By Christi Baron
Olympic Peninsula News Group
FORKS — It is never a good thing to see red-and-blue lights flashing in your rear-view mirror — unless it’s the Tuesday morning before Thanksgiving in downtown Forks.
That’s when the Forks Police Foundation did a random-acts-of-kindness turkey giveaway to unsuspecting drivers. Three were given away Tuesday; officers had seven more to go.
Officer Don Ponton, who looked for vehicles with headlights or taillights out, drove up and down Forks Avenue several times before spotting such a car.
The car was parked, so he had to wait until the driver took off. He pulled up behind her in the Forks Outfitters parking lot at 950 S. Forks Ave.
Ponton told the driver it was a courtesy stop because she had a taillight out. After getting her driver’s license, he awarded the first turkey.
After driving, parking and watching for a while, he headed up Calawah Way.
Maybe he could get a speeder? No, everyone was going the speed limit.
Then, Ponton headed into Aldergrove Mobile Home Park, where he gave away another turkey.
Back downtown, he saw a car with a headlight out. Ponton flashed the lights and the car pulled to the side of the road.
But this one didn’t get a turkey. The driver was from Denmark. Can you take a frozen turkey on a plane?, he wondered, deciding it was probably not a good idea. The Danish driver was not sure she could leave, so Ponton explained it was just a courtesy stop.
Turning around and heading back the other way, he spotted a car with a taillight out.
The driver was from Sequim. The turkey should be good until she got back home, he decided.
So Ponton presented Judith Boissevain of Sequim with a turkey, placing it in the backseat with her dog.
Boissevain was excited. The dog was a little confused.
But at least Sequim is much closer than Denmark.
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Christi Baron is the editor of the Forks Forum, which is part of the Olympic Peninsula News Group that also includes Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Sequim Gazette. She accompanied Officer Don Ponton on his turkey giveaway.
