This week the spirit of giving continued, lights were all aglow at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and Santa made a few more visits to the River City.

This past week, the Mountain of Faith Ministries gave away 1,785 backpacks to area children.

The backpacks were filled with gifts for children and other items, which included toilet paper, paper towels, soap, lotion and or toothpaste.

“For some parents, Christmas can be a stressful time as they make ends meet and buy gifts for their children and this is one way we can help,” said Toni Terrett, vice president of Mountain of Faith’s Board of Directors.

Terret said, the first year they gave out 800 book bags and last year 1,000.

On Friday, the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory on the ERDC campus was all lit up for the ERDC Under LIghts.

Passersby had the opportunity to make their way through the campus and view Christmas decorations and lights stationed throughout the campus.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus were also on site and were dressed in motorcycle attire waving to visitors who came out for the event.

On Saturday, Santa returned and this time he was dressed in his traditional attire as he made his way through the Vicksburg Housing Authority’s Rolling Acres development and Waltersville Estates development.

Riding along with him in the parade were police and sheriff’s cars and fire trucks. Representatives for the United Way of West Central Mississippi and the housing authority also handed out a total of 240 books to the children who came out to watch the parade.

Shannon Royal, community impact and events coordinator for United Way of West Central Mississippi, said the parade was planned to reach the children who didn’t have the opportunity to see the city’s Christmas parade downtown or get to see Santa at the outlet mall.

More positives this week in Vicksburg:

• Vicksburg and county tourism officials Wednesday officially opened the Vicksburg Heritage Walking Trails, which is a system of trails totaling 10.5 miles through the city’s downtown and historic districts. The system consists of five trails, all beginning at the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Depot on Levee Street with 35 markers posted along the way to explain the history of an area, its buildings or the people who lived there.

•The city of Vicksburg has been named the 16th safest city in Mississippi, according to a survey conducted by the home security website, SafeHome.org. According to information from the company, the ranking is based on a study of different data, using current data from the FBI’s uniform crime reports showing how many and what types of crimes occurred and crime trends, demographics, population density, unemployment rate, income and education levels to develop the ranking.