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Pottsville tests pyrotechnics for new show

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Just before a rainstorm pounded the city Monday night, Bixler Pyrotechnics, Ashland, lit up the skies above Pottsville with blazing reds, yellows and blues.

At the conclusion of the three-minute test, city Councilman Joseph J. Devine Jr. confirmed the fireworks for the city's Independence Day celebration, slated for July 5, will be fired from the practice field in front of Nativity BVM High School at Lawton's Hill.

"They were nice!" Devine said after the test.

Previously, the city's Fourth of July program was staged at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Pottsville Area High School and the fireworks were launched from the 16th Street field across from John S. Clarke Elementary Center.

This year, the city's new Pottsville Positive Committee decided to try a new approach to the festivities and set up the "Pottsville Fireworks Celebration," an afternoon and evening of activities in downtown Pottsville. It's slated for July 5. The rain date is July 6, Devine said.

Earlier this month, the city council hired Bixler's to put on a 20 to 25-minute fireworks display at a cost of $8,000. Bixler's is working under the banner of American Fireworks Co., Hudson, Ohio, which is providing the insurance, according to Mike Bixler, owner of Bixler's.

Bixler and members of his staff, his brother, Jason, Ashland, and Dave Razzis, Wilburton, set up the fireworks for the test at Lawton's Hill on Monday night.

Local officials there included Devine, city Administrator Thomas A. Palamar and city fire Chief Todd March. Members of the Pottsville Positive Committee were posted in different parts of the city to report back to Devine. For example, Chairwoman Lacie Hemerly was at the city's Union Station. Secretary Matthew Drouncheck was at Gen. George A. Joulwan East Side Park.

They fired off six 5-inch diameter shells, eight 4-inch diameter shells and ten 3-inch diameter shells, and a "49-shot cake," Mike Bixler said. He invited March to hit the ignition.

"You're the fire chief," Devine said.

March hit the button, and a collection of bursts rattled off with the percussion of a machine gun.

"Wow!" March said, as bursts of red and white lit up the sky.

"Let's see what the big boys do," Mike Bixler said, as they set off the 5-inch diameter shells.

"How high is that? Is that 500 feet?" Devine asked.

"A normal shell is about 100 feet per inch. So it's about that. I think those went between 500 and 600 feet," Bixler said.

At Joulwan park, Drouncheck said he was able to see the fireworks best at the southwest side of The Pottsville Lions Amphitheater.

"We had an excellent view at Union Station and we're getting a lot of positive comments," Hemerly said.


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