FARMINGTON – Farmington Police Officer Ed Hastings is dedicated to his cause, his colleagues say.
Every morning before work, he does his training, trying to get ready for Friday’s big competition to raise money for the Special Olympics.
“He’s building up his stamina – he goes for the crullers,” Detective Mark Bowering said Tuesday, casting a sly grin Hastings’ way.
Hastings, 23, isn’t training for a road race. Instead of building muscle, he’s trying to gain speed-eating skills for a doughnut-eating contest pitting Farmington Police against the Farmington Fire Department.
Dreamed up by Officer Shane Cody, who said he actually stole the idea from a town that did a similar contest last year (Lewiston), it’s meant to be the centerpiece of a morning-long fundraiser.
It’s being held at 9 a.m. at the Wilton Road Dunkin’ Donuts in Farmington, where police officers will be selling Special Olympics T-shirts and offering car washes, and the doughnut shop will be asking its customers to buy a paper torch for the cause.
The event is just one of scores of small fundraisers done all year by members of the department, who are also going to auction off a Harley-Davidson at this weekend’s Strawberry Festival. While he’s not sure how much they raised last year, Cody said it was well into the thousands.
Raising money to support the Special Olympics inspires him, Cody said. “They’re happy – the athletes are very happy all the time, whether they win or lose.”
Back at the Farmington Police station Tuesday, Hastings smiled ruefully down at a chocolate-glazed doughnut while his colleagues ribbed him.
Asked how he felt about being chosen to represent the department in such an illustrious competition, he looked up, smiling. “It’s an honor,” he said, and laughed.
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