A new fundraising initiative at Carlyle Elementary School proved to be a roaring success, thanks to its captive audience.
The Jail n' Bail fundraiser, put on by CES' School Community Council took place throughout the day on Friday, Oct. 29.
With the help of the Carlyle Detachment RCMP, people for whom 'arrest warrants' were issued (at a cost of $25 per warrant) were picked up by two uniformed members of the RCMP and transported in a police vehicle to the school.
Once arriving at the school, the subjects were handcuffed by the police and brought into the school's gymnasium, where their mug shot was taken, and they were brought before a 'Justice,' who read their charges and announced their bail.
The bail, actually set by the persons who took out the warrant against the accused, ranged between $200 and $400.
Playing the part of the judge was Staff Sgt. Phil Harrison of the Carlyle RCMP Detachment.
"This is a really fun," Harrison said of the experience. "I'm really enjoying it."
Travelling along with the two constables who were conducting the arrests, The Observer accompanied the officers on one of their arrests.
Roaring up Main St. in Carlyle with lights flashing, the police SUV came to an abrupt halt in front of King's Department Store.
Entering in the front doors, the arrestee on this occasion, proprietor of the store Ken King, look shocked at the police presence.
"I didn't get a call yesterday, so I thought I was going to be safe," King said as the officers approached. "I guess I was wrong."
Leading King out to the cruiser, he was placed in the back seat and off the vehicle sped towards the school.
"I just saw my whole workday slipping away," King laughed when quizzed about what went through his mind when he saw the police. "I guess I'm going to be working hard to get out fast!"
Once arriving at the school, King was taken from the rear seat of the vehicle and handcuffed. He was then led into the gymnasium.
When he was brought before the justice, King learned the terrible secret, that he had two arrest warrants in his name outstanding.
The one placed by the staff at his store accused him of denying the employees coffee breaks, and a number of other 'crimes.'
"Keeping in mind that this court is not convened to discover your guilt or innocence, and only to establish your bail amount," Harrison said to the businessman, "your bail is to be set at the amount of $400."
After banging the rubber mallet that served as the gavel, King was led away to the 'cell,' which was the stage in the CES gymnasium, dressed with bars at the front.
Joining his fellow criminals on the stage, King was allowed to keep his cell phone, like all the other arrestees, with which they had to contact people to raise enough money to meet their bail amounts.
Far from a real prison, those in the cell were provided with coffee and donuts while they raised their funds.
Many of those who were brought into the prison managed to raise their required bail amounts within an hour, and some speedy arrestees managed to get back on the streets within 20 - 30 minutes.
A total of 28 arrest warrants were taken out for the day, of which 27 were served in person.
People who had warrants issued, but were unable to physically take part in the arrest, were still asked to raise their bail money for the fundraiser.
In the end, the effort raised more than $16,000 for the SCC, all of which will go to purchasing SMART Boards for the classrooms at CES.
"I was just unbelievably shocked by how successful the thing was," said Tammie Riddell, one of the organizers for the event. "We never imagined that we would raise that much money with this."
"We started out with a goal to raise about $5,000 through the Jail n' Bail," Riddell said. "To raise $16,000 was just beyond belief."
The largest donations came via Judy Riddell, who was supported by a $2,500 donation from the Homespun board, for a total bail of $2,800.
Second-place for fundraising was Jared Riddell, who brought in $2,500.
"We were just so happy with the Jail n' Bail," Tammie Riddell said. "Everyone who took part in it seemed to have a great time."
"Everyone who was arrested ended up being great sports about it," Riddell said. "I think it was just an amazing event."
