Secret Santa in Malheur County brings Christmas Cheer
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Wednesday, December 29th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Eastern/Southeast Oregon Top Stories
MALHEUR COUNTY – (Information from the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office) Once again a sum of money was donated to the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office to help those that might need a boost up. The benefactor requested that our Deputies give a single 50 dollar bill to those that the Deputy thought might benefit from the extra money.
These are some of those stories:
-A female driver said “ I thought I was in trouble for something, This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time.”
-Male driver, stopped for speed. Said he was trying to get his girlfriend to work. It was determined later that this driver had prior bad experiences with Law Enforcement. But not this time. He was warned regarding the speed and given $50. Both the driver and his girlfriend were speechless.
-Male driver from California stopped for speeding. He had driven all day and was due to start a 12 hour shift drilling for Natural Gas in Payette. Driver was stunned when our Deputy handed him a 50 dollar bill.
-Male driver in Vale, stopped for no license plate and improper child safety seat for one of his children. Our Deputy educated the parents about the proper safety seat and gave them a warning and a 50 dollar bill. Both he and his wife teared up as they expressed their appreciation for the kindness.
-Female driver in Vale. Our Deputy knew this person to help deliver meals on wheels and help with bible study in the community. Our Deputy Stopped her and gave her the $50 from the “Secret Santa”. She started to cry and said to give Secret Santa a big hug and thank you.
-Female driver in Vale. Stopped for speeding, break light out and during the stop, the Deputy discovered her vehicle was not current on its registration. She explained to the Deputy that she held off registering her vehicle so she could afford the Christmas holiday. Our Deputy gave her the $50. . She began to cry and said that this helps more than you know.
-One man refused the 50 dollar bill, stating our Deputy should save it for someone that needs it more.
-One female driver got teary eyed and thanked our Deputy. She also made statements that this meant a lot to her as she has been staying out of trouble for the last year and was scared when he initially stopped her.
-One male driver turned out to be a Sheriff’s Deputy from another jurisdiction. He was going to try to get something like this started in his jurisdiction.
-One male driver, didn’t speak English. Through “Google Translator” our Deputy explained about the “Secret Santa” and gave him the 50 dollar bill. He thanked the Deputy and gave him religious praises as well.
We love these stories and we appreciate the kindness of “Secret Santa” that allow us to do this each Christmas Season.
