SANDERSVILLE — Local residents celebrated national Arbor Day with the planting of several oak trees throughout Jones County. Officials in the Town of Sandersville recognized the memory of one of its own.

Debra McGee, coordinator of the Jones County Soil and Water Conservation District, said the event was designed to bring awareness to Arbor Day and the importance of trees.

Sandersville Mayor Pat Lightsey signed a proclamation in honor of National Arbor Day and encouraged residents to plant trees and to take care of them.

The City of Sandersville and the National Arbor Day Foundation, along with the Jones County Soil and Water Conservation District, planted a tree in memory of Floyd Norton in the city’s park.

Norton’s daughters, Betty Staples and Bonnie Holifield, were on hand for the event.

“It made me feel good,” Staples said about the tree being planted in her father’s memory. “He was a hard worker.

“He worked at Masonite and we also had a dairy farm. They both required a lot,” Staples recalled. “He was a hard, hard worker and also volunteered for many activities in the community.”

Staples said having a tree planted in her father’s memory “means a lot to our entire family.”

McGee said the Soil and Water Conservation District conducted several ceremonies throughout Jones County to commemorate the significance of Arbor Day.

Arbor Day is a nationally-celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care.

National Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in 1872, is celebrated on the last Friday in April.

The local group conducted ceremonies similar to the one in Sandersville in various places throughout Jones County.

Along with Norton being recognized, trees were planted at Jones Middle School in Laurel in memory of Winston Shows; one at the Ellisville Library in memory of E.J. Dennis; at the museum in Soso in memory of Tommie Pickering; and in Moselle in honor of Curtis Austin.

“They all had served on the Jones County Soil and Water Conservation Board,” Staples said.

A tree was also planted in Laurel at the Pinehurst Park to recognize those serving in the military.