Police haul in 690 pounds of food during drive

Shawano police, in partnership with the Shawano Area Fire Department, collected more than 690 pounds of food during the “Fill the Squad” food drive last week. The drive, which was was held in conjunction with the Shawano Christmas parade, originated with Officer Heidi Cartwright wishing to give back to the community, Police Chief Mark Kohl said. “Heidi contacted (Fire) Chief Doug Knope, who was 100 percent behind the ‘Fill the Squad’ event as public safety partners working together for our community,” Kohl said. “The ‘Fill the Squad’ is an event we hope to have every Christmas parade, partnering with the fire department,” Cartwright said. During the parade, firefighters, police officers and their families volunteered to push shopping carts donated by Charlie’s County Market up the parade route. Citizens were asked to donate their nonperishable goods and place them in the shopping carts. Assistant Chief Larry Gehm joked that the police squads were filled to capacity; with food this time instead of prisoners.