Published: July 05, 2009 12:35 am      

Celebrating Independence

GREENVILLE — Record crowds turned out for patriotic celebrations in Greenville and Commerce on the Fourth of July.

Neighborhood parades along Park Street and Buena Vista/Chapman got things started early Saturday. In the afternoon, music, food and fun at the Greenville Sports Park and Commerce Centennial Park brought, what organizers called, record crowds. The night was capped off by spectacular firework displays.

But while fireworks in Commerce and Greenville oohed and awed the crowds, elsewhere they were causing numerous grass fires. County firefighters reported over a dozen fires. Fireworks were also potentially the blame for a fire near the Hunt County line, that consumed a truck and set a field on fire.