July 10, 2013

Hopefully, everyone had a grand 4th of July celebration of fun, food and fireworks. Jeff Davis County certainly did!

“Unity in the Community” event organizers said lots more people came to the Prentiss Gateway park event on Thursday night than were expected, which goes to show that our county, parents and kids alike, are hungry for fun activities. Throw a party and we’ll show up. Build it, and they will come, etc. etc.

There is something about a fireworks display that stays with you always. No matter how young you are or how old, no matter if you’re a teenager in love or an old ball-and-chain married couple, watching fireworks somehow gives hope and can make troubles disappear if only for a night.                                     In the national news this week it was eye-opening to see that the luxury of a fireworks display was absent in many of our nation’s military bases. Of all places, it is a shame that federal government budget cuts deprived those who serve our country of a simple patriotic celebration.

However, it’s all about money, and our country is hurting financially. This is not to say that Jeff Davis County does not have financial hurdles that are going to hell to overcome. In fact, we better be beating the bushes looking for ways to conserve what funds we have and find new sources of revenue.

So how did Jeff Davis County put on a fireworks show when the federal government could not?

It was the wonderful gesture local business leaders and active community volunteers banding together that made it happen.

That one night in Prentiss goes to show that we can pretty much do anything we set our minds to.

Thank you to all who helped make it possible for the citizens of Jeff Davis County to look skyward for one glorious night out of the year to behold breathtaking fireworks and feel hope for the future.