GARDNER, Kan. — They’re powerful words, yet not everybody says "thank you."
The back porch at the Gardner Police Department is more than a shady spot.
For the past three weeks, it`s been a drop off spot for community kindness.
Steve Benz said officers have found cases of bottled water on the building’s back stoop, donated mostly from anonymous people.
They’d gone out into the field and come back, and there were a couple of flats of water on the back steps," Benz said.
Police officers are known for working long shifts in the heat, often while wearing heavy Kevlar protective vests, some of which can weigh more than 20 pounds.
Pastor Joey Lang, who has led nearby Grace Baptist Church for eight years, is a regular customer and said Gardner citizens love their local officers.
We like to say thank you," Lang said.
They see them in the places we’re drinking coffee," he added.
Ironically, Lang said his Sunday morning sermon will be rooted in gratitude, a message that reflects the kindness anonymous benefactors are showing their local law enforcement officers.