Get your photo with Santa and help the community

By Mark Squibb

The 9th annual Riley Mercer Memorial Photos with Santa session will go ahead this Saturday, November 29 at the Salvation Army Church in Long Pond.
Doors will open at 9:45 a.m. and close at 1 p.m. sharp, as the church will be hosting another function that afternoon.
Riley’s mom Louise Mercer said roughly 300 people line up to get their photo with Santa each year.
“We start at 10 o’clock, but people begin lining up at 9 o’clock,” said Mercer.
Photos will cost $15 per digital image, and all proceeds will go towards the 12th annual Riley Mercer Toy Drive and memorial service, which will take place at the Long Pond Salvation Army Church on Wednesday, December 10.
Mercer said the toy drive has continued to grow over the years, and folks are encouraged to donate an unwrapped toy for a boy or girl of up to 16 years old. Donors are also encouraged to attend the memorial service for both Alex and Riley following the toy drive. The siblings were both lost to brain cancer, though 11 years apart, an ordeal that bound the people of CBS to Mercer and her husband Bernie, who were both well known and well liked in the community. In the years since, the couple have managed to create something positive out of their loss by honouring the memory of their children at special events used to raise money, toys and other gifts for charities.