November 22, 2007
Local Sheriff's Deputies Serve Dinner

Photo by Dave Maxwell Sheriff Kerry Lee serving patrons at Windmill Ridge. Captain Gary Davis in the background.

By Dave Maxwell

Sheriff Kerry Lee led the Alamo Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department in an evening as working waiters at Windmill Ridge on November 16. Lee and the other deputies did their part in taking orders, serving the food and bussing tables, visiting with the patrons as well. All of the tips they received are for the Department’s “Shop-With-A-Cop” program, a Christmas program for children in need around the County. The program has been in existence for a number of years, but the idea of the officers doing work one evening at a local restaurant has only been happening for about three years, Lee said.

“Tip-A-Cop,” as it’s called, “is an idea that we got from the Iron County Sheriff’s Office in Cedar City,” Lee said. “We go to a restaurant that’s willing to participate and we bring officers and they serve the public, bus the tables, do everything!” The first two years they went to the Knotty Pine in Caliente, he said, but this year they went to the Silver Café in Pioche (Nov. 9) and then Alamo. “It’s fun to get the interaction with the public,” he said.

The annual “Shop-With-A-Cop” program allows the Department, “To take some kids from the county that are unable to have a Christmas, or enough of a Christmas, and take them to Wal-Mart in Cedar City. We earn the money, either directly or through the ‘Tip-A-Cop’ Program.” The school district donates the use of a school bus and driver for the trip; this year it will be December 8. “We take the kids shopping that day and they get to spend anywhere from $150-$200 apiece. Also the Ladies Elks in Cedar City donate to each kid a pair of shoes,” he said. The kids stay one-on-one with the officers and when they finish, one of the sororities at Southern Utah University wraps the gifts.

The kids’ parents are also invited to make the trip, but don’t go shopping. At the end of the day, Lee said, the whole Lincoln County group goes to a pizza restaurant in Cedar before returning home.

Lee said the kids chosen to participate are selected from the elementary schools in the district. “A lot of times these are kids we’ve actually had interaction with, either good or bad, with their parents, or with them,” he said. “The School District brings us a list and we take those kids. There’s really nobody that knows the situation of the kids better than the school.”

“You can’t imagine what it does for both the officers and the kids,” he said. “We set a limit of money that we raise, say $150, and most of the kids go over that amount and the officers pay for that out of their pocket. The “Shop-With-A-Cop” program is probably the one best program we’ve ever had,” he said.