For the last three years, Gardnerville Ranchos resident Katcie Roy has purchased tickets for special needs children at the Minden-Douglas Elks Summerfest Carnival.
"Just because a child has a problem, he or she shouldn't miss out," said Roy, a Minden-Douglas Elks officer.
Roy said when she was growing up, her mother was blind.
"I know how it feels not to be able to do things because of a disability," she said.
"Sometimes the kids with less visible disabilities are forgotten."
But Roy said Carson Valley is a community where people take care of each other.
"I have lived here for 15 years, and I am still impressed," she said. "When there is a problem in this community, people come together and take care of it. What I'm doing is just a little thing. But when everyone does a lot of little things, they add up."
Roy's generosity added up to a lot for more than a dozen special needs children at Lampe Park early Friday afternoon. The kids virtually had the carnival to themselves.
"I went high," 5-year-old Romeo Prosser said after riding the Ferris wheel.
Tomacina Hochgurtel, manager of Two Guys from Italy in Gardnerville, and her husband Dan, brought eight children to the carnival, among them their adopted son who has Down syndrome, 9-year-old Jordan Stevenson.
"I wasn't scared," Jordan said after riding the Tornado, a funnel-shaped tower with revolving, hydraulic arms.
Jordan said the Tornado was his favorite ride.
Ten-year-old Junior Gonzalez-Cruz agreed.
"It went faster than the rest," he said.
