The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

July 3, 2009

Fireworks lift off Saturday

T.J. ROYAL

The Town of Tarboro will be spending less money for a more spectacular fireworks show this year for its Fourth of July celebration Saturday.

That's according to Tarboro Parks and Recreation Director Jarvis Pettaway.

Compared to the $10,000 the town was prepared to spend on its display this year, Pettaway said Tarboro will save $3,500 by having S&W; Productions of Youngsville providing its first fireworks display for the town on Saturday.

"We're gonna have to go with the people who are going to give (us) the best deal" on the fireworks show, Pettaway added.

Rick Timberlake with S&W; said that out of the many new requests they receive from towns and cities to perform a fireworks display, Tarboro's "was the only new show we took on" this year.

Timberlake said his company is the same one that provided the fireworks display for Curtis Bearden's Christmas fundraiser for the late Thomas Parrisher, 19, who died in December.

Since Timberlake had heard comments about Bearden's fireworks being better than Tarboro's in years past, he added that this year, "your show is going to be even better than Curtis's."

Pettaway said the Tarboro fireworks display, launched from Tarboro High School with parking available there and at Riverside Plaza on Western Boulevard, would start "between 9 and 9:30 p.m." Saturday.

Timberlake, 60, added that the fireworks show for Tarboro would last around 18-20 minutes, since people's attention wanes the longer a show lasts, "the faster the show is, the better people hang with it."

Timberlake said he has worked with S&W; since 1972. The company does the fireworks displays for the Durham Bulls, the City of Raleigh and Capital Broadcasting. In years past, S&W; has done shows as far away as California, but limit them now to North Carolina and South Carolina, he said.

"We look at each show as a presentation. Each client gets a show done especially for them" when S&W; is providing the fireworks show, Timberlake said. Recently in Charlotte, he said the company did a one minute display to mark the beginning of an amateur sporting event.

From 2001 to last year, Tarboro had hired a South Carolina fireworks production company to perform its Fourth of July display.

Text Only
Local News
  • (USE FRONT) One To Go.jpg Tractor pull again a success

    PINETOPS – The 36th annual Pinetops 300 Tractor and Truck Pull was just as big as the previous events on Friday and Saturday night. There was standing room only both nights. Everyone got their monies worth on Saturday night during the last event.

    May 21, 2012 3 Photos

  • gas prices.JPG Gas prices break $3.50 barrier locally

    Gasoline prices have dropped below $3.50 per gallon for the first time since 2011.
    After hitting $3.479 on Friday, prices fell another two cents per gallon Saturday at Wilco/Hess at Main and Granville in downtown and at Murphy Gas on US 258 South. By Sunday, that price had spread to at least four other outlets in town.

    May 21, 2012 1 Photo

  • Garden 1.jpg Edgecombe Garden Club presents annual awards and installs 2012-2014 officers

    At its May meeting, the Edgecombe Garden Club was presented with several awards won at the state convention in Asheville. District 12 Director Brenda Crocker made the presentations.

    May 21, 2012 3 Photos

  • May is Mental Health Month: Do More For 1 in 4

    Vidant Behavioral Health Center, a department of Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, is calling on the community to acknowledge May as Mental Health Month. The commemorative month was created more than 50 years ago by Mental Health America (MHA), a national mental health advocacy organization.

    May 18, 2012

  • Parks and Rec offers wide variety of summer activities

    Summer is a time for excitement and a time to enjoy the warm weather through various activities.
    And for the opportunity to explore your artistic, athletic or even adventurous side, the Tarboro Parks and Recreation Department welcomes children, adults and seniors to participate in a variety of summer activities, including athletic camps, water aerobics, dance classes, arts and crafts and a number of team-oriented programs.

    May 18, 2012

  • Here is a list of recreational facilities in and around Tarboro:

    Community Swimming Pool
    Poplar Street
    A swimming pool complex open to all Tarboro residents is located in the geographic center of town on Poplar Street, complete with a diving well, children's pool, competitive swimming pool, bathhouse, and patio/concession area.
    Tennis Courts

    May 18, 2012

  • keith hale .jpg Unsolved murders eat at law enforcement, too

    It's been 25 years since Roy John Rieck was found, brutally murdered, at Tarboro's Pizza Hut. Rieck, 47, was apparently closing the establishment for the night when he was stabbed at least 20 times. He was found lying in a puddle of blood at 12:15 a.m. on Aug. 31, 1987.

    May 17, 2012 3 Photos

  • AIB group Submits application

    With its 28-page community profile officially submitted, Tarboro’s America In Bloom (AIB) committee is now focused on igniting a spring cleaning buzz throughout town for the coming of the organization’s judges in June.

    May 17, 2012

  • DSCN3696.JPG Anew creation working to improve lives of youth

    Kendrick Pittman, 33, realizes everyone endures obstacles in life and is ultimately responsible for the choices he or she makes. His choice was to work to positively impact the lives of the youth in the community. 

    May 17, 2012 1 Photo

  • Muhammad satisfied with term on council

    Melvin Muhammad said he did what he intended to do during one term on the Tarboro Town Council by stirring up a little controversy. Now, after not seeking reelection,  he's ready to ride off in the sunset.

    May 16, 2012