Flooding forces Fourth of July from Traxler

Im always suprised by the level of dirt balls that attend the fireworks. Where do they hide the rest of the year? I think they hide in their basements cutting the sleaves off of their bar shirts and stroking their mullets while watching rastlin'.

There is one thought that has not been expressed in regard to the issue of the beer tent. It has been stated that the beer tent is a (the) main source of revenue for the Jaycee's celebration. Is it possible that in our short sighted thinking that we have overlooked the thought that the beer tent is also the main reason the revenue for the Jaycees event does not increase? It has been evidenced that there is a large number of people in the community who would prefer an alcohol free event. How many of those people would attend the Jaycee's fine event and pay for rides and other things that could potentially increase the total revenue by a large amount? Is it possible that the Jaycee's have capped the earning potential of their event by having a beer tent?

Here's an idea that could raise money. The Jaycees could put up a juice tent and let Jim Halbach run it. They could surround it with port-a-potties and offer to rent them as private rooms.

mmmmmmmm...beer!

I really think that everyone should stop arguing and be thankful that we live in a country in which we get to celebrate an independance day, whether there are fire works and beer tents or not!!!

seebee, i agree how about wine. wiskey wouldnt fly because they would need liquer lic instead of just beer lic which is cheaper and less liability I believe. but wine is in same catagory. mike hard lemonade doent really compare to (cheap haha) wine.

I think all of you ahould stop complianing where it is going to be and just be happy it WILL still be!!!!

There are always parking issues and traffic at any EVENT because LOTS of people come and you may have to walk a bit to get there.

ever been to rhythem and booms- no there is a traffic problem only because I cant remember how many go but it is in the thousands.

As far as beer there- as you all mentioned if you dont like it then dont go and see you at AOG. Many hit the nail on the head if yould like to donate enough money so they dont need a beer tent to raise so much funds then I am sure someone will tell you who to write a BIG check too.
I am sure if there is an event w/o booze that all the drunks of janesville will get drunk first then after we call the 1800 #

No disrespect Bellagio Bound, but aren't the Milton festivities also held at a "park"?

I second the idea for a whiskey tent. The Milton festivities are waaaay better than the low-rent trashy park events anyway.

I think the fireworks are great each year. I would prefer the beer tent wasn't present, but I understand it is what generates the money that pays for the fireworks, so I accept it being there.
My only real problem with the whole thing is the parking on the grounds itself. I do not mind walking the 5 blocks from where I typically park each year, but I think there needs to be some restrictions on parking on the grounds itself. First, restrict it to those that NEED to park there. Secondly, like Madison, if you park on the grounds, expect to be there for at least 30 minutes after the show ends. It is way too dangerous with all the families walking through to have cars trying to back out of stalls in the dark. Each year, there is someone who almost runs over my daughter's stroller (4 girls age 2-11 so someone has always been in stroller).

I am going to Milton like I always do on the 4th because I will not be criticized there for drinking a beer plus there is a softball tourney and other things to do; but I will say that I will donate to the Jaycees because they are a good group of people and to the Red Cross because there are people in our community that need help. I think the buckets are a great idea but it still won't keep the tight people from being cheap and complaining because "free things" should be free. I'm sure on the 5th there will be a ton of complaints saying how bad the fireworks are and how the traffic was horrible but guess what I bet none of them gave a dime and gave alot of lip!

I don't like beer. How about a whiskey tent?

MGMGRAND: Well said. I attend the Freedom Fest at the church. They usually have boxes at the entrances to donate money. I alway put in $10.00 when I go. But, alas, you always see people not give any donations. Guess what?!
Pretty soon there will be no more fireworks in Janesville, through Jaycees or the church if you don't start to donate something. Then I don't want to hear all of you complain why there is no more fireworks in Janesville!

Why is it that the non-drinkers are so concerned about the drinker, but the drinkers are not concerned about the non-drinkers???
If you do not like the event don't go...
Don't change it to meet your greedy needs.

I just saw on TV last night that almost 50% of car accidents involve drinking. And that WI is the worse state for it. It's time for us to do something about it & stiffen up our laws. And when we encourage drinking for money at family events it is just compounding the problem.
Those of you that stand up for drinking at these events I just hope the drunk going home doesn't hit you or any of your family members.

