Let’s be sure Fourth is safe

It’ll be a grand Fourth of July in Surf City this year.

Following the pancake breakfast, the fun run and the city’s

centennial Fourth of July Parade -- rumored to be the biggest west of

the Mississippi -- will be a massive fireworks show at the beach --

the first over the water in Huntington Beach in about 30 years.

For this landmark event we all owe our thanks to an extremely

dedicated, hard-working Fourth of July committee, many vocal

residents and the City Council.

This was a hard-fought battle, with both sides trying to do what

they felt was best for the community. The decision was not made

lightly, certainly, but in the end it was the right way to go. While

the council should not be reckless with the safety of residents, we

can not live in fear of what might happen.

A majority of people of Huntington Beach -- city leaders,

residents and business owners -- supported the idea of having

fireworks shot off a barge, if only for this one year.

The residents of Huntington Beach deserve this celebration and are

capable of handling it, as is our police force.

This is a special year and deserves to be a grand celebration. An

Independence Day that ends at noon with the end of the parade is

anticlimactic as we discovered last year.

A fireworks show this year will also likely cut down on the

illegal fireworks that littered our streets and disturbed sleep late

into the night last year. The illegal fireworks seemed to be a show

of defiance by an angry populace.

The Fourth of July committee now needs to be certain to schedule

events to keep visitors entertained and orderly.

The committee and the Police Department need to work out all the

necessary details to ensure a safe and sane Fourth of July. After all

this hard work we certainly wouldn’t want any mishaps.