Shop With a Cop continues for 27th year

Seventy-five youngsters, each with $100 to spend, swarmed the toy aisles at Walmart early Saturday during the annual Shop With a Cop event.

Police Chief Don Melton notes that the little shoppers’ older siblings in the home were given $100 gift cards to shop with later.

Also, in the last couple of years, Melton says 50 other youth in junior high and high school have received $100 gift cards.

Each family on Saturday received a box filled with a ham and milk donated by Walmart, juice donated by a local juice company, along with potatoes, stuffing, canned vegetables and bread donated by Webb City Police officers.

This was the 27th year that WCPD has held Shop With a Cop, with help from the Webb City-Carl Junction Rotary.

Others helping include Santa Claus, Webb City courts, Carterville and Oronogo police departments, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri Probation and Parole, Missouri Department of Conservation, and interns from the Carthage Tech Center.

Donations are already being collected for next year. For information, call the police department at (417) 673-1911.