Fireworks will fly

June 17, 2020 by Ken Leinart

Celebrating Independence Day has never been so complicated.

Monday night, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank asked for approval for the county to fund a fireworks show on the Fourth of July.

There are a lot of obstacles to work out, but Anderson County Commission approved $12,000 for a county-sponsored fireworks show.

Frank said the cities in the county have canceled their celebrations, but she understood that most all of the cities were holding the funds they would normally use on the fourth of July to use for a Labor Day celebration. She said she would not ask the cities to foot part of the bill for the July 4 celebration.

The original request asked for $20,000, but an amendment by Third District Commissioner Denver Waddell to cut back the amount to $12,000. Seconded by District Eight Commissioner Phil Yager, the amendment passed.

There was discussion surrounding amendment concerning how much firework could the county get for the different amounts.

“Do we know how much of a difference that would be reducing the costs as much?” District Four Commissioner Shain Vowel asked. He said that if the county is going to put on a firework show it needs to be a “big deal,” and said he would vote against reducing the funds.

District Six Commissioner Steve Meade said a reduction in funds spent would mean the county would probably get less than half of what they expect because so much of the funds are for costs not associated with the fireworks show itself.

The first vote failed 12-5.