ST. CLAIRSVILLE — St. Clairsville police are preparing to hand out gift bags full of candy around the community to spread Christmas cheer.

One hundred bags will be delivered to Fox Run Center for Children and Adolescents and Senior Suites at St. Clair Commons on Sunday.

After the gift bag delivery, Santa Claus will ride around town on a fire truck. Mayor Kathryn Thalman said the truck will leave Senior Suites around 5 p.m. when it’s dark. She will post the route and approximate arrival times on Facebook.

Officers and volunteers spent time Tuesday evening filling gift bags and preparing for the annual event.

Officer Greg Clark of the St. Clairsville Police Department said this is the fourth year for the program.

Clark said he hopes the program “brings joy to people during the Christmas season.”

Thalman agreed.

“To me, the real Christmas spirit is giving back,” Thalman said.

Thalman said she is very proud of the police department for all that the officers do for the community. She added that the department was recognized by the Ohio attorney general for its community outreach.

She said that this holiday tradition is one of the department’s bigger outreach projects.

“Giving back is such the right thing to do. This is the spirit of Christmas. And let’s face it, the economy’s been pretty tough lately. Not everybody’s going to get a lot of presents, so if we can bring a smile to people’s faces, that sure makes me feel good,” Thalman said.

Members of the Baker family volunteered their time to help fill bags with goodies on Tuesday.

“They’ve been here multiple times helping us do this. It wouldn’t be possible without our volunteers. We’ve got wonderful volunteers and helpers here,” Thalman said.

“We are very excited to be doing this now for the fourth year. And again, it would not be possible without all of our wonderful helpers, all of our volunteers and all of our donors. We are truly blessed,” Thalman said.

Clark said he wanted to thank the many local businesses and organizations that donated to the program. He said that Mike Schuetz at State Farm Insurance, financial advising company Edward Jones and the St. Clairsville American Legion made monetary donations to support the effort. He said the donations added up to about $13,500.

Clark also said that BellStores donated stuffed animals that resemble the store’s mascot and $5 gift cards to hand out to community members.

He said he also wanted to thank Riesbeck’s in St. Clairsville for donating some of the candy and all of the other community members and organizations that support the police department.

Thalman thanked Police Chief Matt Arbenz, Lt. T.J. Stewart and Clark for all of their hard work organizing the event.

Thalman said the city has more Christmas festivities coming up. For example, carolers will be at the gazebo from 5-7 p.m. on Friday.

“Please join us for cookies, hot chocolate and Santa,” Thalman said.

Thalman and Clark said they both wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas.