May 1, 2006 By Amanda Clegg 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – A few California Borough police officers stopped chasing bad guys long enough to score one for the good guys last week. Officers Mike Yeager, Rob Dorcon, Tracy Hudak and Mayor Casey Durdines presented 8-year-old Hope Huffman of California with a bicycle and gear after hearing she had lost her bike in a flood.

The story began when Yeager, a school resource officer, picked the girl up after a mix-up resulting in her riding the wrong bus home from school. During the car ride home, Huffman, holding an ice tea bottle, told Yeager the bottle’s cap might win her a new bicycle. She went on to explain that she had lost her bicycle in a flood, he said.

Moved by the girl’s story, Yeager checked for unclaimed bikes at the borough building and at the Masontown station, where he is also an officer, but found none. While telling the mayor and fellow officers Dorcon and Hudak the story, Dorcon suggested buying the girl a bike. In agreement, the foursome pitched in money and made their way to Wal-Mart where they bought a bicycle, a lock, a helmet, knee and elbow pads and a license plate with “Hope” engraved on it. The bike also came with a backpack that the officers filled with DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) gear.

Yeager said Wal-Mart donated a $25 gift card toward the purchase.

On Good Friday, the good Samaritans loaded up the police cruiser and traveled to California Terrace to present Hope with her new bicycle.

“My impression was she didn’t like all the attention on her. But once she got on the bike, she started smiling a little more,” Yeager said, adding that he heard she was still riding the bike two hours later.

Durdines got the same impression.

“At first, she was a little shocked, but once she was on it, she seemed really happy,” he said.

Huffman’s grandmother, Joann Patch, said the gift was unexpected.

“It was amazing. I didn’t believe it,” she said. “Hope didn’t know what to say. I said, ‘Hope, just tell them thank you.'”

Patch said her granddaughter rides the bike around the neighborhood and “loves it.”

“She’s the love of my life. I’ve had her a lot in the eight years she’s been alive,” Patch said. “I thought it was a wonderful thing for them to do for her.”

Yeager said the officers and the mayor would like to start a program to bring a smile to the faces of more kids. A possible name: Wheels of Hope, he added, in honor of the first recipient.

“We haven’t sat down and ironed it out, but the focus would be to try to find another kid in a similar situation and try to help them,” Durdines said. “We probably wouldn’t start a program with a bank account and everything. It would just be another spur of the moment thing.”

The mayor commended the officers for their big hearts and commitment to the neighborhoods they protect.

“They’re dedicated to the community,” he said. “They think about more than just catching bad guys. I’m glad they did it and I got to be a part of it.”

Yeager felt the same.

“It made me feel good,” he said. “It’s not every day people see a police officer with a smile on his face.”