The Christmas shopping has begun! The Lima Salvation Army, with the help of Lima's Leonard F. Mason Marine Corp League Detachment 1063, was loading up cart after cart with toys. The Lima Ollie's is a national sponsor of "Toys for Tots" and gives the program a healthy discount. Hundreds of toys were loaded up and heading to be sorted to give local children a Merry Christmas, but they still need your help.

For years, the Lima Noon Optimist Club has worked with the Lima Salvation Army and the United States Marine Corps Reserve to provide gifts for children in Lima and Allen County on Christmas Day. Today was the kick-off for the 75th year of the national "Toys for Tots" program. Locally more than 750 families received Christmas assistance through the Salvation Army last year with 1,500 children getting something under the tree Christmas morning thanks to the "Toys for Tots" program," explained Paul Downing, coordinator of Toys for Tots.

"Most Memorial Day activities across America have been canceled, postponed or abbreviated, such as we are doing here." At the beginning of the year, no one could have predicted that Memorial Day 2020 would look like this: Sunny sky, hot day, face masks and social distancing.  In Lima, the Memorial Day Parade and service at the VFW were canceled. But Mayor David Berger agreed to allow the Marine Corp. League to hold a small ceremony outside the civic center.