NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Fourth of July just doesn't seem the same without fireworks.
It is downright un-American.
What would Barack Obama or John McCain say about this crisis?
And that is the sad state of affairs in New Smyrna Beach.
I know... I know, you don't have to tell me again: NSB does not have the money. Sorry, I just do not buy it.
The city had a couple hundred thousand for a noise study at the airport and found a few million more to pay for 52 parking spaces on Ester Street. Yet, this city, with a $70 million budget, cannot afford $10,000 to $20,000 for fireworks to celebrate our national birthday? If NSB truly doesn't have the money -- although it has $9 million-plus in reserves -- then why couldn't its leaders have reached out to the private businesses in the community like Edgewater did to save its Fourth of July Fireworks?
The city had a couple hundred thousand for a noise study at the airport and found a few million more to pay for 52 parking spaces on Ester Street. Yet, this city, with a $70 million budget, cannot afford $10,000 to $20,000 for fireworks to celebrate our national birthday? If NSB truly doesn't have the money -- although it has $9 million-plus in reserves -- then why couldn't its leaders have reached out to the private businesses in the community like Edgewater did to save its Fourth of July Fireworks?
Are you trying to tell me the city couldn't have gotten Bert Fish Medical Center or the big Chevrolet dealership on U.S. 1 to be sponsors?
Couldn't our city leaders have networked with the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce?
I believe the chamber has an office on Canal Street.
Yes, these are tough economic times. True, because Florida voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment 1, municipalities are seeing less tax dollars.
Regardless, the homeowners are still paying taxes. What better morale for the city than to have a fireworks show.
Couldn't the city have set up a fireworks fund-raising commission to seek private donations? What do we really get as a treat for our hard-working taxes?
OK, can't afford fireworks. Great, then how about a parade? Oh yes, I forgot, gas is $4 a gallon. That would cost a lot of money to get the fire trucks out.
Fine, have a night walking parade parade from Flagler Avenue across the North Causeway Bridge and winding its way down to Canal Street.
Everyone could carry sparklers and American flags while singing "God Bless America."
It would be a great way to get some physical exercise and showcase the American spirit.
Congratulations are in order to Edgewater and its three big sponsors -- Brunswick Commercial/Boston Whaler, Edgewater Power Boats and Everglades Boats for saving Edgewater's fireworks festival. This is an example of capitalism at its best.
Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.Publisher's Column Posted: 2008-07-04 20:19:00