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Fourth of July 2003

Parades and Pyrotechnics LAWRENCE FESTIVITIES • Jaycees Fireworks Extravaganza starting between 9:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday from the north side of the Kansas River just west of the downtown bridges. Best viewing is Burcham Park, on the south side of the river just northwest of downtown. A disc jockey will start playing music at the park at 7 p.m. Free bus transportation will be provided to and from downtown parking lots, sponsored by the Journal-World. Buses will start running at 6 p.m. Friday, passing city lots on Vermont and New Hampshire streets between Sixth and 11th streets on the way to the park's entrance off Indiana Street. By 10 p.m., the shuttle service will be suspended so six buses can line up on Indiana Street to begin taking people back to the downtown lots. • Parade The Lawrence Sesquicentennial's Commission's Independence Day parade will feature bands and floats. The parade starts at 10 a.m. and is set to march down Massachusetts Street from Seventh Street to South Park. • A neighborhood parade for children will start at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Seventh and Ohio streets, ending at Watson Park. For more information, contact Laurie McLane-Higginson at 841-2178, and Jennifer Glenn, 841-5189. AREA FESTIVITIES • Baldwin: "Community Independence Day Celebration," at the ballfields at Baldwin High School, 415 Eisenhower St. A hourlong fireworks display starts at 9 p.m., after a celebration that starts at 5 p.m. and features free entertainment, including a water slide, face painting and live music by Music Row. Sponsored by Citizens for Baldwin City, a 30-member civic organization previously known as the Jaycees. • Eudora: "Eudora July 4th Fireworks Show," parking lot at Eudora High School, a mile south of Kansas Highway 10 on Douglas County Road 1061. Gates will be open throughout the afternoon, with deejay Rex Burkhardt playing music beginning at 7 p.m., followed at 8 p.m. by live patriotic music from the Eudora Community Band, then a 45-minute fireworks display beginning at dusk. Sponsored by Eudora Parks and Recreation. • Perry Lake: CANCELED. There won't be fireworks this year at Perry Lake. Traditionally one of the area's biggest displays -- last year it drew an estimated 100,000 people -- was canceled because of financial concerns at Lake Perry Yacht & Marina, which has paid the bill for the event in the past. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also had security concerns about the event. • McLouth: Fireworks display, set to begin at dusk at McLouth Sports Complex. Fireworks will be shot from the hill behind the baseball fields, with observers advised to bring lawn chairs and blankets to watch the display from Bulldog Lane adjacent to the football field. Sponsored by McLouth Recreation Commission, city of McLouth, McLouth Kiwanis Club and McLouth Fire Department. • Leavenworth: Fireworks display to begin at dusk at Fort Leavenworth's Merritt Lake. Concessions open and children's games begin at 4 p.m. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., live music will be provided by Missouri Southern followed by the Bryan Austin Band from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. • Topeka at Lake Shawnee: Spirit of Kansas fireworks display at 10 p.m. in area of Tinman Circle. Family events, arts and crafts displays, other entertainment from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. • Overland Park: Fireworks at about 9:30 p.m. in Corporate Woods Founders' Park, 9400 Indian Creek Parkway. Bands begin playing at 4 p.m. A World War II B-24 bomber will fly over sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. • Lawrence city fireworks ban What role will fireworks play in your Fourth of July? I'll shoot them within the city limits, despite the new city ban. I disagree with the ban, but I'll obey it. I'll shoot them outside the city limits. I'll attend a public fireworks show. I won't shoot any myself. I don't need fireworks to enjoy Independence Day. Fireworks are dangerous and loud. I'll phone the police if my neighbors are illegally shooting them. Undecided. • See the results » Note: This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate. • Related stories: Fireworks expected to move to county

Safe and sane
Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Fireworks-free
Tuesday, July 15, 2003

It went off with a bang
Monday, July 14, 2003
There were fireworks in Lawrence. We have photographic proof. We also have proof of cookouts, baseball games, flag-waving parades and other patriotic celebrations of Independence Day around the city.

