A broken heart can be difficult to mend. Sometimes, though, all it takes is an outpouring of generous support.
Such was the case with 5-year-old Conner Burton.
At about 8 p.m. Aug. 22, Conner, his 1-year-old brother Hunter and their mother Brittnee Squibb headed to Circle K at the corner U.S. 31 and Tannehill Road in Taylorsville.
Conner drove his mini police car — a birthday gift from his grandmother — and Hunter sat in the passenger seat. At the store, they left the car on the sidewalk when they entered.
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They were inside only a few minutes. But when they returned to where the car, valued at $300, was parked, it was gone — stolen.
Conner was devastated. The car never was located.
But word of that incident spread and many people expressed a desire to help.
All 14 members of the Stinesville Police Department, in Monroe County west of Columbus, donated money to buy the boy a new car. Members of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department and the local Fraternal Order of Police also took up collections.
Eventually, Walmart got wind of this effort and gave the Stinesville Police Department a gift card to buy a new car for Conner.
Edinburgh Police Department worked with the other law enforcement agencies to set up a surprise donation of the car to Conner on Sept. 4 at the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department in Columbus.
Conner’s smile as he received his replacement car, and his enthusiasm for it, indicated how happy and thankful he was for the gift.
The eagerness of area law enforcement to help the heartbroken boy, and the willingness of Walmart and community residents to pitch in, says a lot about that kindness that exists in people’s hearts but sometimes isn’t outwardly evident.
Providing Conner a new mini police car was a great gesture, and one that won’t soon be forgotten.
