By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Two Hutchinson downtown merchants, Marc Buckley at the Toy Depot and Kevin Rule at the Sleep Shoppe and Furniture Gallery are having a friendly back and forth to raise money for the Salvation Army this Christmas season.
"A few years ago, we started ringing bells and we raised $3000," Buckley said. "Last year, Kevin decided to get into this. He brought BW down there and you guys cheated. You beat me by $200 last year. This year, we're going all out against him again, because we want to raise more money than he does. Really, I don't care if we win or lose, as long as we raise a lot of money for the Salvation Army."
Rule said he's always wanting to keep downtown fun in whatever way he can.
"You mention it's a competition on the Salvation Army bell ringing," Rule said. "Really, it's just pick a topic for Marc and I. We'll be competititive. We'll banter back and forth. This time, it's for a really great cause."
The Salvation Army kettle goal locally this year is $70,000.