Santa makes last-minute Columbus stop
Santa Claus came to town Saturday in Columbus as part of the regular Saturdays on the Square events sponsored by area merchants and vendors. Santa is shown above walking down the sidewalk to visit with children. The visits were a little different, as children and Santa had to remain socially distant, without the traditional moments on Santa’s lap. As shown above, children got a special chair near Santa or simply stood. Santa had some local helpers with him, riding on the back of the Columbus Volunteer Fire Department’s engine. Santa answered one of the burning questions posed by area schoolchildren in this week’s Holiday Greetings section, which is, “can you get COVID-19.” Santa advised that, while he believed he was protected by his special magic from COVID, just to be safe, the U.S. CDC recently allowed him to take the new coronavirus vaccine. Banner Press photos by Vince Leibowitz