Winchester Parks and Recreation Department officials announced Thursday that the July 4 Celebration has been postponed due to the extreme heat and dry conditions.
The July 4 committee met Monday with Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham, after he issued a burn ban for the county, to discuss the safety issues surrounding having the celebration with the current condition of the grounds around Lykins Park.
At that time committee members decided to wait until July 2 to see if the area received any rainfall before then that might alleviate some of the dry conditions before making a decision on postponing the celebration.
But after looking at the extended weather forecasts, which show no change in the weather in the near future, and discussing the dangers associated with having the celebration, the committee decided Thursday to go ahead and reschedule the event.
“Because there was not a chance of any moisture over the weekend we decided to meet (Thursday).
Talking among ourselves we began questioning the wisdom of having our celebration, and quite frankly it didn’t take long to reach a decision to postpone our celebration at Lykins Park on July 3 in its entirety, not just the fireworks,” Parks Board Chairman Charlie Eury said.
The dry grass in the park itself and nearby neighborhoods was a huge concern for the committee, Eury said, but the biggest concern was the dryness of the parking area that would contain thousands of automobiles.
“I think what really sent it over the hill as far as a decision for me was committee member Tim Smith saying he was concerned with people in the area with cigarettes,” Eury said. “A big, big majority of the cars would be parked in the dry grass and you run a risk of someone throwing a cigarette down, and you also run a risk of catalytic converters on cars as you drive over the uneven ground. So there was just a huge risk involved that we didn’t need to take. The foremost thing is safety. Safety of the folks out there and the property.”
Eury said that while safety concerns over the fireworks was a big part of the decision, the committee was also worried about the effects the extreme heat would have on the veterans.
“Sure it’s dry and that affects the fireworks, but it is also very hot and that affects the concerts. But the biggest thing is that it affects our veterans too. And after all, that is why we are doing this, to honor our veterans by having the dinner and recognition for them. So there is not a lot of wisdom in having them come out in the extreme weather.”
Eury said the committee also wanted to go ahead and make the decision to postpone the celebration early so they could notify food vendors and the Fraternal Order of Firefighters, who were cooking the meal for the veterans, before they purchased food.
The committee is looking at rescheduling the event for the middle of September, Eury said.
“We don’t have an exact date yet, but we are looking at sometime the middle of September, between the Pioneer Festival in early September and the John Michael Montgomery Festival at the end of September,” Eury said. “Obviously it has to be a time when the weather conditions have improved and it is safe to have the celebration. That’s what we’re looking at if it works out. We still want to honor our veterans, so it will be the same format as before.”
Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com.