I go to the church's fireworks with my children. The rides are free, the music/ entertainment is good, plenty of food and no drunk people slopping around my family. We've been going since they started and have not gone down to Traxler since. I don't think community events need alcohol but this is what America has come to. Some people just can't have fun without drinking.

the AOG puts on the best fireworks in town! I go every year and I've never had religion crammed down my throat. They call their event "FREEDOM FEST" It's celebrating our Nations freedom and liberty. I know the AOG pays for those fireworks not the tax payers and it's free to the public!! all of which we should be grateful for. Anyone who thinks the fair grounds would be a great idea- I think you are forgetting the fact that fireworks need space...and the fairgrounds does not have the proper amount of space for shooting them off! There are certain space restrictions when shooting off fireworks! Since the AOG has grown they even shoot off theirs in a field across highway 14 now. There needs to be space!! And seriously....... everyone so concerned w/ the alcohol....... if you can't go w/out a beer for 2 hours I think it's time to call the 800 number!

No one has "insisted" the event include boose. Unfortunately for some, the revenue from beer is needed to help finance the event. This "community" event is not financed with public tax dollars (nor should it be), so you really don't get a say in how it's run. You can simply vote with your wallet, and not attend. Or, you could organize donations to offset the revenue generated from the beer tent.

I Guess I just don't understand why folks insist a Community, Patriotic, Family Event Needs to include Bose. I’m not a church goer but Beer does not belong at a community event. The City should not be handing out Liquor permits to such events.
Does the sports field regularly allow drinking?

Why force people to the AOG event just because they want to take there family along without being bothered by drunks.
And before you say the drinking is limited to the beer garden, you can’t tell me you keep them penned up there until they sober up. Well maybe they should so we don’t include drunks driving in the mix at the end of the day.

It is time for WI to catch up the rest of the country with there attitude toured Public drunkenness.

If you don’t think you can go to a family event and not have fun without drinking then you need to reevaluate you life and priorities. If you want to drink, Stay home or go to a bar.

If you do not like alcohol at an event then don't go to the event. Instead, choose an event that is alcohol free, or maybe start your own.
Demanding alcohol free is pushing your ideas on to the rest of those who accept alcohol at the event.
That would be like me demanding that the church sponsored fireworks have a beer tent.

I do have another suggestion as for the Jaycees to help pay for the festivities. I am not sure if they do this or not. But at Rhythm and Booms in Madison, they have people walking around with buckets and cans to collect donations to help pay for the show. You know there are 60,000 people living in Janesville. If everyone pitched in $0.50 that would pay for the fireworks. I think we all can afford $0.50.

As the bars pitching in to help with the show last year, how many of you chose NOT to watch the show because of that reason?

I would say, donate what you can to the Jaycees. Help them, instead of complaining about the location, the type of show, the festivities, or the religious or historic aspect of the holiday.

If you have it at the fair grounds you can't have beer for all of the people who do not drink.

They should have the 4th at the fair grounds like they did 30+ years ago. Or have it out on the county property across from the jail, that is a big feild to have it. And for the donation of money why can't JPCullen throw in some of the big money, Ken Hendricks did for beloit for years, and it is a big wright off for tax's.

I understand the Evil beer tent brings in the money, But maybe it is time for the culture to change away from a beer based economy for family/community events. Let's start thinking outside the beer case for ideas to bring in money.

I see their is no comment's on Jim,Halbauch and the bar's that helped out last year,?????

I applaud the JC's and anyone that volunteers their time for anything. And they do a great job with the fireworks every year.
However, this is not a normal year.
I know I'm probably going to get a lot of nasty feedback on this, but instead of having fireworks this year why don't they donate the money they were going to use for the fireworks to the Red Cross to help out these people affected by the flooding. After all, isn't the JC's an organization to help the community?
If people want to see fireworks there are plenty of them in other cities they can attend or go to the one at the church. People do have other choices.

The sports complex sounds like a great spot for the JC's. And yes the JC's is a great orginization.
Another idea maybe for next year's fireworks cost to save aluminum cans all year like they do in Brodhead and use the cash for the fireworks. Now Brodhead is much smaller but a few cages could be set up in various areas of town and an orginization such as the JC's could be in charge of recycling the cans each week or month. A great way to GO GREEN and enjoy fireworks.

I will also add, that the "evil beer tent" is what happens to bring in a LOT of revenue for the event. Without that, the event would have totally tanked years ago due to severe under-funding and support from businesses and the public.

