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PORT NECHES — The owners of The Neches River Wheelhouse gave back to the community by donating gift cards to the Mid-County and Port Arthur police departments who, in turn, awarded good drivers.

Lance Bradley, one of the owners of the Wheelhouse, said the restaurant has been around for seven years and is more successful then expected. So they decided to give a total of $2,000 worth of gift cards — $500 to each of the four local departments, to be given to good drivers.

Bradley said the donation is because of the community support received, a nice help to citizens at Christmas time and allows police recognition and acknowledgement for the tough job they do.

Port Neches Police Chief Paul Lemoine said from the comments received on Facebook, people are very appreciative of being recognized for driving well at that particular point in time.

“As bad as things have been with hurricanes and pandemics, it’s pretty good for them to get a gift card before Christmas,” Lemoine said.

The gift card donation has went to PNPD over the past few years, but this year the folks at the Wheelhouse decided to include Nederland, Groves and Port Arthur.

Gary Porter, chief of the Nederland Police Department, said officers distributed their gift cards over this past weekend, just as Port Neches did.

Porter said local businesses always show support for the department and the gift cards provides some Christmas cheer for motorists and provides a way to meet police at a time when they are not getting a traffic violation.