Holiday weekend ends with a blast

OTTAWA - As a relatively safe July 4 holiday weekend came to a close late Sunday, thousands of Putnam County-area residents gathered on the rolling green hills of the Country Acres Gulf Club waiting for what many of the local residents consider the best fireworks show the community's residents can call their own.

Then, after hours of music and games and food and patriotic celebration, the show was under way with a huge bang and bright colorful lights seen for miles around the rural landscape.

Greg Klausing, organizer of the ninth annual "Fourth of July Celebration" at the country club said they expected around 3,500 people at this year's event and about another thousand to watch from their countryside homes around the golf course.

He said each year the show is an increasing success.

"There's no better way to celebrate this great country's freedom," said Klausing, a golf pro who also serves as general manager at the club. "Without the support of our volunteers, members and local businesses, the show would not go on.

Pam Hixson said the event is not only entertaining and valuable to area residents, it also helps a great cause by raising thousands of dollars for Putnam County HomeCare and Hospice.

Hixson, who serves as director of the agency, said proceeds from the event make it possible for the county's terminally ill residents to live their final days more comfortably.

Additionally, she said, it helps grieving family members who lose a loved one.

She and her husband, Robert, have been coming each year and they say it's a great time for a great cause.

"This is the biggest display of fireworks we have in Putnam County," he said. "It's great for so many people from the community to be able to come together and celebrate our nation's independence like this."

Fireworks at the club kicked off at 10 p.m., just a couple of hours before troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol considered the weekend over.

Numbers just before midnight showed it was a relatively safe weekend by then, said Sgt. Jon Gray, of the Lima post, where they documented five crashes in Allen and Putnam counties during the weekend - one with an injury and one related to alcohol.

Additionally, Gray said they made 15 arrests for drunken driving.

"The traffic was a bit lighter, definitely," he said. "None of the crashes were severe. We were thankful we had no one fatally injured in our area. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend, with no fatal crashes in our area."

Such was the case throughout the region, he said.

Statewide, however, the patrol reported three fatal crashes, 43 crashes related to drunken driving and 481 drunken-driving arrests by Sunday evening.

The Wapakoneta post reported having 13 drunken-driving arrests in Mercer and Putnam counties and nine crashes, two of which were caused by alcohol

"So far, it's a pretty safe weekend," Gray said. "But for us it's not over yet. We still have tonight."