Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Police, Sheriff's Office Clear Way For Santa's Visit

With Christmas just a couple of days away, Santa is making the final plans for his world-wide trip.

We, at the Times, have been in touch with jolly old St. Nick about his annual visit.

"Ho, ho, ho. The children have been especially nice this year," he said, "and deserve lots of nice gifts.

"The elves have been polishing my sleigh and making sure the reindeer are ready to take to the skies for the trip."

This year Santa has gone high tech in keeping track of how good children have been. The elves have kept him informed via email and the Internet, along with using cellular telephone technology to call with their information.

One of his elves developed a radar capable of detecting when children are good and bad. This radar, he said, can pinpoint the exact location of the child at any given time.

The U.S. Army is trying to get its hands on this technology, but Santa said he's not letting the Army have it because they may not use it for the betterment of all people.

As time approaches for the trip to begin, Santa has his GPS travel system geared up and is plotting his course.

Once again, St. Nick will be working with local law enforcement personnel as he crosses the Clark County line.

"You have some good people working in law enforcement there," Santa said of the Clark County Sheriff's Office and Gurdon Police Department. "I really enjoy working with them."

As Santa enters the state he will be picked up on weather radar. By using his Christmas magic, St. Nick is invisible to military radar. This was done to make sure he has a safe trip around the world.

The TV weathermen will give updates on where he is during the news so everyone will know and be able to get the milk and cookies out

on time.

"We're going to make sure nothing happens to Santa when he's in Clark County," said Sheriff Troy Tucker. "We always enjoy working with him, helping make sure he finds the homes of all the boys and girls so their presents can be delivered."

While in Gurdon, Santa will be assisted by Gurdon Police Chief David Childres who echoed Tucker's statement.

"We're going to make sure Santa has no problems when he's here," Childres said. "We always try to make his visit to Gurdon as pleasant as possible. Nothing's going to happen to him when he's here."

Santa, though, is not worried about anything happening while in Clark County. "They always take good care of me there," he said. "I know I'll be in good hands."

When asked how he managed to circle the world in one night, stopping at the home of all good boys and girls, Santa said it was difficult to explain.

"Let me just say I rely heavily on old fashioned Christmas magic," he said. "After all, this is the season for believing in magic.

"Anyway, let all the children know I'll be there on schedule Christmas Eve, just like always."

Well, there you have it, Santa will once again make his global journey at midnight Friday, so all the children need to be tucked all snug in their beds, dreaming of the gifts they will be opening on Christmas morning.