Legal questions delay fireworks
Tuesday, July 8, 2003
A last-minute legal controversy nearly killed a church youth group's fireworks display during the holiday weekend. "It was a confused mess," said Rita Lesser, a member of Stull United Methodist Church in Lecompton. The large-scale fireworks display -- a project of the church's Youth Fellowship -- was about to begin Saturday night when a sheriff's deputy arrived and told churchgoers it was illegal. County ordinances allow fireworks on July 4 and the two days beforehand, but not on July 5.

Association's task for the Fifth: post-Fourth fireworks cleanup
Sunday, July 6, 2003
It was "The Day After, Revisited," Saturday in two county parks south of Lawrence. About 40 members of the Douglas County Fireworks Assn. spent Saturday morning cleaning up Wells Overlook Park and accessible banks around Lone Star Lake, picking up spent artillery-style shells, fire-crackers and Saturn Missile Batteries.

Despite city's fireworks ban, Lawrence residents have blast
Saturday, July 5, 2003
A fireworks ban didn't ruin Rodger Johnson's patriotism. The Lawrence resident was one of thousands Friday morning who lined Massachusetts Street for the revived Independence Day parade, the first since the early 1990s

Fourth celebrated abroad
Saturday, July 5, 2003
From occupied Iraq to the capitals of anti-war France and Germany, Americans pushed aside worries about conflicts and terror around the globe to celebrate Independence Day.

Lawrence revels in holiday activities
Saturday, July 5, 2003

6News video: Lawrence celebrates July 4th
Saturday, July 5, 2003
The Fourth of July parade was almost cancelled due to concerns about lack of attendees, but the fears proved groundless.

6News video: The fireworks ban has impact in both the city and county
Saturday, July 5, 2003
Signs informing residents of the fireworks ban have been vandalized; and county officials know that people will be using parks around the county for their own fireworks displays.

Independence Day activities stretch into weekend
Saturday, July 5, 2003
Plenty of entertainment remains for the Fourth of July weekend.

6News video: Old West Lawrence neighbors have their own Independence Day parade
Saturday, July 5, 2003
Volunteers in Old West Lawrence have been putting on their own neighborhood parade for close to 10 years.

First July 4 parade to roll through town
Friday, July 4, 2003
Bring your tired, your poor, and your huddled masses to Lawrence's July Fourth parade. Lady Liberty will be there. To grab the attention of the hundreds of people expected to attend the city's first Independence Day parade, Nate Sipe spent the past week building a 14-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty. She will be the centerpiece of a float -- one of more than 40 set to roll in the parade that begins at 10 a.m. today -- carrying the Lawrence Bill of Rights Defense Committee. The float will also be adorned with a 5-foot-tall copy of the Bill of Rights.

6News video: City fireworks ban goes into effect
Friday, July 4, 2003
Fireworks sales are down, but police calls are up.

Most offices to close for Fourth
Friday, July 4, 2003
Virtually all government services will shut down today as Douglas County and the nation celebrate Independence Day.

Vendors seek vote on fireworks ban
Thursday, July 3, 2003
Brightly colored fireworks weren't the only thing Lawrence customers were taking away from area fireworks stands Wednesday. Many vendors also were making sure patrons left with blaze orange fliers urging them to ask city commissioners to repeal a ban on fireworks inside the city limits.
The fliers may be the first step in a campaign to force the issue of the ban to a citywide election, area stand operators said.

Letter: A different Fourth
Thursday, July 3, 2003

Lawrence residents look forward to traditional Fourth of July fare
Wednesday, July 2, 2003
Fourth of July celebrations have always meant two things to Americans: fireworks and lots of good food. This year, there won't be any fireworks in Lawrence — they've been outlawed by the Lawrence City Commission.

Few fireworks arrests forecast
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
Lighting a firecracker may be illegal this year in Lawrence, but it isn't a burglary. Or a car theft. Or an attempted murder. Remember that, said Lawrence Police Chief Ron Olin.

Let's hear it for Independence Day
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
When the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence 227 years ago, the Fourth of July became the first public celebration of the United States. While Congress or the president can establish a federal holiday for the District of Columbia and federal employees, a public holiday can only be established at the local level. It wasn't until 1941 that Congress declared July 4 a legal federal holiday. Massachusetts became the first state with an "official" celebration of the Fourth when its legislature passed a resolution for the holiday in 1781. In 1783, Alexander Martin of North Carolina was the first governor to issue a state order for celebrating Independence Day on the Fourth of July.

