TODAY'S RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS: SCOTT CITY BECOMES `KINDNESS CENTRAL'

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City's Main Street was turned into Kindness central this week as the high school, library, grocery store and fire department participated in Random Acts of Kindness.

Kindness activity organizer Brenda Moyers said people sometimes forget how much fun kindness can be.

"I hear people say, 'Why can't we have Christmas all year?'" Moyers said. "This is a chance to have Christmas in May."

Future Business Leaders of America members at Scott City High School, 3000 Main, gave students two suckers, one to keep and one to share, all day Thursday.

FBLA treasurer Adam Spinks said the organization just wanted to show the students how much they are appreciated.

Librarians at the Scott City branch of Riverside Regional Library, 2106 Main, have been giving out brightly colored bookmarks with the Random Acts of Kindness flowers printed on them.

"People really like the color," Glenda Kenkel, Riverside librarian, said of the hot-pink bookmarks.

Kenkel said a mother and daughter came in recently. The mother took a bookmark, handed it to her daughter and said, "Here, now you'll have to be kind all week," she said. The daughter hugged her mother in return.

The library had given out about 75 of the bookmarks from Saturday to Thursday.

The Economy IGA Foodliner, 2100 Main, gave away food to a few lucky customers Thursday. IGA owner Mae Moore refunded the cost of four cartons of strawberries to Daisy Holder of Scott City.

Moore said Random Acts of Kindness shouldn't be a once-a-year promotion for businesses. "Businesses should do kind acts all year," she said.

Holder said the gesture was nice and she thinks people sometimes have to be reminded to be kind. "But you have to take what comes," she said.

Volunteers with the Scott City Fire Department, 618 Main, spent much of Thursday afternoon fixing lights and working on a new emergency siren. While they were performing those generous acts, members of the community dropped two plates of cookies off for them.

Jay Cassout, a conductor for Burlington Northern Railroad, is a volunteer firefighter in Scott City and spends much of his free time working on projects for the department.

"I've been doing this for 25 years," Cassout said. "I wouldn't know what to do with free time even if I had any."

He said the department's 22 volunteers work just as hard as professional firefighters. Cassout said he takes pride in his department.

Lloyd Corvick, who lives outside Scott City, does volunteer electrical work for the fire department. He's been contributing his time in this way since retiring after 36 years with Southwestern Bell.

"I know all these guys and they're good friends," Corvick said. "I just want to be a good friend to the city."