Peabody councilors vote to keep July 4 celebration

PEABODY – Residents of Peabody will be able to enjoy neighborhood Fourth of July festivities after all, as City Councilors voted Thursday night to keep the tradition alive.The holiday fun first faced elimination when Councilor Dave Gamache put it on the agenda for Thursday’s Finance Committee meeting. He suggested canceling this year’s celebrations in an effort to save the city money during these very difficult fiscal times. Overall, the city would have saved $12,000, as each ward councilor is given $2,000 to organize the family-oriented event.When news of his suggestion broke to the public, residents responded in great opposition. Many jumped to criticize the councilors for taking one holiday away from the citizens and giving another to members of the police department, Sept. 11. The tragic day was recently added to the police union’s contract with the city as a paid holiday, sparking debate nationwide.Gamache, however, said the idea had nothing to do with the contract and more to do with the fact that July Fourth falls on a Saturday. He suspected that many families would take the opportunity to travel.”Historically, people aren’t there,” he said. “It’s just something I thought we should look at?I was trying to think out of the box.”Gamache said he was offended by the public’s association of “hot dogs and ice cream” with Sept. 11.Fellow Councilors Dave Gravel, Bob Driscoll, and Ted Bettencourt, Jr., all expressed their wishes to keep the festivities.”It is my hope that we do not take something like this away from the kids,” said Gravel, adding that the joy children get out of activities such as the popular horribles parade, makes the money spent well worth it.Bettencourt, a lifelong resident of the Leather City, has attended the ward events ever since he can remember and now takes his own small children to them each year. It’s a tradition he would like to continue.”We should look at other parts of the budget before we vote down these community events,” he said. “It’s something many residents look forward to.”Councilors voted unanimously 9-0 to maintain the celebrations. Councilors Jim Liacos and Barry Sinewitz were absent.