It’s the Good News Bears

There was some serious bear-hugging going on at Esther L. Walter Elementary School in Stanton.

Second-graders who lost their teddy bears in a fire at the school Sunday were surprised when an Irvine company presented them with 30 new teddy bears on Tuesday.

“It was really a super thing to do,” said Principal Charles Williams, 44. He said the children were “overjoyed” with the bears, “holding them, hugging them, squeezing them, trying to figure out what names they were going to call them. They were as thrilled as they could be.”

Rita Milnik, 26, the children’s teacher, said: “It was really neat to see all their smiling faces. They were definitely excited.”

Mary Combs, advertising manager at Bentley Laboratories Inc., a medical-products manufacturer, said she had read about the fire in The Times and wanted to do something for the children. Combs, 50, said Bentley distributes teddy bears as a promotional item to children in hospitals.

“It just seemed like a good thing to do,” Combs said about the donation. “The kids loved it. One little girl gave me a big hug.” She said the class will now be able to proceed with its plans for a teddy bear party on Friday.

Milnik said the children were asked to bring their bears to school last week to use as part of a class project. She said the bears are used in reading and mathematics exercises. “We’re trying to integrate them into the curriculum,” she added.

Milnik said some of the children cried when they found out about the fire and the loss of their stuffed bears. “Some of the kids couldn’t believe it,” she said. “They were really sad.”

The fire destroyed two classrooms and partially damaged a third at the school at 10802 Rustic Lane. Capt. Patrick McIntosh of the Orange County Fire Department said the fire, which started about 4:50 a.m. Sunday, was deliberately set. Fire officials estimated the total damage to the school at $195,000.

McIntosh said the fire is still under investigation. No arrests have been made.