Hair today, gone tomorrow
Those in uniform to get heads shaved for Cancer Society

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 12/98) - They're taking it off for charity -- their hair that is.

Several members of the RCMP, city municipal enforcement division and the Department of National Defence will have their heads shaved during Raven Mad Days to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Const. Maria Williams, who spearheaded the "Close Shave" campaign, has enlisted the help of fellow officers and extended a challenge to members of the military. The team that raises the most money will get to shave the other side's heads.

When she proposed the idea to her colleagues in March, she said there were numerous volunteers. Now, as June 19 draws closer, there are fewer willing participants to be found.

"Some are saying their wives won't let them. Some say their hair won't grow back ... I don't know," said a dubious Williams. "To me, it's just hair. It will grow back. But I'll be wearing my hat."

Rosella Stoesz, the program co-ordinator for the Alberta-NWT division of the Canadian Cancer Society, said the shearing will take place on a downtown street during the evening of June 19. Exactly where hadn't been worked out yet.

"We've actually been wanting to do something like this in the North for a long time," Stoesz said. "It's a good way to find out what shape your head is."

Parking meter commissionaire Gerald Lainey said whoever sponsors him for the greatest amount of money will get to shave a design into his head. For double the money, he will wear it for a week.

Williams said she knows police officers who have participated in similar events in the South. The idea originated in Edmonton in 1994 as "Cops for Cancer."

The hope is to make chemotherapy victims feel more comfortable about their hair loss.

Donations can be made at the RCMP detachment anytime or at the substations between 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.