It didn’t take long for young patients at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland to get the good news. Santa Claus stand-ins John Bishop and Chris Wallace – otherwise known as Curry County sheriff and Brookings police chief – were in the house. With presents. “Word started traveling pretty fast,” Wallace said. “Doctors and nurses brought the kids down.” The law enforcement officials produced lots of happiness Dec. 22 as they gave an estimated $5,000 to $6,000 worth of toys to children at the hospital. Bishop and his wife, Kris, along with Wallace and his wife, Molly, had wanted to make the Christmas trip for several years. This holiday season, they made it happen with a lot of support from Brookings-Harbor merchants. “We had so much stuff we filled up two bins and a wagon,” Wallace said. He acknowledged the day was “bittersweet” because Doernbecher is where the Wallaces’ 13-year-old daughter, Katelyn, got much of her treatment before succumbing to cancer in April 2008. Most of the children met by Wallace and Bishop were in the hospital for treatment of cancer, making the connection with Katelyn even stronger. The law enforcement officials and their wives were happy with the results of the trip. “There were lots of smiles on the kids up there,” Wallace said. “We got to talk to a lot of the kids,” Bishop added. “It was a good feeling to do that, but also sad to see the kids’ diseases.” Katelyn Wallace’s main physician, Dr. Linda Stork, was working the day the Curry County contingent arrived at Doernbecher. She and two of her nurses got to talk with the Wallaces. Bishop noted that several local businesses, Soroptimists International, Toys for Tots and other groups donated toys and cash to make the event a success. Many people made contributions to the Katelyn Wallace Foundation. “We were able to go the gamut from infants to teenagers,” Bishop said. “We tried to focus more on the teens because they tend to get forgotten.” The gifts included Kindle readers and iPods for the older children. Bishop listed all the contributions on the Curry County accounting books so there was no chance of money or gifts being unaccounted for. Both men thanked local citizens for their support, saying it was a privilege to treat the children. “The generosity and well wishes made it possible to go up there,” Wallace said. “This truly shows what type of community we live in.” The Pilot/Submitted photo