Safety Bear and RCMP drop Christmas goodies at Enoch

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It's not too often that children are treated by law enforcement officers, but that's exactly what happened Dec. 18 when elementary students at the Kitaskinaw School of the Enoch Cree Nation were treated to candies, chocolates, oranges and other goodies by members of the RCMP, represented by Const. Pat Gantly, Safety Bear, and Enoch Band Const. Harry Sharphead.

The trio made the rounds of the classrooms to wish students a Merry Christmas and present each child with a cloth bag filled with Christmas candy. Smiles and hugs was the response.

This is the third year that the police have made the rounds at Enoch, but it couldn't be done without the contribution of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal inmates in Alberta's jails. They made the goodie bags and provided money for the treats, explained Gantly.

Altogther, explained Gantly, the inmates raised $700, with the remainder coming from local businesses. As for the cloth bags, they were cut and stitched by inmates at the Drumheller Institution.

Gantly said the RCMP wanted to put smiles on the faces of the children at this time of year and help cement relations with reserve kids at a young age, while they are still impressionable.