Salt City Carnival Set; Will Help Museum Effort

GRAND SALINE—Each year in October, "The Goody Trail" in Grand Saline draws hundreds of children to gather treats from local businesses and organizations.

This year, the Grand Saline Salt Museum Association has added something it hopes will heighten the fun and help the effort to build the museum at the same time.

The Salt City Carnival will be held at the future site of the museum at 101 N. Main from 5-9 p.m. on Oct. 31.

Organizers James and Jeanne Ann Lea said the carnival "promises fun, food, games, photos, costume contests and prizes for everyone to enjoy."

"Hopefully, we will be able to put it all indoors," Jeanne Ann said, adding that the event will include two bounce houses and a separate area of activities for smaller children.

Everything will be transacted by tickets that can be purchased either at the door or in a pre-event family package. Purchase of tickets will be required for entry into the carnival area.

The tickets will be priced at four for $1 with four tickets being the minimum purchase. The pre-event family packages are $20 for 100 tickets, a savings of $5. Those are available at the Grand Saline Chamber of Commerce office and Dr. Lea’s dental office at 200-B W. Frank St.

James Lea said funds from the event will help continue repairs and improvements to the future home of the museum.

"We still have not obtained any grants as yet, but most of those awards are decided upon nearer to the end of the year," he said. "We have already done thousands of dollars of repairs…We especially hope to get more done on the exterior brickwork," he said.

More details about the costume contests at the Salt City Carnival will follow. Those wanting more information about the event can call (903) 962-7147 or (903) 962-3530.

Jeanne Ann added that the carnival should be a great draw in addition to the traditional Goody Trail.

"We wanted to develop an event that would be a lot of fun while making it as safe and as child-and-family-friendly as possible," she said.

At Tuesday’s Grand Saline City Council meeting, the council approved a proclamation for Oct. 31 as "Fun Night in Grand Saline," with the Leas present for the proclamation reading.

In a related matter, the council approved street closures along West Frank, East Frank and Northwest Pacific from 5-9 p.m. on that date.

In other matters at the meeting, the council took the following action:

— Approved the 2009 tax roll levy of $601,081.53, which includes late penalties.

— Approved a resolution amending authorized representatives for the city’s TexPool account.

— Authorized Mayor Sandra Bozeman to execute a notice of intent to apply for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.

— Approved an interlocal contract with East Texas Council of Governments for 9-1-1 database maintenance.