Stanton : City to Search Out Best Holiday Decor

For the fourth year in a row, city employees will be driving around town early tonight looking for colored lights, reindeer and Santa ornaments, all in the line of duty.

It’s time for the city’s decorating contest. The city will declare which business, residence, mobile home and mobile home park is the best decorated for the holidays.

Deputy City Clerk Denise Archambault, who judged last year’s decorations, said she and her co-workers score the contestants on originality, creativity, animation and overall holiday theme. There is no entry form; the judges simply pile into a car and drive around town, watching for blinking lights.

Preliminary judging will take place tonight, and final judging on Thursday night. Archambault said all decorations must be lighted for the judging to take place. The city will send letters of congratulations to the winners.

Last year John and Betty Jean Travers won a prize for the decorations adorning their mobile home at the Fernwood mobile home park.

Archambault said that the best-decorated homes and businesses usually have music playing and moving figures but that there’s always variety.

The winners are awarded engraved plaques at a City Council meeting and will have their photographs taken with the council members, Archambault said.