Hay River starts ribbon campaign for slain Mountie
Residents in Hay River, N.W.T., snipped, folded and pinned more than 3,000 blue and black ribbons Thursday as part of a campaign they've startedto paytribute to RCMP Const. Christopher Worden.
Worden, 30, was gunned down while answering a call for assistance early Saturday in Hay River, a town of about 3,650 located 400 kilometres south of Yellowknife.
Edmonton police captured the suspect, 23-year-oldEmrah Bulatci, in a police operation Friday afternoon.
"I didn't know [Worden] personally, but I do know [his wife] Jodie and we respect the RCMP," Mary Boden, 16, told CBC News on Thursday. "We just want to show our support as a town, as a community and individually."
People will spend the weekend decorating Hay River's lampposts with ribbons and distributing more ribbons to communities in the territory. And on Friday, Phylis Gibbons's Grade 3 class are bringing thank-you cards to the local RCMP station.
"A lot of times we just don't realize how much they do to keep us safe, to protect us," Gibbons said. "Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy to show this, but it needs to be said."
Trust funds set up for family
Three trust funds set up in the wake of Worden's death were announced Friday.
The Hay River District Education Authority set up one fund for Jodie Worden, who is a teacher at Diamond Jenness Secondary School. Donations to that fund will be accepted at Royal Bank branches across Canada.
A second trust fund was set upfor Alexis Worden, the couple'seight-month-old daughter. Donations will be accepted at CIBC branches across the country.
Wilfrid Laurier University hascreated the third fund, the Chris Worden Memorial Fund. Donations to that fund, which can be made via the university's website, will support the university's Golden Hawks football club.
'Show the families ... that we care'
Mayor John Pollard said thatin the days after the shooting, he was inundated with residents' offers of help for Worden's family and the police officers who descended on the town.
"So this was just an idea that anybody could participate in and show the families — show Chris Worden's family, and Jodie and her baby — that we care," she said.
The turnout touched Hay River RCMP Sgt. Craig Seafoot, who told the crowd that being a police officer can sometimes be a thankless job.
"It's overwhelming for myself, personally, to see so many people show up to do this for us," Seafoot said.
"I know Chris would be very proud to see what's being done for him. If Jodie was here, she would be very proud of what you're doing for their family."
Worden, originally from Ottawa, joined the RCMP in 2002 and served most of his career in the Northwest Territories. He was one of nine officers of the detachment in Hay River, where he lived with his wife and baby.
Resident Candi Carleton said the loss of a well-liked police officer has been a huge blow to the town. People also don't wantthis type ofincident to put Hay River on the national map, she added.
"I know that there's a lot of people in this community that really care," Carleton said. "I think we have a lot more in our community than the little bit that we've seen on that TV this week."
CBC Television in the North will carry live coverage of Worden's funeral Mondayfrom the Notre Dame Basilica in Ottawa, starting at 11:30 a.m. MT (1 p.m.ET).
A candlelight vigil at the Hay River RCMP detachmentis scheduled for Oct. 22. A memorial service for Wordenwill be held in the townon Oct. 27.