Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District’s recent decision not to allow Truckee’s annual fireworks display in Surprise Stadium is understandable, but regrettable.

Because of the violence and disorder which erupted outside the 1998 fireworks celebration at Donner Lake, TTUSD board members were reluctant to commit the school to the additional liability such large crowds would bring. However, they did not completely rule out holding the fireworks at the stadium sometime in the future -and the proposal deserves a second chance.

We hope with a year of down time, the fireworks could be brought back as a local event, with no promotion outside of Truckee to increase out-of-town attendance.

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If the crowds are kept under control and the fireworks sponsors have adequate liability insurance, as they attested this year, the district should allow the use of the stadium for the event.

The argument by some that the stadium is a district facility, while the fireworks are only a Truckee event, will not wash.

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Surprise Stadium is a public facility in Truckee, and the district should not refuse any reasonable proposal for the public to use it.