Goodness. A ton of people with complaints but no one willing to step forward to the organization with their their time to volunteer or their pocketbooks. The Jaycee's are volunteer, folks. The people give up hundreds of hours of their time to put on a great event, which if canceled, would leave the city in a total uproar. Regarding alcohol: If you don't like it, don't drink it. That simple. If that type of thing bothers you- there are plenty of other activities to keep you busy and away from the beer tent. Other communities that host large events (Milton for example) also have a large "beer pavilion" area. So going to a different event isn't going to take you away from the "evils of beer." The Jaycees at this point would welcome other volunteers AND money to make the event bigger and better for this year and next, as it's an event that frequently runs into the red yet every year all people do is complain, rather than providing monetary solutions. If you have the time, make your voices PUBLICLY heard and do something more than writing your complaints on an anonymous message board. The committee is doing their best to provide a quick and appropriate solution to a very big problem at this time. Your input is welcome. Contact the Jaycee's with some feedback, money or time.

A question for all. how is janesville JC"s and what ever other group "s that help out going to have the 4th if they could not get enough money last year they had to beg Jim Halbauch and the bar"s in town to help out, ???? Now we all know JIm is in hot water so i don't think he will be giving out money this year, and the city is up to there neck in water,so it will be tough for the city to give any help,So any thought's on the 4th going on as planed.

quintin66 - My point was that THIS article only deals with the location of the Fourth of July celebration.

But what about the seperation of Sport and State?

Hallelujah quintin! catholic pun intended

justsome1here- I quoted a few of the founders of our country - they were very passionate about "keeping a wall between government and religion" - to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson the main writer of the Declaration of Independence. So you see religion and the forth of July have been tied together for many years and not the way that a few on this board seem to think.

There are some great posts on here about religion and government being two different things. They are and that was one of the main points of moving to America in the first darn place.
Anyway, I've been thinking about the sports complex and there certainly will be damage done to the fields. Does anyone have any thoughts on how it can be repaired afterwards?

After reading all the comments, one would think this article is about religion, not about where to hold the fourth of July celebration.

"Twenty times in the course of my late reading, have I been upon the point of breaking out, 'this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.'" -John Adams

From Jefferson's biography:
"...an amendment was proposed by inserting the words, 'Jesus Christ...the holy author of our religion,' which was rejected 'By a great majority in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammedan, the Hindoo and the Infidel of every denomination.'"

"Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together." -James Madison

"It is the duty of every true Deist to vindicate the moral justice of God against the evils of the Bible." - Thomas Paine

The religious types so many secularists fear could pollute our secular events need not be so concerned. None will beat you into submission to the christian faith and you can always wear an aluminum foil hat to defeat the brainwashing vibes emitted by the christian automatons in attendance should you be so weak minded as to need it.

Thank you mgmgrand - well said. You can't make everyone happy all of the time. The Jaycees are doing the best they can to make lemonade out of lemons. I will be in Jamaica over the 4th, so I won't be able to attend the Jaycee's celebration this year...which will be a break in tradition of about 15 years. :-) I truly hope that everyone enjoys the fireworks wherever they end up. We can all use a break from the flood troubles.

You know I read some of the comments on here. You people need to grow up a little. Not everyone will be happy with the location. Was Traxler park the best location for the past 5-10 yrs? Some say yes because of tradition, and others say no because of traffic problems. Hmmmm - traffic problems? sounds familiar. Yes it will be a problem out at the sports park. I work out there, and the streets are not designed for that many people at once. Chances are the HWY 11 reconstruction will not be done either.

As for paying for the fireworks. How many of you have given any money to the Jaycees to help pay for the festival? The Jaycees work hard to make this festival fun and enjoyable for everyone. And I am sure most of you would have complained if they would have cancelled it this year.

So go out and support the Jaycees by having a good time, and donate what ever you can to them.

Just an off-topic aside ... our country was not founded on the principle of "In God we Trust" like an earlier poster suggested. The motto is on our money, largely because of the increased religious sentiment that existed during the American Civil War. It didn't even appear on our paper money until 1957, a year after our nation adopted "In God we Trust" as our national motto. Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and the other founding fathers had nothing to do with it.
Anyway, good luck to the Jaycees. My family and I always enjoy going to the fireworks show and will try to attend wherever it's held.

