Fourth festivities in Jackson offer fun for all ages

I would like to publicly recognize and thank Craig Raney and the volunteers from Jackson's Rubbermaid Home Products for providing the equipment and the labor to clean the tombstones in our old city cemetery. They were able to participate in this community service project as part of Newell-Rubbermaid Corporation's sponsorship of a Global Day of Service.

For quite some time, the city has wanted to complete an accurate database and map of all the cemetery plots with the names of those buried in the plots. Because of the efforts of these volunteers in cleaning the tombstones and uncovering names that could not previously be read, our volunteer GIS Assistant Taeven Thompson will be able to complete this project much more quickly. Not only will this benefit the city and our genealogy enthusiasts, but it will help the American Legion identify the graves of deceased veterans so they can honor them with a flag on Memorial Day.

The city of Jackson has many activities planned for our Independence Day celebration in the city park. The early event (7:04 a.m.) is the 5K run/walk sponsored by Southeast HealthPoint Fitness. Registration is $25 before race day and $30 on race day. Registration forms are available at HealthPoint Fitness or you can register online at www.active.com. Mud Volleyball starts at 8 a.m. Forty teams have registered for this popular event.

The Jackson Elks 2652 will open the beer garden at 9 a.m. All of the major distributors in the local area will be represented. The antique car show will have cars and trucks on display from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Also at 9 a.m., registration for the first Little Miss Firecracker Pageant will be at the band shell, and the pageant will start at 10 a.m. Different pageants will be held for many different age levels.

Another first-time event is the Kid Mud Pit Obstacle Course. This free event is for kids from ages 7 to 12, and will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Also open will be the Art in the Park displays, food stands and pony rides. The Patriotic Bicycle Parade is scheduled for 11 a.m. Children ages 7 to 12 are invited to decorate their bicycles with a patriotic theme and meet at the swimming pool parking lot at 10:45 a.m. to line up for a parade through the park. Bicycles will be judged and prizes will be awarded for the top three decorated bicycles.

The muny band will have its wonderful July Fourth concert at the band shell starting at 7 p.m. with the Southern Brothers, a popular group of area musicians.

Following the Southern Brothers, the Muny Band will perform at 8 p.m. with their great patriotic program.

The evening will end with the firework display about 9:30 p.m. Although the fireworks can be seen at many vantage points around the city, one of the best is right there at the muny band shell.

We think we have provided an Independence Day celebration for folks of all ages, so come join us in the city park for July Fourth.

Barbara Lohr is the mayor of Jackson.