Steve Jelks wants to bring happiness to many children this Christmas in honor of a child who brought him happiness, his son Chase.

That is why he has so far personally donated 185 bicycles to the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office’s &uot;Bikes for Christmas&uot; program.

&uot;I hustled them everywhere I could find them. I put flyers out and got them anyway I can. My goal was to give two hundred, so I am still looking for 15. I call it the ‘Race for Chase,’&uot; he said.

The Sheriff’s Office is marking its 15th year of the program, created by Sheriff Randy Maxwell, in which inmate trusties, those that don’t require lockdown, repair and refurbish bicycles and tricycles for the area’s less fortunate children during the holiday season.

Jelks, who lives in Jackson, La., said he decided donating the bicycles would be a great way to honor his 6-year-old son’s memory.

Jelks’ son, Chase, died in July due of an acute infection from a small cut he received on his knee that he got when he fell while playing.

Chase was taken to a hospital, where he received stitches for the cut and sent home again.

The cut became seriously infected later in the week, causing him to be transported to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, where he died. The entire episode occurred in less than a week.

&uot;This fellow took the deepest tragedy a parent can go through and has turned it around into something positive for other children,&uot; Maxwell said.

Kathleen Stevens, Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, said this year’s bike donations have hit an all-time high, climbing past the 300 mark.

Stevens said most bikes donated go to children who submit applications at the Sheriff’s office in Vidalia. Others are donated to the Natchez Children’s Home, the Concordia Christmas Charity Fund and to the Angels of Mercy, which assist children of death row inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Some are also given to the Salvation Army to be given to area families.

&uot;This project keeps our inmate trustees extremely busy,&uot; Maxwell said, &uot;doing something for the community, too. It’s their holiday contribution to the children.&uot;

Inmate trusty Tyrone Dorsey said workers have been refurbishing an average of 15 bikes a day since mid November. He said bikes in need of parts are often repaired by borrowing the parts from other bikes donated or from getting them from the many parts donated by the Natchez Bicycle Center.

Working on the bikes, according to Dorsey, is a positive way to give back to the community. &uot;It makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I am doing something positive with my life,&uot; he said.

Maxwell said applications for bicycles would be accepted through Dec. 17, and donations for used bicycles and tricycles are still being accepted at the parish courthouse.

Stevens said that anyone still wishing to donate used bicycles could drop them off at the rear of the Concordia Parish Courthouse. Parish inmates will repair, repaint, and generally overhaul each bike that’s brought in, if at all possible.

Any individual, business or civil organization that would like to make a monetary donation to be used for parts or paint may send it to the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office, 4001 Carter St., Room 7, Vidalia, LA, 73173.

For further information, contact the Concordia Parish’s Sheriffs Office at 336-5231, 386-2200, or (318) 757-3162.