More Halloween activities planned for downtown

More and more citizens are getting excited about up-coming events associated with downtown and the Main Street program.

Fallon Burns, Main Street manager, spoke last night at the East Texas Oil Museum Docent Guild Meeting before opening the Main Street advisory board meeting in the museum rotunda.

Burns told docents about new businesses and about the Main Street mission.

Tom Connor, guild president, said he and his wife enjoy shopping downtown, stop for coffee often and look forward to seeing the changes as they come.

Halloween trick-or-treat activities are expected to be bigger and better this fall. Martha Fertitta, downtown business owner, has taken on the project this year and has already begun planning.

"I would like to see activities on the street corners," Fertitta said.

Among activity ideas, Fertitta told the Main Street advisory board she would like to see a costume contest, fast pitch contest, balloon artists, magicians and musicians.

Fertitta said the contribution fee will remain at $50 for use toward the purchase of candy and favors for trick or treaters.

Board members also heard from Jimmy Kinzey, of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, about the church's Pumpkin Patch.

Kinzey said the organization will again offer merchants a pumpkin for $5, to be decorated and displayed, then voted on at the annual chili luncheon.

Members agreed that expansion of Main Street program boundary was necessary, to allow more of Main Street into the boundaries.

"Main Street is a major artery to downtown," Harvey Mc- Clendon, board member, said.

Burns supplied board members with maps of the downtown and Main Street area for consideration of bounds.

"I suggest we each take our maps and drive around downtown before considering expanding or trimming our bounds," Burns said.

In other board business elections were held to restructure the board after recent resignations.

Elected were: Merlyn Holmes, president; Bill Woodall, vice-president and Donna Shupe, secretary. Amber Abell was named to a promotions committee.

Board members are also looking at options to reduce dumpster problems downtown. Suggestions were made including adding locks to the dumpsters to prevent theft of service, and pouring slabs to prevent asphalt destruction in parking lots and on city streets.

The next meeting of Main Street advisory board is 5:30 p.m. Thursday, October 4 at City Hall.