During a beautiful Monday morning, there were plenty of festivities at Court Square in downtown McMinnville as the town celebrated our nation’s independence with parades, Pioneerette dancing and a cemetery tour led by Mayor Jimmy Haley.The festivities began with the 35th annual Dr Pepper/ Noon Rotary, Fun Run/Walk 5K.Matthew Bratcher came in first with a blazing time of 19:57. Anthony Palmer was second with a time of 20:10 and Brandon Eckel rounded out the top three with a time of 20:30.The event saw 140 participate, ranging from ages 7 and up. Some familiar names that participated were Eckel, who is the owner of Carbide CrossFit and an active military member, Scott Holmes, who is the School Board chair, and Tennessee Warehouse owner Herschel Wells Jr.Eckel had this to say about running in the event on a day that is special to many Americans and what the course was like.“I’ve been honored to come out and race in this event for the past five years in a row.