After the Salisbury Police Department distributed gift bicycles donated by auto dealer Gerry Wood, Chief Mark Wilhelm and his department got a note of appreciation from an unexpected place — the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

Putnam Detective Richard J. Campbell wrote that he was visiting his sister-in-law in Salisbury when officers handed out the bikes to some very happy youngsters. “My sister-in-law was a recipient of a girl’s bicycle and some small toys for her two young children,” Campbell wrote. “She is a single mother with very little to give her children. I was very impressed with the professionalism of your patrol officer and the animal control officer who arrived at the residence to deliver the gifts. Your officers delivered these gifts with smiles on their faces, in the pouring rain, bringing gifts to unfortunate children. On behalf of my family, I would again like to thank you and your agency.”

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Who said it? “While in Chapel Hill, I developed a great affection for the university.” (Answer below)

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Liddy’s resolutions: U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole said she hopes to spend more time on her treadmill in 2007 and switch from drinking regular Cheerwine to Diet Cheerwine, according to a report in the Fayetteville Observer. The Republican from Salisbury also said she wants to see a national championship for any of the state’s basketball programs and another “American Idol” winner from North Carolina.

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The money race: Presidential candidate John Edwards didn’t announce his New Year’s resolutions, but you can bet this is one of them: Raise a bunch of money this year. He got a start last week with a reception at his newly opened campaign headquarters at Southern Village in Chapel Hill. With up to 300 people attending, the event was expected to raise more than $100,000. The Chapel Hill fete kicked off dozens of fundraisers he’ll hold around the country as he competes with Sen. Hillary Clinton and other Democratic candidates. Clinton already has at least $10 million left over from last year’s Senate campaign.

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Who said it: The quotation is from former President Gerald Ford, in a 1966 letter to a UNC alumnus. Although Ford attended law school at Yale University, he spent the summer of 1938 in Chapel Hill catching up on some law classes. Ford returned to Chapel Hill in 1942-43, when he was an instructor in the U.S. Navy’s pre-flight school.

during World War II.