By Kimberly Gasuras

The look of disbelief on the faces of sisters, six-year-old Macy and eight-year-old Rebecca, was obvious when Bucyrus Police officer Jo Stahl informed them that all the gifts under the Bucyrus City Hall Christmas tree were for them and their 12-year-old brother, Austin.

“They are for us,” Macy asked as the pair stood in amazement.

Their mom, Amanda Silvert, and dad, Ben Silvert, brought the girls to the police station to pick up gifts that had been purchased by the Bucyrus Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

The Silvert children are three of 18 children that were adopted this Christmas by Bucyrus Police.

“Because of my position as the school resource officer for Bucyrus (City Schools), I know each of the kids personally and their situations,” Stahl said.

Stahl said the police department partnered with several area organizations, such as the Bucyrus Salvation Army and the Bucyrus United Methodist Church, to round up the gifts for the children.

“We also purchased gifts with the proceeds from the car show that we are now in charge of” Stahl said. “That helped tremendously.”

Bucyrus City Council President Garnet “Sis” Love was at the station wrapping gifts for the other children on the list.

“The police officers put their lives on the line for us everyday and now they are working hard at this too. It’s just amazing,” Love said. “There are so many great gifts for these kids and families. It is absolutely wonderful.”

A stack of gifts piled up in front of Love that she had already wrapped and she had plenty more ahead.

Amanda Silvert said Stahl called her a few weeks ago to ascertain what type of gifts her children would want for Christmas.

“This is so nice and helps us out a lot,” said Amanda who works in Perrysville while her husband works in Mansfield. “I told the kids they have a secret Santa.”

Ben Silvert said he is amazed at the number of gifts bestowed on his children.

“I thought it would be just a few gifts, but it’s a lot, way more than we ever expected,” Ben said as he watched his daughters open their presents.

Stahl said the Silvert family chose to come into the station, as did some other families while other gifts will be delivered through Christmas Eve to children’s homes.

“Seeing the kids so excited about their gifts makes all the hard work completely worth it to us,” Stahl said.