Now is the time to help Santa Wears a Badge program

The Biloxi Police Department’s Santa Wears a Badge program, which provides Christmastime toys for children and treats for seniors, is entering its final week, and, as usual, demand is outpacing supply.

For years, the Biloxi Police have organized a toy drive providing for children up to age 11, and in recent years the program has expanded to include seniors at three retirement homes in the city.

The program serves as many as 200 children and seniors who are recommended by school nurses and teachers, and such agencies as the Biloxi Housing Authority and area churches.

“We’re looking for unwrapped toys for children from baby up to age 11,” says Capt. Harold Windom, who heads the department’s Community Relations Division.  “We also provide for seniors in retirement homes who have no immediate family and don’t get out much. For them, we’re looking for such items as puzzle books, socks, Kleenexes, what we call ‘little happys.”

Adds Windom: “Demand has never been a problem. We just need to remind people that there is a need to make sure we have a good supply to reach as many needy people as we can. Some times we’ve had to get help from the Salvation Army to cover the gap, but we know the people of Biloxi can help make this drive a success on its own.”

The department has placed collection boxes at the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center, City Hall and in several area businesses. The deadline for people to make toy donations is Monday, Dec. 14. Details: 228-385-3033.
See the list of drop-off locations

 

 

The week that was

The Biloxi Police Department handled 2,849 calls for service last week, including 240 violations, requiring 114 arrests. Meantime, the Biloxi Fire Department responded to 118 calls for service, including 83 medical emergencies and seven good intent calls. (And just what is a “good intent” call? Says Fire Chief Joe Boney, with a smile: “That’s a call where someone has a situation they don’t know how to handle – a cat in a tree, or a malfunctioning home smoke detector, or a welfare concern – and they call us, and we respond.”)
See the weekly report archive

 

News and notes

Christmas in the City: To see dozens of photos from the Christmas in the City arts and crafts fair Saturday in the Rue Magnolia area, click here.

The fathers of Mississippi gaming: Former Biloxi Mayor and current City Attorney Gerald Blessey and his wife Dr. C. Paige Gutierrez dined with former Mississippi Gov. and current U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus over the weekend. Restaurateur Bobby Mahoney reminds us that Blessey and Mabus were the actual fathers of today’s gaming industry in Mississippi (who remembers the Europa Star?). To see a photo and read more on the city’s Facebook page, click here.