Cunot mourns a child

Billy Bottoms

CUNOT -- A Cunot boy who attended Cloverdale Middle School was struck by a car Saturday night and died Sunday night at Indianapolis Methodist Hospital.

William "Billy" Bottoms, 12, was hit by a dark red or maroon car just west of the Cunot Community Center on S.R. 42. He was a sixth-grader at CMS.

Terry Bottoms, Billy's mother, said her son was very outgoing.

"I'll remember all the friends he brought into my life," she said. "If it weren't for him I wouldn't know anyone in this community."

Bottoms said Billy was an organ donor.

"That is something he would want," she said. "He wouldn't have a second thought about saving the life of a stranger."

Bottoms said the Cunot community has been very supportive of their family.

Llona Skadra was a neighbor and family friend of Billy's. She said Billy called her "Mom" because she was like a second mother to him.

Skadra said the last time she saw Billy was last Thursday -- he had stayed home from school because of a previous 4-wheeler accident.

Skadra said Billy had an infectious smile and a personality that couldn't be pulled away from. She described how close their families were.

"I woke up one morning after a good snow and he was at my house at 7 a.m. wanting to make snow cream," Skadra said.

She also talked about when her daughter was a homecoming princess and Billy followed her around the whole day.

"He wouldn't have left her for nothing. He was with her all the time," Skadra said.

Billy attended Cloverdale Middle School. Sonny Stoltz, the principal at the high school and spokesperson for the school district, said that Kathleen Glaser, a counselor at the middle school, developed the plan that the schools follow when a student dies.

"We really stress routine. We learned a long time ago that when you get out of routine it gets harder to think things through," Stoltz said. "At the same time, we are also sensitive to the students' needs, and the needs of faculty. It's a very difficult time for everyone."

Stoltz said students have opportunities to speak with counselors, who are located in rooms near where Billy had classes, and are also given the chance to write essays about their experiences.

Skadra said Billy took part in a lot of what happened at the Cunot Community Center.

"We put on haunted houses and Easter egg hunts and Valentine's Day dances and he volunteered at all of them," she said. "He was a spook at all of my haunted houses."

Skadra said there would be a celebration of life for Billy at the Cunot Community Center at 3 p.m. Sunday, and that center volunteers were hoping to do a fundraiser for the family.

Initially the fundraiser was planned for February, but it may be moved to March.

"Billy's birthday is March 14," Skadra said. "We were thinking it would be better to celebrate him and for the benefit to be on his birthday, because it's so close. Then the family doesn't have to be alone."

The driver who struck Billy Bottoms is still at large after speeding off following the accident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Owen County Sheriff's Office at (812) 829-4874, Ext. 1.

A $1,000 reward is being offered to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Billy Bottoms' death.