Though there were a number of calls regarding illegal fireworks during the long holiday period, officials in Escalon didn’t report any other major issues for July 4.
Community residents, however, did turn out in force for a special celebration hosted by Escalon Covenant Church at the Escalon Community Center on Friday, July 3. With bounce houses, an obstacle course, face painting, music, sno-cones, music and a freshly prepared barbecue dinner, the gathering drew hundreds of residents to the park.
Lee Rigg and his crew – including his sons – again stood guard over the grill, cooking up the hamburgers and hot dogs, and the hungry crowd enjoyed the meat, fresh watermelon, chips, drinks and more. Officials said they anticipated about 400 people to attend the event, which ran from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday.
The family-friendly celebration was offered at nominal cost and helped get the holiday weekend off to a sparkling start.
“My friend lives in Escalon,” said Sally Owen, coming over from Modesto to enjoy the festivities. “This is our first time here, but it won’t be the last.”
Traffic was steady through the city as well, but authorities didn’t report any major accidents in the region.
Temperatures hovered in the mid- to upper 90s range but didn’t break the 100-degree mark for the long holiday period.
Escalon Police reported a few different but minor incidents on Saturday, July 4 – starting with a call out of on call Public Works officials to deal with a possible water leak on Muscat Court about 11:15 a.m.
Police also received multiple callers reporting a small grass fire at Santa Fe and Harrold; fire crews were dispatched. A disabled vehicle near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks in the 1100 block of Highway 120 was reported but did not impede the traffic flow; that call coming in to police about 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
Fireworks violations complaints were filed at 9:12 p.m. on July 4 in the area of Adriana Way and again at 9:27 p.m. in the area of Michelle and Miller.
Other calls came in from the area of Elizabeth and Yosemite at 9:32 p.m. for aerial fireworks being shot off, a second call came in at 10:29 p.m. regarding aerial fireworks possibly coming from the high school grounds.
In a couple of cases, officers were unable to locate anyone upon arriving on scene and none of the reported incidents of aerial fireworks resulted in arrests.
