Troy mayor: July 4th ‘is our holiday’

The question of who will host next year’s Independence Day celebration in Lincoln County is up in the air, but officials in Troy want to keep the spotlight on their community.

With the launch of the “Liberty on Parade” event in Libby and the cancellation of Troy’s traditional Fourth of July celebration owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, where the primary festivities will occur next year remains in doubt.

During a July 15 meeting, the Troy City Council considered how residents would respond to the resumption of the more than 100-year-old Fourth of July celebration put on by the Troy Chamber of Commerce. Councilor Chuck Ekstedt expressed concern that the turnout for Troy’s celebration next year might suffer because of this year’s cancellation. City Councilor Shawna Kelsey, however, hoped Troy would see more people embrace the event.

“People who realize how much they care about it, since it wasn’t here this year, hopefully … will step up,” said Kelsey.

All of the councilors agreed that Libby should honor Troy’s tradition.

Organizers made the decision to cancel Troy’s daylong extravaganza, usually featuring a car show, parade and fireworks display, earlier this year. At the time, all activities were still sharply curtailed by the state. It remained unclear whether large-scale events would be permitted in the near future.

As well as worrying about potentially sickening attendees, organizers wondered how to store fireworks were they to go ahead with planning the event only to see it upended by the pandemic. Pyrotechnics require special care, officials said at the time.

As Gov. Steve Bullock eased pandemic-related restrictions, Libby resident and Navy veteran Kenny Rayome Jr. sought to fill the hole. Over the course of a few weeks, he helped organize a parade, games, races and competitions, and a car show, capped off with a fireworks display at J. Neils Memorial Park.

Rayome has since announced his intent to turn the festivities, known as “Liberty on Parade,” into an annual event. In a letter published in area newspapers after the Libby event in July, Rayome stated that he did not intend his celebration to be a one-off.

“We plan to have this event on the first Saturday in July next year and in the years to follow,” he wrote.

“That’s our holiday,” said Mayor Dallas Carr. “I feel very strongly that people in Libby know that’s our Fourth of July and I’m hoping like heck that they all respect that.”

Carr said he stood by the Troy Chamber of Commerce and their decision to cancel the celebration.

When Ekstedt said many residents were unhappy that the event was shut down, Carr responded by pointing out that “I also hear a lot of people saying thank you.”