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STANFORD — More than a dozen Kentucky state troopers responded to the Stanford Walmart Saturday morning, but there were no crimes in progress or any shady business going on.
The troopers were on-hand to help 66 local children do some memorable Christmas shopping.
Kentucky State Police spokesman Paul Blanton said 2012 was a very successful year for his organization's annual "Shop With a Trooper" event.
In all, the local KSP post provided free Christmas gifts and clothes to 141 children at the Richmond and Stanford Walmarts.
KSP chose children to receive gifts based on need. Each child got to spend $115 at Walmart, at least $50 of which had to go toward clothing.
The clothing requirement was so KSP could be sure the children receiving the gifts would be clothed warmly for the winter months, Blanton said.
The number of children served at the Stanford Walmart this year is "way up from last year," when about 50 kids got to shop with troopers, Blanton said.
The uptick is due largely to an increase in giving from area businesses that provided KSP with more money to buy gifts for more kids, he added.
Blanton said one example of businesses going further was a 5K held earlier this year by Whittaker Bank and Cundiff Chiropractic that raised funds specifically for the Shop With a Trooper event.
The local KSP post for Lincoln County is based in Richmond and also covers Madison, Boyle, Jessamine, Garrard, Mercer, Clark, Estill, Lee, Jackson and Owsley counties.