Several festivities being held this month in Jackson

Wow! October is going to be really busy in Jackson. The second annual Oktoberfest, sponsored by the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday. The all-day event will feature many vendors with authentic German food, craft and Bavarian beer dispensed from two bier stations, costumed pet parade, children's fun activities, a variety of craft vendors, and three live music bands. It will be a fun day -- and evening!

The last Cruisin' Uptown Jackson car show of the season will be on the same day. Instead of an evening event, the time will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. but still in the usual place -- Barton Street on the Courthouse Square.

Also on Saturday the Jackson Fire and Rescue Department is hosting a Fire Truck Rally. Following a Fire Truck Parade at 10 a.m., events will take place along the 200 block of High Street and the First Baptist Church Parking Lot. There will be a children's obstacle course, smokehouse, seat-belt simulator and appearances by Smokey Bear and Sparky, the fire dog. Firefighter competition will run from noon to 3 p.m. If you haven't had an opportunity to see the firefighters participate in the "games," you will want to visit that event. While they refer to them as games, the skills the firefighters use in the games are some of the very skills they have to use when fighting fires. This gives folks an opportunity to take in three fun events this Saturday in Uptown Jackson.

Jackson Lanes will be hosting the United States Bowling Congress Senior Championship Missouri State Tournament for three consecutive weekends in October. There will be more than 200 senior bowlers, their families and other observers coming to bowl the weekends of Oct. 10 through 12, 17 through 19, and 24 through 26.

The groundbreaking for the new Community Center will be at 11 a.m. Oct. 15 at the construction site on Deerwood Drive. I think Brockmiller Construction Company is as anxious to get the project started as we are to have them get started. With good weather, the project should be finished about this time next year.

Representatives of the Southeast Missouri Medical Center, Inc. (SMMC) -- who are donating the finances for construction costs -- and the Clark family -- who donated the land to SMMC -- will be at the groundbreaking. Also participating will be representatives from the architects, design engineers, the city and the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce.

Customer Appreciation Day at the recycling center will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 18. Members of the board of aldermen will be on hand to help with the recycling effort that morning. There will be refreshments for everyone and a drawing for prizes for city of Jackson residents.

We also are celebrating Disability Awareness Week from Oct. 6 through 10, with all the schools having educational activities to support disability awareness. You will also see a lot of pink on display in Jackson to remind people that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Barbara Lohr is the mayor of Jackson.