WHITESVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Angels for Ashley are taking flight again, building a house for Aaron “Bubba” Knott, the Whitesville man paralyzed after being shot in 2013.
Jerry Morris formed the Angels for Ashley foundation five years ago, building a home in Whitesville for the Johnson family, whose daughter Ashley, 15, is the organization’s namesake.
“When we went into her house, there was an angel hanging over the kitchen sink and that’s how we came up with Angels for Ashley,” Morris said.
There was money remaining following the completion of that project.
“I was worried I was going to be cooking chicken for the next 10 years to pay for this house, fundraising, but it worked out … That’s how the foundation got started and we’ve been helping people ever since,” Morris said.
In the case of Knott, he and his now-fiancée were going into her house on Nov. 8, 2013, when they found her ex-boyfriend, Christopher Matthew Johnson, there.
Johnson was found guilty in December on two counts of first-degree assault and one count of first-degree burglary in the shooting of Knott and Andrea Ward. Ward and Knott were each shot three times, which left Knott paralyzed below the waist.
In February, Johnson was sentenced to a total of 50 years in prison.
“To get to her, he had to go through me, so he shot me twice in the back and once in the side, and cornered her in her son’s bedroom,” Knott, a former U.S. Marine, said. “She was able to jump into the closet as he was shooting her.”
Following the shooting, Knott said he had to move back in to his parents’ house. Again, he said, “this community is amazing.” They came together and put in a ramp to their house and remodeled the bathroom and a bedroom for him.
Just before Christmas, he contacted Morris, a home builder, about building him a house.
When Knott called about pricing, Morris told him to “just show up here. We’ll look at some blueprints.”
“I showed up there and he said ’what about this?’ I said, ’That’s pretty good,’ and he was like, ’What if we build it for you?’ “
Knott was dumbfounded.
“I’m still in shock right now,” he said.
Morris said he’s about to get knee replacements, so he’ll get things rolling “after I get back up.”
“We’re going to give him about a month,” Knott said, as his comment was met with laughter.
Knott’s house will be two miles east of Whitesville and they’ve already started receiving donated supplies for the project.
“Jerry’s done a lot for our community - a lot,” said Charlotte Johnson, owner of the first house. “I mean this is not even scratching the surface of what he’s done for the community.”
According to Morris, the Johnsons weren’t allowed to see their house until it was finished and “I told Bubba … I’d just as soon for you not to see it until we get done with it, so he’s going to stay out of it too.”
He hopes to start around mid-July and will be hosting a barbecue and fundraiser for the project at a later date.
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