Center Line

Center Line already looking forward to fireworks

By Brian Louwers
C & G Staff Writer

CENTER LINE — In lean times, it’s the little things that help keep people going.

It’s things like fireworks exploding on a warm summer night, something officials in Center Line want to keep offering residents.

“It’s not a little thing. It’s a big event for us,” Center Line City Manager John Michrina said earlier this month, following the City Council’s decision Feb. 6 to approve plans to again conduct the city’s longstanding annual rite of summer.

The council’s blessing was likely easy to give, mostly because the event has been offered at no cost to the taxpayers, Mayor David Hanselman said.

This year’s display will be held in Memorial Park, at Lawrence and Engleman, at dusk June 26.

“Last year was something special, the (city’s) 75th anniversary,” Hanselman said. “This year, we’re going to have just our normal one-day picnic and fireworks.”

Last year’s three-day party to celebrate Center Line’s 75th birthday cost about $35,000 to put on. The cost was paid with donations from local businesses and private individuals.

Hanselman said he’d again seek donations for the one-day picnic and fireworks event this year.

The mayor said the display has been a fixture in the community for years, but it did stop for a short time due to budgetary constraints.

“Once we got back in it, I’m the guy, and I go out and beat the bushes,” Hanselman said. “It’s never cost the citizens.”

More information will be announced as the event draws closer.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brian Louwers at brianlouwers@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1089.