POMEROY — Tickets for the annual duck derby of the Pomeroy Merchants Association held in conjunction with the Sternwheel Riverfest are now on sale.

Tickets for the derby to be held on the afternoon of Sept. 15 are for sale at the Ohio Valley Bank, located inside Pomeroy’s Save-a-Lot, Farmers Bank, Jeff’s Carry Out, and Gloeckners. This year’s event is a 50-50 split which means that the more tickets sold the bigger the payout. The winner will be the “owner” of a numbered duck and the first to cross the finish line designated in the river will be the winner. The ducks will b dumped into the river just below Powells and retrieved at the finish line near the end of the lower parking lot.

In addition to the first place prize, numerous others will be awarded.

Proceeds from the duck derby go toward downtown beautification projects along with programs to promote improvements and encourage shopping in Pomeroy.

One of those projects has been to work with Pomeroy village on “freeing” the meters on the upper side of the parking lot to accommodate people in town to shop.

Pomeroy Village Council has freed the meters for customer parking through September at which time continuation will be considered. Meanwhile, the Merchants Association is in the process of making a large sign noting the location of the free meters to be erected on the parking lot with the expectation that the village will extend the courtesy.

This year the group will participate in the chili cook-off which is a part of Riverfest. Brian Howard volunteered to represent the Merchants in that contest.

It was noted that several of the red gloss Christmas bulbs etched with a picture of the Meigs County Courthouse in white are available for sale at a reduced price. The limited number are available at $5 each and can be purchased at Peoples Bank, The Daily Sentinel, Ohio Valley Bank, and the Meigs County Chamber of Commerce office. That money is designated for downtown beautification projects.

As a special community project this year the Association voted to purchase an animal at Saturday’s livestock sale at the Meigs County Fair. A figure of not more than $250 for the purchase and processing was set. The meat will be donated to the Meigs Cooperative Parish.

Howard reported on the “Blessings in a Back Pack” project being started by a group of volunteers at the Meigs Elementary School. The program will involve providing weekend food for students on free and reduced priced meals at school, “about 300 kids,” he said. The cost for each student is $80 for the year. Currently the volunteers working on the project are soliciting individuals and community organizations to sponsor a child for the year. Howard noted that Powell’s Foodfair is a partner in the project.