The Fourth of July has come and gone, but the sparklers never even began to glow in the Camellia City and that's a shame.

Despite the wishes and hopes of many who flocked to neighboring cities like Luverne, no organization, city, county or civic, has taken the initiative to organize an annual celebration that commemorates the birth of our country.

Fireworks displays such as Luverne's reportedly cost less than $2,000, which Chamber members pay $25 each to help fund every year.

It's not because our city doesn't know how to put on a show. Take our annual Christmas parade for instance. It's widely considered to be top notch due to the hard work by our Chamber and other civic and governmental entities, so we know the structure is there, it's just the initiative and implementation that we need to work on.

Why? Because we see it as an obligation to mark the most important day in the history of our country and to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so we may enjoy the freedoms we have today. Everything that we hold dear to us is here today because someone gave his or her life to make it so and to not praise their efforts is disrespectful. It also doesn't set a very good example in the eyes of our children, which are our future.

We hope that as the memory of this holiday wears off this year, that officials will see the value of organizing such and event for next year. We're sure with a little initiative and organization our city can reap the benefits of such an event and at the same time put emphasis on what's important.