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14
peoriatimes.com
DECEMBER 22, 2022
Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
INSIDE
This Week
911 Toy Drive gifts families with its ‘presents’ BY JOE MCHUGH
Peoria Times Staff Writer
BUSINESS......11 Consigning Women thrives on style
YOUTH...........21 Former PUSD student presents at conference
OPINION..........................6 BUSINESS......................10 SPORTS..........................12 FEATURES......................13 CALENDAR....................16 RELIGION.......................18 YOUTH...........................20 OBITUARIES...................21 CLASSIFIEDS..................22
W
hen it comes to Santa, the red velvet suit with white, fluffy lining and the patented red floppy top hat topped with a white bulb is a common depiction of the jolly holiday figure. But the Glendale Police Department has taken that characterization and made it their own, becoming “Blue Santa” around the holiday time, giving gifts to underprivileged children across the city. “It’s huge because obviously there are people in need everywhere and any kind of help we can get to facilitate the assistance (feels great),” Glendale Police
Officer and “Blue Santa” Greg Mills said. “This is just one of those events where there’s a lot of kids out there with nothing, and we’re able to provide for them.” The Blue Santa’s are a part of the 911 Toy Drive, a program organized by W. Steven Martin that focuses on bridging the gap between the public and the police officers that patrol the area. Through donations of toys and giving back to the community, police officers get to show a side of them that many don’t often see. “The one thing I always tell people is unless you’re related to a police officer, or you have a friend who’s a police ofSEE BLUE SANTA PAGE 3
“Blue Santa” gives gifts to underprivileged children. (Glendale Police Department/ Submitted)
Woman dead after hit-and-run on Loop 101 BY JOE MCHUGH
Peoria Times Staff Writer
A
hit-and-run investigation is now underway after Peoria police found the body of a woman on Loop 101 in Peoria.
Just prior to 3 a.m. Dec. 19, the Peoria Police Department was dispatched to a report of a dead body found in a car at an offramp of the southbound Loop 101 in the Gravel Tree area near the Peoria Avenue exit. After arriving, police found a
33-year-old woman outside the vehicle. She was pronounced deceased on-site, and the cause of death has not been determined. State troopers located a two-door sedan
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