A quick aside:
I have no reason to believe that Proartist is anything less than a thoughtful and articulate person. I disagree philosophically but my personal attack was unwarranted and a bad example of dialog.

I am sorry Proartist, you didn't deserve my harsh words and I certainly appreciate yours.

what accomidations will there be for the disabled/handicap? How far do they have travel? Being on fixed income there is also the added expense of fuel & parking..as with everything else today,it has now become a financial burden? So much for traditions.

I doubt that they're scrapping it if $30,000 worth of fireworks have already been shipped to the Jaycees.

Just a guess but it may be scrapped all together. The jaycees haven't even approached last years donors to contribute.

the fourth of July celebration is about patriotism not drinking but must of those men where drunk already. before the independence was signed every one had a drink. the united states was founded on livening your life free so lets not put down the Jaycee's for finding a way to making everyone happy with this event. they have done the event well . and given us in janesville many ooh and ahhs for many years . do not be a prohibitionist always remember why we have the fourth and the people who brought us to it.

Is the city going to pickup the tab for the fireworks permit?? They did this year for the event that was scheduled at Traxler. The council said that this will probaly be the last time they would pickup the tab.

Seems to be enough complainers here that you should all be able to get together and come up with your own perfect independence day celebration.
Good luck.

Hold it at the GM plant! For the grand finale, blast the rockets out of all those smoke-stacks!

From the Jaycees Web site
The United States Junior Chamber (Jaycees) gives young people between the ages of 18 and 41 the tools they need to build the bridges of success for themselves in the areas of business development, management skills, individual training, community service and international connections.

If there definition of Success is getting a bunch of folks drunk for the 4th of july then I wouldn't want any part of them.
A public, Family, Comunity event should be Alcohol free. No permit for drinking should be issued. It's a kids sports park. Lets set some good examples in this comunity.

localmatters
See the posts in "issuing a wake up call for teen drinking"

If we can't have a celebration without drinking, I won't bring my kids to it.

Im not a big church going person but the AOG has the right idea by turning the event into a family event. Most of the big indepencence day events in the country like DC and Boston are boose free.
What kind of message do we send to the next generations if adults can not have a fun time without drinking.

IF they are going to use the Youth Sports Complex I wonder if an alcohol permit will be issued? Considering it's an event and in Janesville, booze is usually a requirement (not sure why). I think it sends the wrong message. Add to the fact that parking and access (HWY 11 close) is limited I'm with Kiki -- combine it with Milton.

Maybe Jim Halbach has an idea, he paid for it last year. Or is he in county locked up for running prostitution(leagal illegal-what's the difference)? Milton and Shopiere do a fine job with their celebrations and I will enjoy spending my money and time there. Janesville has been a joke for the 4th for the last couple of years!!! Why not at the UAW site? Plenty of parking if Pick N Save supports it and it will do justice for our local plant that is facing closure and I would be happy to spend my money there!!!

I love the shuttle idea. With all the flooding and detours, why not try to make people's lives a little LESS stressful?

I love the point that America was founded on Christian principles. Why else would we have 'In God We Trust' on all our money? If you don't like the principles our country was founded on, you have the right AND THE FREEDOM to leave for an area/country that holds your beliefs. You WILL find that very few countries have all the freedoms we have here.

And what is the purpose of 4th of July in America? Instead of bashing each other, why don't more people thank our military personnel? After all, they are willing to put their lives on the line for people to bash them too. Even if you don't agree with why military personnel are deployed to war, at least support them with something more gracious than bashing all your neighbors.

Grossly inadequate traffic access and guaranteed damage to the fields make this an unreasonable solution. If the airport is not available for consideration, the event should be cancelled for a year.

I drove past that section of Hiway 11 this morning. It does not appear to have been worked on much since the rains last week. With the 4th coming up two weeks from this Friday, my guess is that it will not be ready.
I'll just stay home again this year and watch everyone in town shooting off illegal fireworks.

Found this about Highway 11. Ugh.

-- Racine Street from Wright Road to Highway 14.

The state will rebuild the road with no added lanes or curb and gutter. A turn lane will be added at Wuthering Hills Drive. A detour will use Interstate 90/39 to Highway 14. The project will start in early June with completion in late July. Street lights also will be added at highways 11 and 14.

Good point about Hwy 11. I don't see it listed on the WI DOT web site, so I'm guessing that it won't be closed for very long.

