There is no excitement comparable to that of a child on Christmas morning. And Christmas came early this year for some area children. Deputies from the Warren County Sheriff's Department and members of the Ladies' Auxiliary treated them to a shopping spree at the Walmart in Warrenton Saturday afternoon as part of the annual Shop With a Deputy event. The Ladies Auxiliary coordinated the event and organized the funds available for each child's gifts. Each child was given $150 to spend. Children purchased items ranging from bicycles to Playstation video game consoles. Deputy Terry Post accompanied 7-year-old Dominic Jones throughout the store. "We're here to get whatever he has in his heart," Post said. "There are good and bad times and these are the good times. "This not only helps the children, but their families as well," he added. "We donate our time and it always feels wonderful. We're doing our part to help the community." Although the gifts were for Jones, he had other people in mind. "I want to get something the family can do together," he said. "I'm excited because I haven't ever done something like this." Pat Georgen, of the Ladies Auxiliary, helped Jones select his gifts. "It makes me happy to know there's something he'd like to have," she said of Jones. "He's in awe and he's kind of shy about saying ‘I want that.' " Deputy Andy Huston said deputies enjoyed the opportunity to show the children a different side of themselves. "The kids get to see you on the happy side and see that we're not always the bad person," he said. "You get to mingle with the kids." Deputies Kevin Talir and Eric Schleuter agreed. "We try to take the fear out of the kids because they see us in a bad situation a lot of times," Talir said. "We are people. We are approachable and the kids can come to us when they have a problem." "We see a lot of these kids during bad times," added Schleuter. "We want to gain a relationship with them that teaches them not to be scared of us, which is paramount." While some children knew exactly what they wanted and others needed time to mull over their decisions, one thing was sure. "It makes me feel good," 11-year-old Christopher Doyle said. "I like spending time doing this." -erecord@centurytel.net