Thursday, November 06, 2008
By Larry Walsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The floor has been swept.

The lighting has been improved.

The parts and tools are within arm’s reach at each of the work stations.

Jerry Kraynick and his volunteer bicycle mechanics are ready.

All they need are bikes, especially children’s bikes. And that’s the problem.

Collecting enough bikes for needy children ages 3 to 12 has been getting harder every season for Mr. Kraynick, now in his fifth year as co-director of the Bike Before Christmas program with Pittsburgh police Officer Melissa Gutch.

“We’d like to make even more kids happier this Christmas,” said Mr. Kraynick, who owns and operates Kraynick’s Bike Shop in Garfield.

“It’s a wonderful program that brings the police and community together,” said Officer Gutch. Read more»