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Holiday Toy Drive in St. Clairsville Truly Lifts Spirits

Wheeling City Councilwoman Wendy Scatterday works the controls of a bucket lift truck during Operation Toy Lift at the Ohio Valley Mall. Photo by Heather Ziegler

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The spirit of Christmas was lifted high above expectations at Saturday’s inaugural Operation Toy Lift, conducted jointly by the Wheeling Police Department and the Belmont County Sheriff’s Department in the parking lot of Macy’s at the Ohio Valley Mall.

By 4 p.m., more than two box truckloads of toys, including 20 bicycles and more than $1,000 in cash and assorted gift cards, had been collected by officials from both departments who volunteered their time to the effort.

What began as a conversation over coffee four weeks ago among Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger, Belmont County Sheriff Dave Lucas and officials from American Electric Power and the local United Way resulted in Macy’s taking the lead and providing the tools necessary to hold a toy collection to benefit children in need this holiday season.

Operation Toy Lift included local personalities stepping into a bucket truck raised above the parking lot to draw attention to the project.

Various police officers and Wheeling Councilwoman Wendy Scatterday were among the folks who took turns in the bucket. Belmont County Chief Deputy James Zusack got into the act by donning a gorilla mask and waving visitors into the parking area.

“The turnout has been phenomenal,” Lucas said. “This is the year for giving, and people from both sides of the (Ohio) river have responded to put a lot of smiles on kids’ faces.”

Lucas said he appreciated working with Schwertfeger, who came up with the idea for the project from a similar experience during the chief’s previous job in Virginia. Lucas also applauded the efforts of Macy’s for taking on the project on short notice.

Schwertfeger said the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley will be responsible for distributing the toys this week in the five-county area its serves.

“With so many toys, the sheriff and I will take a small portion of them and deliver them to local hospitals. This has been such a great success. We hope to do it annually and see it grow,” Schwertfeger said.

Wheeling Police Sgt. Gregg McKenzie said the number of donations remained steady through the day despite the early morning cold temperatures. He, too, was overwhelmed with the generosity of Ohio Valley residents.

Several Wheeling firefighters, including Chief Larry Helms, also lent a hand at accepting gifts. The volunteers also received some cookies and other treats from well-wishers who stopped at the site.

Jennifer Prietsch, store manager at Macy’s in the mall, said in addition to filling the box trucks, Macy’s had a bin full of donations inside the store that will be added to the collection.

“This is what Christmas is all about, making a child smile,” she said, noting that Macy’s believes “giving is always in fashion.”

Several members of one extended family brought their children to the parking lot to experience the joy of giving. Tina Catalano of Martins Ferry brought her two daughters, Briella, 5, and Malena, 7, where they personally handed toys to officers. Also, Robert Signorini and his twin sons, Luca and Attilio, showed up to hand deliver gifts to the events. They family is from Nitro, W.Va., and was in the local area visiting relatives.

Other organizations assisting with the operation are AEP, Bill’s Towing, Tricor Rental, WTRF-7 and iHeartRadio.

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