Probation officers donate $3,000 in toys

CHARLESTON -– Probation officers from around West Virginia donated $3,000 in toys to Mountain Mission on Thursday.

The toy donation is part of the officers' annual training meeting, which this year is being held in Charleston. The toys were given to the charity during an annual awards luncheon that was attended by West Virginia Supreme Court Justices Thomas McHugh and Menis Ketchum.

About 230 probation officers from across West Virginia are attending the mandatory training session, which the Supreme Court sponsors in a different location each year. This is the fourth year probation officers have brought toys to give to a local charity, said Kevin Runyon, a probation officer in Cabell County who is president of the West Virginia Association of Probation Officers.

"There is a need for it in each area. We enforce rules on people in legal trouble. When we meet once a year, we decided to hold a toy drive to help those less fortunate and to show a softer side," Runyon said.