GAINESVILLE - Another sure sign of the Fourth of July in Gainesville is the annual Memorial Park Salute to Public Safety Officers which had hundreds lining up for free barbecue Tuesday.<br>
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People of all ages, from the very young to the very old, stood in line in the blazing midday sun for a plate of barbecue as a band played in the background and polticians worked the crowds.<br>
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If you did not know it was an election year, you would have just as soon as you turned off Brown's Bridge Road onto Memorial Park Road. Political yard signs lined both sides of the road leading to the barbecue.<br>
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Each politician who showed up was given a chance to address the crowd and several of them, sensing how hot it would be, came armed with bottled water and small church-type fans which they distributed to the throng.<br>
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Though it's billed as a salute to public safety officers, the event now in its 13th year, is open to the public as well - and has become a Gainesville July 4th tradition.