It was another eventful weekend in Vicksburg, everything from a local company giving back to the community to a church offering a little German cuisine. On Saturday, the Lutheran Church of the Messiah on Cain Ridge Road held their 28th annual Germanfest and more than 100 brats were sold. The menu also included calico beans, German potato salad and desserts.

Germanfest is a fundraiser for the church, serving brats shipped down from Usinger of Milwaukee.

Toya Warren, who lives on Halls Ferry Road had employees from TanTec put a fresh coat of paint in each of the home’s rooms on Satuday as part of a company program of helping others.

“It’s lovely,” Warren said. “It’s giving the house a new life. This was something I couldn’t afford to do, and I’m thankful for their help.”

Kris Schneider, whose husband is Thomas Schneider, chief executive officer of TanTec, a leather tanning company in the Ceres Industrial Park, said the volunteer time is part of the company’s philosophy — a program to help employees have a strong work/life balance.

Also on Saturday, Vicksburg and Warren County residents had the opportunity to take advantage of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which was manned by Vicksburg police officers and the Warren County sheriff’s deputies. Police Chief Walter Armstrong said 74 pounds of unwanted or expired drugs were collected from the city’s collection point at Walgreens on Halls Ferry Road.

“We were very pleased with the turnout,” Armstrong said. “People were able to get rid of narcotics and prescription drugs they no longer use, and that keeps them out of the hands of people who might take them either on purpose or accidentally, like children or the elderly, or a burglary breaking in their home.”

Sheriff Martin Pace said deputies collected 10 pounds of drugs at their command post at the Outlets of Vicksburg. “This was successful day,” Pace said. “More often than not pharmaceuticals left in a medicine cabinet are stolen by friends, relatives or in the act of burglaries,” Pace said. “We were glad people took advantage of having a place to dispose of them.”