After a somewhat rocky start, the celebration of Lawrence County’s bicentennial has taken off with a flourish. The guiding force of the year-long event is Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce director Shirley Dyer.

Dyer took it upon herself to come up with activities for each month to make sure the county celebrates its 200th birthday in full force.

The next event coming up will be this Labor Day weekend when the county’s fairgrounds will be turned into a two-day festival. There will be activities for young and old from a Cornhole tournament where the county’s champion will be crowned to a 4-K run to a spelling bee for senior citizens.

One of the highlights of the weekend will be special presentations by the Columbus Zoo that will bring some of its animals to show off and the Newport Aquarium that is bringing its mobile shark tank.

But that is not all. Later in the year there will be a history bus tour where re-enactors will present the story of the county and then in December the Lawrence County Courthouse will be transformed into the social event of the season — a birthday party for the county complete with a sky-high cake.

This is one of the most important events in the history of the county. Yet it could have been ignored. But Dyer and those volunteers she has handpicked have shown how much they appreciate celebrating this birthday with style. It will be a year to remember thanks to them.