Prineville man using his Christmas bonus to spread kindness across community

Scott Karr plans to hand out 500 candy canes on Christmas Eve in downtown Prineville

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Prineville man plans to make a small, sweet gesture on Christmas Eve, with a big message: “Spread kindness this holiday season.”

"We are Santa's elves,” Scott Karr told NewsChannel 21 on Tuesday. “We should help people."

Karr, a construction worker, has a history of giving. Typically, at this time of the year, he'll hand out a few candy canes to people of all ages, to spread some holiday cheer. It’s an act that's even earned him the nickname Santa Claus a time or two.

"Santa Claus is an awful big stature to stand up to, so I just like to consider myself an elf,” Karr said. “As long as that made them happy, I'm happy."

This year, Karr is turning his modest tradition into a major gesture.

He told NewsChannel 21 his boss recently surprised him with a Christmas bonus. Now, Karr wants to use that to try and put some smiles on people's faces.

"Christmas is tough for everybody this year, especially for a lot of people with the COVID,” Karr said. “But also, we've been through some things at our house.

"We had a fire in our garage a couple years back, and we're just recovering from that. We lost a daughter who was 25 a few years ago," he said. "Instead of being down, I ran into a girl at the Powell Butte Store that works there -- she's worked there for years -- and she told me not to be sad, but to celebrate."

And so, Karr will be celebrating this year by handing out 500 assorted candy casnes on Christmas Eve.

"Candy Canes for Kindness" -- that’s the slogan Karr has coined for what he’s doing.

“There’s LifeSaver candy canes, and Oreo candy canes and Welch's and Dumdums and Smarties and jelly bellies,” Karr said as he showed all of the candy canes packed away in the trunk of his car. “There's just about every flavor you could want, from sweet to tart."

Karr said it cost him nearly $400 out of his own pocket to be able to hand out the candy canes to the community.

However, he hopes that in doing so, he’ll be able to also give people something less tangible, but completely priceless – a more cheerful ending to a challenging year.

Karr said he will be on the corner of Third and Main Street in downtown Prineville at noon on Thursday.