FERGUS – Police and firefighters may have duked it out on the ice last Sunday, but it was the Centre Wellington Food Bank and CrimeStoppers Guelph Wellington who came out the winners.
The local OPP detachment and Centre Wellington fire department each drummed up a hockey team for a charity game called “Lights and Sirens.”
PC Kyle Draves wanted to organize an event that would bring fire and police together and also support a worthwhile community organization.
He circulated the idea among his peers, the fire department, and the benefitting charities.
And with all systems go, the game was on.
With lots of people in the stands at the March 19 game at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex, and growing piles of food and cash donations for the two organizations, the event was deemed a success and there is hope it will become an annual event.
“There’s a good turnout and we are delighted to partner for this,” said CrimeStoppers program coordinator Sarah Bowers-Peter.
The game was the first community event for food bank manager Curt McQueen, who joined the organization earlier this year.
A Wellington OPP player battles a firefighter player during a face-off. Photo by Joanne Shuttleworth
“I’m happy to be here and we’re getting quite a pile of food,” McQueen said.
Safe Communities Wellington County was also there and program coordinator Christine Veit was busy handing out a small supply of child-proof cabinet locks, little bags of road salt to keep in your car (use it if you happen to park in an icy spot to make it safer to get out of your car) and information about household poisons and other safety measures.
Veit noted that early on during the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies that normally make liquor, were making hand sanitizer instead.
But some was bottled in wine or liquor bottles and they still live in people’s cupboards and are not properly labelled.
“This is the beginning of poison prevention week (March 19 to 25) and we want people to think about these things,” she said.
Veit also noted that since cannabis has become legal and edibles are in people’s homes, it’s time to realize the danger they can pose to children who eat them thinking they are candy.
“Keep them high and locked,” she said. “That’s our focus right now.”
It was an exciting hockey game that saw the fire department the victors with a 9-3 score.
CrimeStoppers collected $975 in cash donations and the food bank collected about 300 pounds of food.
