Commemorating loved ones afflicted with cancer
At the Polk County Relay for Life on June 1 at 6 p.m. at the Polk County Middle School, participants will be able to honor friends and family who have cancer, passed away from cancer or are cancer survivors through a special luminaria ceremony.
Luminaria are white paper bags placed around the track, filled with a can of food and a candle. They will be lighted in a special ceremony at twilight to honor or commemorate the lives of these loved ones.
The Relay for Life committee will decorate these bags for participants by writing your name and the name of the honored person in colorful ink onto the bag. If you prefer to decorate a bag yourself, they are available at Tryon Federal Bank in Columbus and can be picked up there prior to the Relay for a small donation. You can return the bag(s) to the bank where they will be collected and taken to the middle school and distributed around the track prior to the ceremony.
If you wish to further honor your special person, please bring a few cans of food with you to the bank or to the Relay event to help anchor the bags around the track.  All food collected will be donated to the Crisis Assistance Ministry food bank to help persons in Polk County. Last year, more than 350 cans of food were collected.
– article submitted by Diana Blanton