]

  I want to thank Saige, a caring young leader and inspiration to her 
community, for her selfless commitment to helping her friend, Alex.
  It's because of young people like Alex and Saige that even after 
yesterday's tragedy in Boston, we can always have hope.

                          ____________________