Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 24, 1994 TAG: 9412270084
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Don't question 5-year-old Christopher Martin's belief in Santa Claus.
The pot-bellied man in the red-and-white suit was going to come to his Vinton home. And no one was gonna tell him any different.
So when a classmate called him a liar last week, Christopher did what any true believer in the jolly spirit of Christmas would: He punched him in the jaw.
"Believe it or not, he's shy," said his father, Ricky Martin.
And on Wednesday night, Christopher's faith was rewarded. Bounding down the family's front lawn, with a hearty "ho, ho, ho" and three sacks of toys in hand, came Santa himself.
The Martins were one of 53 families along the route of the Vinton Police Department's annual needy family program.
Christopher's brothers were transfixed as Santa barreled into their living room. There was 2-year-old Richard, who was too young to know exactly the purpose of the fat man in the red suit. Four-year-old Joseph just wanted to unwrap his gifts right then and there.
Big brother Christopher stood quietly by, self-satisfied that his Christmas wish had come true.
The night before Santa's arrival, the sandy-haired boy with the elfin grin had declared, "I'll be happy when Christmas comes, because of all the toys."
But when asked to describe the best part of the holiday, he added without hesitation, "It's about being nice, helping people and kids."
That was exactly how Vinton police officers had envisioned the goal of the needy family program.
For seven years, the annual event has turned the department's offices on Pollard Street into Santa's workshop. A pack of jolly souls wraps hundreds of gifts and coordinates a grand-master event, which usually goes off without a hitch.
"Through the hustle and bustle of the year in police work ... in my job it's not like a lot of what happens is good," said dispatcher Nancy Langley, who has helped out with the event each year. "This is where Christmas starts for me."
The merry season begins for Vinton Police Chief Rick Foutz and Lt. Bill Brown way before Halloween, when they start planning their annual Haunted House. Ticket sales from that event and individual donations support their Christmas giving program.
This year, Brown said, the department spent more than $12,000 on gifts and food for families in Vinton.
"We came up with the idea to do something for the less fortunate in the community," Foutz said. "The goal was to help six families. The first year we helped 32."
Some families apply for the program, others are recommended by friends and social-service workers. Each family is visited by an officer, who makes a detailed list of what the children want for Christmas. And each family receives a box of food for Christmas dinner.
On last week's toy-shopping spree at the Franklin Road Kmart in Roanoke, Foutz, Brown and a host of other helpers cruised the toy aisles, filling cart after cart with Christmas treasures.
On the list were 26 Glitter Hair Barbies and outfits for them, dozens of baby dolls, 31 race tracks, all of the Power Rangers that could be found and 2-XL robots.
Foutz needed to find 28 remote-control cars. He was almost there. So, when he passed a shelf stacked high with battery-operated police cars, he did what any officer with the heart of a child would do: He pushed all the buttons and set in motion a glare of flashing red lights and a chorus of sirens.
Into his cart went a few of the cars. Then he went searching for "Alien" figures, which he found with some direction from the clerk.
"It's just about helping the community," Brown said. "This day and time people don't care about people anymore. And there are people, particularly here at the Police Department, who do care. It's not just about law enforcement."
If Ricky Martin had it his way, he never would have asked for help. But when an acquaintance suggested his family as a recipient, Martin said he wasn't going to let pride get in the way of his children's Christmas.
Martin works for an electrical contracting company in Roanoke, and his wife, Georgia, is a grocery clerk. Medical aid and food stamps help fill in some of the larger financial gaps. When all else fails, they pray.
"If it comes to the bills and if we can't afford to pay, we'll bite our bottom lip and we have faith in God that if it's meant to be, it won't be a problem," Ricky Martin said.
Faith in themselves and the kindness of others has helped the Worleys over the years.
At one time Jeff and Patti Worley and their six children lived comfortably. Jeff Worley had a good job at a fuel installation company. But he was laid off after he refused to go on a business trip and leave his wife and children without a car.
That was almost two years ago. Now, Jeff works at a contracting company and Patti just started a night job at MJDesigns. Their schedules don't leave much time for leisure.
"People ask me, 'How do you do it?''' Patti said. "I tell them I pretend I have two kids."
With six children ranging from 16 months to 11 years old, the couple never ceases to worry about how to make ends meet. And now that winter is here, they worry about how to heat their home.
They rent a small house on Vale Drive. A tabletop Christmas tree adorns their cramped living room. Without a helping hand from Vinton police, Christmas would be bleak, they say.
"I get depressed at Christmas," said Patti Worley. "With six kids, it's hard. With people like those at the Police Department, it takes the pressure off. And someday when I can, I will pay this back to someone."
by CNB