FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) -- Protesters in Ferguson pressed pause Thursday as the city welcomed Thanksgiving, decorating boarded-up storefronts with some Dr. Seuss inspiration and gathering for church services a stark contrast to previous days of outrage over the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case. <br />
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No police officers or Missouri National Guard members stood sentry outside the Ferguson police station, which has been a nexus for protesters since Monday night's announcement that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, wouldn't be indicted for fatally shooting the unarmed black 18-year-old in August. <br />
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On that downtown street, beneath a lighted ``Season's Greetings'' garland, three children used paintbrushes to decorate plywood covering many storefront windows. One hoped to foil potential vandals with a quote from ``The Lorax'' by Dr. Seuss: ``Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not.'' <br />
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``We thought we'd do what we could to make it a little more attractive and then try to bring the kids into it and get them involved in making the businesses appear a little less scary, depressing,'' said Leah Bailey, as her 7-year-old son Dennis climbed a ladder to finish an orange dragon. <br />
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Since the grand jury's decision, protests have taken place across the country. Most have been peaceful. But at least 130 demonstrators who refused to disperse during a Los Angeles protest were arrested Wednesday night, while 35 people were detained in Oakland following a march that deteriorated into unrest and vandalism, according to police officials. <br />
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Back in Ferguson, Greater St. Mark Family Church sits blocks from where several stores went up in flames after the grand jury announcement. A handful of people listened to the Rev. Tommie Pierson preach Thursday that the destruction and chaos was by ``a small group of out-of-control people out there.'' <br />
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``They don't represent the community, they don't represent the mood nor the feelings of the community,'' Pierson said. ``I would imagine if you talked to them, they probably don't even live here. So, we don't want to be defined by what they did.'' <br />
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In downtown St. Louis, a group gathered near Busch Stadium for what organizer Paul Byrd called a ``pro-community'' car rally meant to be peaceful and counter the recent Ferguson violence he suggested has tarnished the region's image. <br />
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Byrd, a 45-year-old construction worker from Imperial, Missouri, declined to say whether he supported Wilson but noted, ``I totally support police officers.'' The cruise was escorted by a city police vehicle; no protesters showed up. <br />
