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Log inLess bucks means less bang for Fourth
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Less bucks means less bang for Fourth
by Outspoken on Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:07 am
Less bucks means less bang for Fourth
By Nok-Noi Ricker
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine - People who traveled to the city's waterfront to watch the sky during this year's Fourth of July fireworks display say the pyrotechnics didn't compare to years past.
"I think it was great, but it was a little lacking," lifelong Bangor resident Charles Sacobie, 33, said Monday.
A 26 percent dip in funding for this year’s show trimmed the nighttime feature drastically, Ed Murphy, Blue Hill Pyrotechnics vice president, said Monday.
"There were quite a few thousand dollars less than last year" in the show’s budget, he said.
The Bangor company has produced the show for years and typically has received $15,000 from the Greater Bangor 4th of July Corp. to fund the event.
This year, however, the company had to work with around $11,000, Murphy said.
"It balanced the budget [provided]," he said. "We fired it relatively slow because of the budget. The quality of the product was good."
The show lasted about 20 minutes, said Murphy, who was not at the event.
The 4th of July Corp., composed of area Kiwanis members and other volunteers, raises funds for the fireworks and the parade from contributions from area communities, corporate sponsors and locals.
Bangor Assistant City Manager Robert Farrar said the city always contributes to the fireworks show, but he added the amount donated was reduced this year, from $5,419 to $5,000.
"Ours [the reduction] wasn’t much," he said, but he added that "given what’s going on in the economy" he could see other contributors possibly reducing donations to the event, causing a snowball effect.
A call to the 4th of July Corp.’s fireworks coordinator was not immediately returned.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=166799&zoneid=500
By Nok-Noi Ricker
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine - People who traveled to the city's waterfront to watch the sky during this year's Fourth of July fireworks display say the pyrotechnics didn't compare to years past.
"I think it was great, but it was a little lacking," lifelong Bangor resident Charles Sacobie, 33, said Monday.
A 26 percent dip in funding for this year’s show trimmed the nighttime feature drastically, Ed Murphy, Blue Hill Pyrotechnics vice president, said Monday.
"There were quite a few thousand dollars less than last year" in the show’s budget, he said.
The Bangor company has produced the show for years and typically has received $15,000 from the Greater Bangor 4th of July Corp. to fund the event.
This year, however, the company had to work with around $11,000, Murphy said.
"It balanced the budget [provided]," he said. "We fired it relatively slow because of the budget. The quality of the product was good."
The show lasted about 20 minutes, said Murphy, who was not at the event.
The 4th of July Corp., composed of area Kiwanis members and other volunteers, raises funds for the fireworks and the parade from contributions from area communities, corporate sponsors and locals.
Bangor Assistant City Manager Robert Farrar said the city always contributes to the fireworks show, but he added the amount donated was reduced this year, from $5,419 to $5,000.
"Ours [the reduction] wasn’t much," he said, but he added that "given what’s going on in the economy" he could see other contributors possibly reducing donations to the event, causing a snowball effect.
A call to the 4th of July Corp.’s fireworks coordinator was not immediately returned.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=166799&zoneid=500
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
