It was billed as the ‘battle of the badges’ and plenty of first responders and emergency personnel took part but it was also the general public heeding the call for blood donations that helped the American Red Cross far surpass its goal of two dozen units in a drive on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Gene Bianchi Community Center. Here, Oakdale Police Lt. Joe Carrillo does what is called a ‘Power Red’ donation, providing two units of blood in one visit. The process takes longer because the donor has to be rehydrated as part of the donation. With bad weather across the country, many drives have been cancelled and the local effort will be repeated with another drive at the Bianchi Center on Thursday, Feb. 22.

Marg Jackson/The Leader