Youth get jump on Easter

Ten-year-old Rashelle Clay found herself in quite the predicament while getting ready to hunt for Easter eggs Saturday morning at the Indiana State Police Post in Seymour.

"I don't think they're all going to fit in my basket," she said, looking out over the lawn where thousands of brightly colored plastic eggs lay scattered.

But Clay didn't have to worry about having room for all the eggs. There were plenty of other children ready to fill their baskets, too.

Stephanie Clifton, 9, and her best friend, Madison Atha, 9, were also excited about finding the most eggs.

"If I fill my basket I'll just start stuffing them in my pockets," Clifton said.

"You have to go really fast if you want to get a lot," Atha added.

More than 100 kids of all ages took part in the egg hunt, sponsored by the Indiana Troopers Association, the ISP Alliance Foundation, Fitzpatrick Smelters and the Seymour Wal-Mart.

"We have about 4,000 eggs out there ready to be found," ISP public information officer Sgt. Don Gregory said before the hunt. "And Wal-Mart donated a bunch of stuffed teddy bears that we put out there too."

Area churches, the city of Seymour and Masonic lodges in Seymour and Medora also sponsored egg hunts for community youth.

In its 18th year, the egg hunt at the Indiana State Police post on East Tipton Street continues to be popular with children and their parents as well as with the troopers, who make sure the kids stay safe and have fun.

"It's a chance for us to reach out to the kids in the community so they can get to know a police officer outside of when we are making an arrest or writing a ticket," Gregory said. "We like to let the kids know that we are just regular people and they shouldn't be afraid of us."

Children were divided into three age groups, and as soon as Gregory said the magic word - "Go" - they were off like lightning, darting here and there to grab eggs and fill their baskets.

All the eggs contained a piece of candy and some were marked so that the finder could turn it in for prizes, including toys and more candy.

After the last egg was collected, children and parents had an opportunity to meet and talk with troopers while enjoying their treats.

Tammi Reinbold of Freetown said she appreciates ISP's involvement in the community.

"It's one of the most well organized egg hunts, and they have the best prizes," Reinbold said. "All the kids have a good time and I think it's good for the kids to see the police officers like this."

Reinbold's daughter, Emily, 3, did quite well for herself, with a little help from mom, finding a whole bucket of eggs.

"I got lots of candy," Emily said while cracking open an egg.

Together, mother and daughter sat and sorted the eggs to find out which ones could be traded in for prizes.

"I'd say she did pretty good," Tammi added.

Also sorting their loot were Gregory's daughters, Hannah, 11, and Maggie, 9.

"I'm kind of sad because this is my last year to be able to hunt eggs," Hannah said. "But at least I still get to help hide them."

Come next year Hannah said she will just watch or maybe help the younger kids.

"It's so cute to watch the little ones and how the parents pick up eggs for them," she said.

Maggie said she was glad she still had a couple of years left to hunt.

"It's a lot of fun, and you get a lot of candy," she said. "I can't wait to do it again next year."