Editor
Between the Christmas Parade and the Stuff the Cruiser event, the village of Amelia had a busy, festive weekend.
The 35th annual Christmas Parade was held on Dec. 13. The parade was bigger this year than in previous years, which Mayor Todd Hart believes is in part because of the good weather.
“This is by far our best parade since I’ve been mayor,” Hart said.
“It went very well,” Hale said.
He feels that there was also a larger crowd watching the parade this year, which started at Muenchens Furniture parking lot and ended at Kroger at state Route 125 and Amelia Olive Branch.
Venita McEwen, of Mt. Washington, and her two children, ages 6 and 10, were headed to Kroger when they saw the signs for the Christmas parade and decided to stop.
This is her first time at the parade, and the kids were excited, McEwen said.
Chris and Kim Loggins moved to Amelia recently with their daughter. This is the first time the family has been to the parade and their daughter, wearing a headband with antlers, was looking forward to it.
Heather Maynard, of Amelia, walked in the parade when she was in Girl Scouts. Now, she brings her children to the parade.
Her son, Chase, who is five-years-old, loves seeing the little cars and Santa, among other participants.
The two major awards for entries went to Harleys for Heroin for best entry and Cub Scout Troop 116 for most creative entry. The rest of the awards are still being decided, Hale said.
This year the grand marshals were teachers Anita Vaughn from Holly Hill Elementary, Tracey Love from Merwin Elementary and Kathy Stemmer from Amelia Elementary.
The grand marshals are different every year. Hale and the committee try to find someone in the committee who should be honored and decided to ask the principals from the three schools to ask a teacher this year, Hale said.
“It was great. It was a ton of fun,” Stemmer said.
Their students recognized them in the parade and were excited to see someone they knew. Even now back at school, students are coming up to Stemmer and telling her they saw her in the parade.
“It was an honor,” Stemmer said. She has been teaching special education in the West Clermont district for 37 years.
The Amelia Police Department held the third Stuff the Cruiser event on Dec. 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kroger in Amelia.
“It went very well. It was probably double the amount of toys we got last year,” said Police Chief Jeff Wood.
Officers filled the front and back seats of two cruisers and filled the entire K-9 trailer full of toys this year. In addition, officers received $501 in cash.
In the past, the police department has donated all the toys to the American Legion Post 773 but this year they will also give some toys to families in the area.
The officers will choose five families that they have met during calls to give some toys to. In addition, officers will use the donated money to buy clothes for the children of those families, Wood said.
The department decided to donate to families in the area because they received an abundance of toys this year, Wood said.
The police department will likely continue the event next year, Wood said.