MIDDLEPORT — The Middleport Community Association recently finalized plans for the annual Fourth of July celebration.

The festivities will begin at 4 p.m. on July 4, with music at Dave Diles Park provided by local DJ Kip Grueser.

Corn Hole tournaments will be a new feature to the event this year. A team tournament will kickoff at 5 p.m., with a singles tournament at 7 p.m.

Parade lineup will be at Dairy Queen beginning at 5:30 p.m. The parade will start at 6 p.m. and travel down Second Street and Third Street to the Corner Restaurant, before coming back up Second Street to Dave Diles Park.

The special “pulled pushed, pedaled and pets” section, sponsored by Dairy Queen and McClures of Middleport, will once again be featured in the parade.

The Color Guard will be presented by American Legion Feeney Bennett Post 128, with the Middleport Police Department serving as the Grand Marshall.

Following the parade, a flag raising ceremony at Dave Diles Park will be lead by American Legion Feeney Bennett Post 128, with the National Anthem sung by Teresa Brown.

The band “Remember Then” will preform from 8-9:45 p.m., with fireworks begin at 10 p.m.

The fireworks will take place at the upper end of Middleport with the bridge as the background. The organization is working to increase the fireworks display for this year. Donations are being accepted to help with the cost of the fireworks.

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POMEROY — There are many happy homecomings when local soldiers return from overseas but for one little family from Meigs County last week’s arrival of a unit stationed in Afghanistan for the past six months was especially nice.

On June 10 the gymnasium at Joint Base Lewis-McChord buzzed with excitement as the soldiers filed in. For all of them returning home was a very special time, but it was extra special for Sgt. Stefan Stamper. There stood his wife, Carrie, holding their 12-week-old twins, Ellah and Evelyn, not before seen by their father. Stefan missed the birth of his daughters.

It seems that the couple had tried for several years to have children without success so they found a surrogate to bring their daughters into the world.

The twins surprised everyone by coming seven weeks early, and their father missed the emergency C-section and the three weeks his daughters spent in the intensive care unit.

A news release from the military on the celebration of the return home of the deployed soldiers tells the story of Sgt. Stamper’s reaction when he spotted his family.

“He walked up to his wife holding their two baby girls, and embraced them all. He was totally speechless.”

Both parents grew up in Meigs County and graduated from Meigs High School. Stefan is the son of Jeff Stamper of Lenoir City, Tenn. and Sara Eades of Rutland, and Carrie is the daughter of Denise Weekley of Middleport and the late Mark Michael.

Carrie and Michael have been married for 7 ½ years and he has been in the army for 7 years. He attended basic training and AIT in Fort Knox, Ky. They were stationed in South Korea for one year, Fort Stewart in Georgia for a time, and are currently stationed at JBLM in Washington State. He was deployed to Iraq from December 2009 to December 2010, and Afghanistan from November 2012 to June 2013. He is a MGS Commander/armorman.

Horton E. Thomas, 83, passed away on June 8, 2013. He was born August 19, 1929, to Everett and Clara Thomas in Pomeroy, Ohio.

He moved to Brunswick, Ohio, to raise his family with his wife, Geraldine. Horton and Geraldine moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, when their nest was empty for warmer weather and a longer golf season. He retired from IBM after 35 years. In recent years, they moved back to Columbus to be nearer to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Mr. Thomas will be dearly missed by his six children. He is survived by his children: Kenneth (Susan) Thomas of Gahanna, Ohio, Robert (Marilyn) Thomas of Centerburg, Ohio, William (Cheryl) Thomas of Columbus, Ohio, Mark (Rhonda) Thomas of Chillicothe, Ohio, Edith (Ron) Stollar of Medina, Ohio, and Kathleen (Jim) Ozment of Poquoson, Va. ; loving grandchildren, Amanda, Dana, Evan, Jeffrey, Laurie, Bryan, Jeremy, Paul, Jacob, Sarah, Mary, John, David, Jordan; and eight great-grandchildren; sister, Fay (Gene) DeWees; and sister-in-law, Carolyn Thomas.

He was greeted in Heaven by his wife Geraldine, his parents, and his brothers, Eugene and Donald.

A celebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, at Woodlands Assisted Living Facility at 2469 Kimberly Parkway East, Columbus, Ohio, 43232.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Gideons.