Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
Although funding has been slim so far, the Havre Jaycees hope business will pick up to help pay for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display Wednesday and in years to come. “We rely on the booth,” Jaycee Treasurer Chamene Plum said Friday. The Jaycees use the proceeds from their fireworks booth, which competes with several for-profitstands in Havre each year, to pay for the annual fireworks display. “If on the third of July we don’t have the money, we will have to cut it back,” Plum said. Jaycee Jason Murri, who oversees the display, said this year’s presentation is set to be about the same size as last year’s, but there will be some changes that should make it fun for watchers. “The finale should be pretty good. If they like noise, they should like it,” he said, adding that more than 500 pieces are scheduled to go off in just a few minutes. Christy Owens, president of the Havre Jaycees in 2006 and this year’s board chair for the Jaycees, said that last year the organization sent letters asking local businesses and residents to help support the show, and had a good return. Donations for the show helped pay for it last year, she said. “We had a good display with that,” Owens said. Plum said the return from local businesses and residents is not quite as good as last year’s the Jaycees have received about $1,200 so far but she is waiting to see if more replies to the letter come in and how the fireworks booth does over last weekend and today and Tuesday. “It’s pretty slow right now but it usually picks up closer to the Fourth,” she said. Murri said the sales will not only pay for this year’s display, they will help the Jaycees budget for next year’s show. Any amount greater than the $5,500 budgeted for this year will be used for the 2008 display, he said. He added that the Jaycees will be busy on the Fourth setting up the display an electronic firing board is used, so every piece must have an electronic match inserted and be wired into the system. The Jaycees have to go to the Great Northern Fairgrounds at 10a. m. to start, and work right up to the beginning of the show, Murri said. Plum said she hopes the community support comes through once again to keep the display going strong. “We’ve had a couple of really good years. We hope the booth will do really well again,” she said.
