Weiser celebrated the Fourth of July with parade, music and fireworks

It is HOT. I do not ever remember having this long of a hot spell this early in the summer. I hope everyone is taking precautions to stay cool as much as possible and to stay hydrated.
 What a great Fourth of July celebration this past weekend. It started off with the Veterans Parade Saturday morning honoring all of Weiser’s veterans for their years of service to this great country. Joe Malay emceed the event with Grace Young doing a marvelous job singing the national anthem and Lyndon Haines giving a great speech. Thank you, Alex Chavarria for organizing this event. Most of all, Thank YOU to all of the veterans who have allowed this country to remain free!
 Immediately following the parade, the Picker’s Paradise owners, Joe and Narie Young, organized a free “Rock the Park” event in the City Park. I guess you could call it a Weiser version of Woodstock. The music was great. There was a variety of food and other vendors for everyone to enjoy. There was even a fire hydrant “sprinkler” set up in the street for kids to play in the water.  
 I was amazed at how well all age groups were represented. It was truly a wonderful community event. Thank you, Joe and Narie, for the idea as well as the time and effort involved in putting this together! I hope this is a new annual tradition for Weiser.
 Then on Sunday night, our Weiser City Fire Department put on its annual fireworks display. The fireworks were great! Cathy and I had a chance to look over “command central” for the display prior to the show. It was interesting seeing the intricate control board, wiring, tubes and everything needed to pull off the beautiful and safe event for our community. Thank you to the Weiser City Fire Department for all of your time and effort to put on the celebration!
 The fireworks were delayed at first due to a need by the fire department to respond to a small grass fire over near E. 12th Street. After the celebration, another small fire on the east side of the cemetery was quickly put out by the fire department. (Although the cemetery fire appeared to be started by the City’s fireworks, further investigation showed that it was not.)
 A third, much more serious fire on Weiser River Road then claimed a house, barn, and shed, east of Appleton Produce. It also threatened other homes on Chicken Hill with multiple households evacuated safely.
 All of these fires were the result of fireworks.
 The Weiser City Code does not allow for firing off “Dangerous Fireworks,” as defined in the Code, without a permit from the City Council. From the top of Indianhead Road, where Cathy and I watched the City’s well-controlled display, it was easy to spot illegal fireworks going off all over Weiser.
 I will be working with the City Council and our Police Department over the next year to ensure that there is not a repeat of the hazards we faced this year due to the dangerous fireworks displays in town in crowded neighborhoods. There will be more on this topic later.
 Well, that’s it for this week. Hope you stay cool out there!