Douglas residents celebrate Fourth of July

By Bruce Whetten

Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, July 11, 2012 3:57 PM MDT


Douglas residents celebrated the Fourth of July last week with a parade, carnival and fireworks.


(Use arrows above to view more photos)

Rain fell intermittently throughout the day but not enough to dampen the spirits of those celebrating the holiday.

The parade lasted about 45 minutes and had 46 entries. Event organizers said the floats were not judged this year and no awards would be handed out.

Following the parade the downtown carnival began with various booths for the kids as well as a popular dunk tank the featured the mayor, city manager, various city council members and Douglas firefighters. All the proceeds from the dunk tank went to the Toys for Tots program.

Shortly before 1 p.m. a brief storm moved in and those in attendance scattered only to return a short while later when the rain had stopped.

Eighth Street Park was packed Wednesday night as anticipation grew closer to the time the fireworks were supposed to start.

Just as the show was about to begin the showers returned fortunately not heavy enough to wash out the display and the Douglas Fire Department was able to put on a spectacular display that seemed to satisfy the crowd.

Officials for the Douglas Police Department report that all in all it was quiet that night except for an occasional dui or routine traffic stop.

Douglas’ newly elected Mayor Danny Ortega Jr. said he enjoyed the new location as G Ave. was blocked off between 10th and 11th Street.

“It was a great family atmosphere,” he said. “It was nice to see the kids running around having fun.”

Ortega said people he spoke with liked the fact this was away from the 8th Street Park and they could still go to the other location later that evening for the fireworks.

“It was a great Fourth of July,” he said. “I’m hoping the city can do something like this again next year.”

Douglas’ Fire Chief Mario Novoa said he was happy to report the fireworks came off as well as expected.

“We fired off about 900 fireworks in about 15-20 minutes,” he said. “We had to start 15 minutes early because of the rain but I thought (they) did a good job of taking care of our investment.”

The chief said his department had help from the other agencies and even had professional pyrotechnic's on hand to assist with the lighting of the fireworks.

“I thought it was a great show,” he said.

The Chief said his department was busy with EMS calls throughout the day but other than a few large fires in some grills, no major fires were reported.

“It was one of the better Fourth of July’s,” he said. “…a nice holiday.”

Copyright © 2013 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    Just me wrote on Jul 16, 2012 8:04 AM:

    " Yeah this year was great! Loved the fireworks ,loved the activities the city had to offer but my opinion is that it is better when the carnival with rides & stuff come to town because it is better for the community in douglas to go out in family and enjoy food rides and activities :) . But we cant complain about this year compared to past years we've had. "

    Sara wrote on Jul 13, 2012 4:06 PM:

    " Great job Douglas City Employees for a successful Fourth of July! There is another atmosphere in our good town. Mayor Ortega, Councilmen Mr. Lindeman, Mr. LaForge, and Mr. Greer‘s funny side brought joy to my children and the community. This is an effective and commendable demonstration of leadership and team support from our City Government. A very favorable impression was left in our town and proved something clearly and convincingly to me-- that our City Government and City employees are organized to function cooperatively as a group by supporting one another as a team. "

    student wrote on Jul 12, 2012 6:51 AM:

    " I liked the July fourth activities especially the dunking booth. It was fun and I liked the Council members who participated. They are to be thanked for stepping up. "

    Resident wrote on Jul 11, 2012 5:48 PM:

    " Thank you city of Douglas for giving us a great 4th of July. Last year was very quiet and sad and we sure didn't want another 4th of July like last years again. It was awesome!!!! "

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