Jefferson City residents feel safe downtown thanks to police presence during holiday celebrations
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
UPDATE AT 9:30 P.M.:
The consensus at Saturday afternoon's Jefferson City Christmas parade was the same: despite recent events, parade watchers felt safe knowing that Jefferson City Police was present during the entire parade.
Mayor Carrie Tergin told me she was appreciative of the department's presence today. She said the police presence during the holiday was spread all throughout the parade route.
"As always, they're always at our intersections," Tergin said. "We love to see them as part of our parades and we're just happy to have them."
Carrie Tergin said the parade is also a great economic driver for the community.
"People like to come and shop ahead of time and stay and eat afterward and get hot chocolate, coffee, and they just like to be part of the whole festivities and atmosphere," Tergin said.
Tergin played a special role during today's parade as well, as her 8 years in office inch closer to the end she told me she was happy to be honored during the parade.
"I'm very excited to be the grand marshal of the parade it's such an honor because it is my last year as mayor and that's why they asked me to be the grand marshal," Tergin said. "So it's extra special. And I've got my dad driving me here in his car, so it's even more special."
ORIGINAL:
The Jefferson City Community anticipates crowds to fill the downtown area on Saturday for the annual Christmas parade event.
The annual Christmas parade is scheduled to take place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The Jefferson City Police Department says people can expect some traffic impacts.
Parking will not be allowed on High Street from Monroe to Broadway, and all vehicles in the restricted area will need to be removed by 3:00 p.m. or be towed at the owner’s expense.
The parade route is East on High Street from Missouri Boulevard to Lafayette Street. The parade will then travel north on Lafayette Street to Capitol Avenue. The parade will then head West to East Capitol and end at the Truman building parking lot.
This parade follows the annual Jefferson City Living Windows event that took place on Friday. The city says the celebrations are a time for everyone to bond.
"This is something we do every year and we enjoy having our police officers here. We have our fire department here, you can see the fire truck right there. It’s lit up and the kids enjoy seeing that. It’s a great time for engagement for our police and firefighters and they keep us safe at the same time," said Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin.
The parade is also taking place after a shooting at J. Pfenny's Sports Grill and Pub in the downtown area that left two men dead. ABC 17 News Crews spoke to one resident who says, although the shooting happened, he still feels safe in Downtown Jefferson City because of the police presence.
