By Aila Boyd
aboyd@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The Town of Fincastle announced last Tuesday that it will not be having its annual July 4 fireworks show this year due to concerns related to COVID-19.
David Tickner, the town manager, said that the town closely followed decisions coming from other local officials related to July 4 celebrations prior to making the decision. During the first week of May, council and planning commission members started seriously weighing the option.
“Every single member of the council and planning commission who provided me with feedback all said that they’re sad to see it postponed, but that they thought that it was probably the best thing to do given the state of health of the country right now,” he said.
Tickner added that a driving factor behind the decision was that it’s impossible to know what kind of restrictions will be in place several months down the line. “There may be rules in place come July 4 that prohibit us from having a gathering of say more than 50 people,” he said. “We really didn’t want to take the chance and decided to err on the side of caution.”
He went on to say, “It’s not like you just go to a fireworks show, watch it and then just go away. I don’t think people realize the work that goes on behind the scenes to get stuff ready. It’s not just show up and have the fireworks and go home. That’s what everyone else does, but we have to think about what’s involved in getting everything ready.”
