Callie Deanda, 13, and her brother, Cale, 11, shoot sporting clays and are helping at a Sporting Clays tournament in Blount County to raise
money to fight cystic fibrosis, which they both have. Please download , or enable JavaScript for your browser to view the video player. PUNKIN CENTER – “It’s too bad we can’t just cure cystic fibrosis with a shotgun,” Sande Weiss said. “But we sure can help find a cure with them.” Sporadic barrages of gunfire rattled around the Blount County hills Friday as Weiss, general manager of Music Road Hotel in Pigeon Forge, spoke. She is one of 400 shooters from around Dixie at the Chilhowee Sportsmans Club attending a benefit shoot to raise money to help find a cure for the disease. Weiss shot in the seventh annual Make A Break Thru for CF Sporting Clays Tournament. It continues today. More than 40,000 shotgun shells will be fired at wildly flying and bouncing clay targets. As of Friday, $115,000 had been raised, with more money expected to come in. More than $600,000 has been raised prior to this year’s event.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that clogs lungs, leads to life-threatening lung infections, and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body absorb food. An estimated 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. have it. In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.