Makenna Hemphill, 9, pets a pied ball python held by Madison Fitzgerald of the Moniteau High School Creepers and Crawlers Club. Science teacher Adele McFadden started the club 10 years ago and oversees it today, along with club members.

CHERRY TWP — Games, raffles, food and a downright menagerie greeted the families who attended the annual Creepers and Crawlers Community Day on Saturday evening at Moniteau Junior-Senior High School.

The event is the annual fundraiser for the school's Creepers and Crawlers Club, a unique high school group that takes in and cares for a wide range of animals.

Science teacher Adele McFadden started the club 10 years ago and oversees it today, but the students in her Creepers and Crawlers club take care of the parrots, snakes, tortoise, rats and other animals that live in McFadden's classroom until they are taken home by students for school breaks.

“These kids might not fit into other areas, like sports, but they love animals,” McFadden said.

Community Day sees hundreds of area residents young and old come to the high school to visit a gymnasium lined with various animals from the club as well as a few pets brought in by vendors, club members or McFadden herself.

The event raises from $1,000 to $2,000, which is used to feed and care for the animals in McFadden's classroom.

A full story appears in the Butler Eagle.