Karen Schoof, a member of River Lake Church’s congregation, looks onward as Officer Mason Wethington explains the ‘Let Hope In’ initiative during a traffic stop along North Race Street on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. The initiative seeks to provide motorists with $100 rather than a ticket as an act of holiday cheer.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
BY BRENNAN D. CRAIN, WCLU News
GLASGOW — Blue lights in the rearview mirror are not the most pleasant sight. For many across Glasgow on Tuesday evening, they turned out to be a glimpse of hope.
Glasgow Police partnered with River Lake Church as a part of their “Let Hope In” initiative, which has been a staple of the holiday season for many years in the area. Select members of the church’s congregation met for a briefing before they headed out with officers to conduct traffic stops. Rather than ticketing motorists, they gave them $100 bills.
“I get to interact with them on a different level of getting pulled over,” said Officer Mason Wethington. “A lot of time, it’s a scary experience for people and a nerve-racking experience. It’s a time to interact with them, calm them down just a little bit, and then surprise them with money at the end of it.”
The church donated $2,500 toward the initiative this year. An eager group of churchgoers rode in the passenger seats of five varying police cruisers.
Carol Mayes was stopped along Happy Valley Road near Glasgow Tire. Officer Wethington saw she had a headlight problem and initiated the stop. Instead of using that money for herself, she said she planned to pass along the cheer to a little girl.
“I would like to donate this to a young lady that came into our office today to help her daughter with some Christmas gifts,” Mayes said. “She’s 11.”
Wethington said this year’s round of traffic stops makes his second time partnering with the church.
Karen Schoof and her husband moved to Barren County from Illinois some months ago and started going to River Lake Church.
“It’s just the most giving church I’ve ever been a part of,” she said. “And I’ve been in churches my whole life.”
