The Covington News recieved the following statement from city of Covington mayor Fleeta Baggett.
Good Evening,
America’s birthday is NOT canceled in Covington. Far from it. The July 4th Independence Day Celebration on the square is still on! Citizens and guests will still be able to enjoy music and the offerings of our downtown merchants along with fun filled activities put on by Community Development. What will change is the location from which our fireworks will be shot. By moving the location to one of the highest points in the City, more of our citizens and guests will be able to enjoy the show from all around Covington in many different locations. There will no longer be the need to have to gather on the square to get a prime seat. This past July 4th, we saw around 23,000 people on our square for our July 4th Celebration. Our local fire marshal recommends the capacity not exceed 12,000 individuals. This overcrowding creates at safety concern for all our citizens, guests and first responders. It is also recommended by homeland security that we have one officer per every 100 people. That far outpaces what our local force of 57 officers can safely handle. Additionally, we cannot close off City streets to individuals. This makes ticketing this event impossible. And since the square is a public space, along with the city streets, individuals are not subject to search. Georgia is an open carry state. Individuals over 18 have the right to carry fireworks and those over 21 can legally carry firearms and long guns in public spaces. Because downtown is a public space private security has no authority to assist law enforcement.
No one wants to cancel our July 4th Independence Day Celebration; we simply want to make it safer for everyone involved. It is our hope that by spreading out our festivities, that more of our tax paying citizens and guests can enjoy the show from all across the great city of Covington! Furthermore, the Lightening of The Square, with our beautiful tree and the arrival Santa will still move forward as planned but without the addition of fireworks.
Mayor Fleeta Baggett
