Piattoni puts price to locals' antiques

Dean and Mary Lamons, of Fulton, show the items they brought to the Antiques Appraisal fundraiser for the Fulton Presbyterian Manor on Thursday.
Dean and Mary Lamons, of Fulton, show the items they brought to the Antiques Appraisal fundraiser for the Fulton Presbyterian Manor on Thursday.

When Gary Piattoni told one woman a family vase she had brought to the Antiques Appraisal was probably worth about $1,200, she was overjoyed.

Piattoni appraised several items at the event on Thursday held at Hazel Kinder's Lighthouse Theater. The antiques show was a fundraiser for the Fulton Presbyterian Manor. Piattoni, from Evansville, Ill., is an appraiser who has appeared on PBS's TV series "Antiques Roadshow" for about 15 years. He travels to small antique events around the country as well, which he said he enjoys.

"You never know what you're going to see," Piattoni said. "Like the "Roadshow,' it's always something different."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.