Tent selling ‘legal fireworks' goes up within city limits
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
The city's fireworks ban hasn't stopped a Lawrence entrepreneur from trying to make a buck off of the pyrotechnic equivalent of grocery store beer.

Teen column: Fourth won't be same without fireworks
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
They took them! They took them all! Yes, I'm talking about fireworks; the city of Lawrence decided awhile back that its residents have lost their right to show their patriotism by blowing up their own small piece of the country. What are we to do?

Festivities, fireworks, new parade promise sizzling fun for holiday
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
The skies above Lawrence and other area towns will be crackling with booms, bursts and other audible signs of Independence Day.

6News video: 'Legal' fireworks, police-sponsored education on tap for Fourth
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
An entrepreneur sets up shop in response to Lawrence's ban on private fireworks, and the police department plans on emphasizing education over enforcement for the first year of the ban.

Free cameras available to document July 4th
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
The Journal-World is asking for its readers' help in reporting and celebrating the July 4 holiday.

Jayni offers recipes to put bang in July Fourth meal
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Join "Jayni's Kitchen" this week for "Recipes To Spark Your Fourth of July."
Host Jayni Carey will prepare the following recipes.

6News video: Eudora readies for a busy fireworks season
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
The town is one of the few in the area to allow the purchase of fireworks.

Letter: Dismal Fourth
Tuesday, June 10, 2003

6News video: Fireworks show will go on
Friday, June 6, 2003
Despite the ban on personal fireworks in the city, the annual fireworks display is still in the works.

Doubts remain about July Fourth parade
Friday, June 6, 2003
Members of the city's Sesquicentennial Commission continue to struggle to drum up support for an Independence Day parade in downtown Lawrence.

City contributes to fireworks show budget
Thursday, June 5, 2003
(Updated Thursday at 12:16 p.m.) A lack of cash won't completely douse Lawrence's annual July 4 fireworks show along the Kansas River, thanks to a contribution from the city.

6News video: Fireworks ban in county parks fizzles out
Wednesday, June 4, 2003
6News reports on a proposed fireworks ban in county parks.

Fourth of July fireworks canceled at Perry Lake
Thursday, May 15, 2003
The biggest show in the skies on July 4 this year over Perry Lake likely will be provided by Mother Nature. After eight years, organizers have called off the annual Fourth of July fireworks display, which last year drew an estimated 100,000 people to the lake northwest of Lawrence.

J-W Editorial: Fireworks
Thursday, March 6, 2003
The use of pyrotechnics in an old, crowded venue was an accident waiting to happen in Rhode Island.
Nobody should need the deaths of almost 100 people to recognize that using fireworks, or so-called pyrotechnics, in an enclosed building is an invitation to disaster.

Letter: Fireworks fan
Wednesday, March 5, 2003

Letter: Fireworks vote
Thursday, December 12, 2002

6News video: Commissioners approve fireworks ban
Wednesday, November 13, 2002
6News reports on the vote held by city commissioners to approve the first reading of the ordinance prohibiting fireworks in Lawrence.

More sparks about fireworks expected
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
More fireworks are in store on the city's proposed fireworks ban. A procedural discussion tonight on the ordinance banning fireworks around Independence Day seems sure to inspire a fresh round of debate on the issue from members of the Douglas County Fireworks Assn. and others.

Letter: Vote on fireworks
Tuesday, November 12, 2002

Letter: Fireworks fan
Thursday, November 7, 2002

County won't ban fireworks
Thursday, October 24, 2002
Fireworks may be illegal this Independence Day in Lawrence, but vendors still will be able to sell sparklers, fountains and Saturn Missile Batteries at the edge of the city limits. A majority of Douglas County commissioners say they aren't about to ban the sale of fireworks in the county's unincorporated areas, despite the Lawrence City Commission's decision Tuesday night to ban the use of fireworks in the city.

Commission OKs fireworks ban
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
The snap, crackle and pop of fireworks, the accompanying heavy smell of sulfur and the burned-out carcasses of spent rockets are about to fizzle into memories in Lawrence.