Dear Proartist,
In all due respect, your short speech is a rather dense collection of politically correct double-speak. You proclaim 'indisputable' truth? No friend, I must dispute. This 'freedom from religion' utopia that you yearn for would have been totally foreign to out country's founding fathers. So you are 'anti-religious', cool, but don't try and filter the history of America through your heavily biased sunglasses.

On the list of those who would divide the citizenry put your name at the top friend, your rich rhetoric makes you the patron saint of religious prejudice.

Idea; Come to Milton for our 4th of July celebration. Great time...always....every year. You can park in my driveway for free!

It's nice to be able to my children to a celebration that doesn't promote public drunkeness. Kudos to the Assembly of God for doing just this. And contrary to the opposition, this country was founded on Christian principles. So, it would actually be fitting to celebrate our hard earned freedom in a Christian environment.

The only problem I see is with Hwy. 11 under construction the only way in is Ruger & Wuthering Hills. I see alot of traffic bottlenecks with one way in and one way out. I like the bus from Lab saftey idea. Other than that it sound like the most feasable place to have it on such short notice. I wish the Jaycees the best of luck

Reguardless of the possible agenda the AOG church might have, their event is at least 10x better than the Traxler show has ever been. I'm not at all saying that the church should host the cities main event, but anyone who has been disappointed by the mediocre Traxler fireworks and traditional beer tents should check out the AOG even this year. (Besides, rumor has it that the church may be looking for a new location in the future to accomodate the crowds that are growing each year) Sure, the music is Christian themed and you may see a flyer or two, but those things in no way have a negative effect on the day.

Anyone know if they are planning on moving Cornfest as well?? Or if it is just cancelled all together?

O.K. for effect I increased my number from a couple of possible cranks to a lot of cranks - you're right. However, on the propoganda you haven't encountered ~ would you feel comfortable going to a Muslim themed Independence Day Celebration where the music was songs praising Alah and Mohammed and people were handing out invitations to their mosque? Well, fine ~ maybe you would, but would you bring your children there and let them run free of you? Probably. How do you suppose people who have chosen not to believe in God feel when confronted with an overwhelmingly "Christ is cool" themed event? I imagine they would feel like the thing is loaded with propoganda. That's my argument as to why the Assembly celebration cannot be the celebration for everyone ~ ever. They do put on a nice show though.

Parking at Lab Safety would be close by shuttle.

"lots of cranks"? Exactly two people posting on this article mentioned the AOG church as a good site, and none have "spurned" the Jaycees efforts. Also, I've never met with "propoganda" at the AOG show. It's a fun alternative because the fireworks are smaller, yet very close.

Hey nutty had a great idea! Why not get the city bus system on board and have them run shuttles from the Mall or some other adequate parking lot.

I see there are a lot of cranks on here spurning the efforts of a group of volunteers who are doing their best to have a succesful fireworks show for a town that up until the 4th will likely still be dealing with a flood.
The Assembly of God show is great for people who like evangelistic propoganda tied into their celebration of our freedom and the siging of the Declaration of Independence - but for those Americans who prefer less Sunday morning with their Independence Day Celebration - well I suppose they don't really matter to a lot of people.
The Jaycees each year put on a show that is summarily excused by the pious citizenry as a raucus display of lude drunkeness for the least cosmopolitan of our neighbors, but each year I see young and old, rich and poor, families and singles all commingling and having a great time enjoying a summer weekend and we all are silent as we take in another grand finale that makes us want all the more for another year in Janesville Wisconsin of the USA. The young volunteers of the Jaycees make it happen for everyone and they're going to make it happen again. How's about a thank you?

Fairgrounds won't work for many reasons. Too much ash fallout from the fireworks; no parking.

Was there ever much parking at Traxler? granted, it's in the middle of the city, so a lot of people could walk there. There would be a lot more parking at the businesses near the sports complex, if they allow it.

If parking is an issue, running some of the buses as shuttles to/from the event from designated parking areas (mall, target, shopko, etc.) could work and could eliminate parking problems.

Which is precisely why the fairgounds is out of consideration also. Other than the alcohol restriction, the fairgrounds might have been acceptable for this. Except that they now have all that construction going on down Randall Avenue.

I don't believe the AOG would allow the sale of alcohol therefore many people wouldn't come, too bad. It's a fantastic location. Although, the sports complex is a good location as well.