DECATUR — With Christmas just around the corner, Decatur Chamber of Commerce members made plans for the season’s festivities at the Nov. 5 meeting.

The Kansas City Southern 12th Annual Holiday Express will be making a stop in Decatur at 4 p.m., Dec. 10.

The six-car train will bring Santa Claus and his elves and offer beautiful displays for young and old, according to the Kansas City Southern website, www.kcsi.com.

The Holiday Express train is 366 feet long and includes “Rudy” the smiling tank car, a flatcar carrying Santa’s sleigh, reindeer and a miniature village, a gingerbread boxcar, the elves’ workshop, the reindeer stable and a little red caboose.

The train will be available for tours, free of charge, and children will be able to meet with Santa in the last car and receive a gift bag.

The Decatur Museum and historic cabin will also be open for tours during the evening.

In addition to stopping in Decatur, the train will be making a stop at 22 communities in seven states through KCS’ U.S. service territory, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. The Holiday Express will contribute $107,650 in gift cards to the Salvation Army to provide warmclothing and other necessities for children in need at stops along the Holiday Express route, according to a press release.

Christmas Parade

The Decatur Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade will be held on Dec. 14 with a theme of “1950s Rock-n-Roll Christmas.”

Local businesses, church groups, community organizations, non-profits and school groups from Decatur and surrounding communities are encouraged to participate in the parade. However, Chamber of Commerce members voted to only allow the official Chamber of Commerce Santa Claus in the parade.

Lineup for the parade will begin at 5:30 p.m. at city hall, and the parade will begin making its way down Main Street at 6 p.m.

Prizes will be awarded for the best for-profit parade entry, the best nonprofit entry and the best school entry. The best entry overall will receive a $100 prize.

After the parade, children can have their pictures taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus in the Decatur Community Building.

Christmas Singing

Larry Ben, superintendent of Decatur Schools, and his wife Dana Ben proposed holding a Christmas singing on Dec. 8, 15 and 22.

The event will be held outdoors from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will feature live music in a variety of styles, as well as hot chocolateand coffee, according to the couple.

It will be held in the Decatur General Store parking lot to help draw attention and generate awareness of the community for those driving up Arkansas Highway 59. In case of inclement weather, it will be moved indoors to the high school cafeteria, Ben said.

Holiday Decorating Contest

The Chamber of Commerce will be holding a Christmas light home decorating contest.

All homes with Christmas light displays inside the city limits will be considered for the contest. Judges will make their final decision and winners will be announced on Dec. 17.

The home with the best Christmas light display will be awarded a ham and the second place home will be awarded a fruit basket.

Election of Officers

Chamber of Commerce members elected officers for the coming year at Monday’s meeting.

Current president David Flynt announced that he was stepping down from his position and was trying to “take some irons out of the fire.”

Shanna Tucker was nominated and elected president, Margo Barnes was reelected vice-president, Lisa Garrett was nominated and elected secretary, and Kari Lemley was nominated and elected treasurer.

The next Chamber of Commerce meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m., Dec. 3, in the Gallery Cafe.

Opinion, Pages 8 on 11/28/2012