There were fireworks at the Beatty Town Advisory board's Sept. 27 meeting. OK, there weren't actual fireworks, but they were discussed.

This year the town did not enjoy its traditional 4th of July fireworks display after the fire department, for various reasons, opted to take the year off. But they will be back next year.

Fireman Mike Lasorsa told the board that, in the past, the cost of the fireworks, which have to be ordered months in advance to get the best price, was shared by the fire department, the Beatty General Improvement District, and the town. This year the improvement district does not have the available funds, so the department requested that the town pay half the cost, which will amount to $4,916.50.

The request specified that the funds come from the room tax money set aside for promotion and tourism.

Shirley Harlan asked the board if there was any record of how many tourists the 4th of July activities brought to town, but no one knew.

Chairman Kay Hegge commented that her extended family usually came from out of town and that she had the impression that most who came were former residents or friends or family of residents.

The board felt that it was important enough to the town to agree to the expenditure, and it was approved unanimously.

It also approved $4,100 for the fencing of an area adjacent to the new fire hall. This section will be used for some outdoor storage and for a variety of training exercises. The approval was almost a technicality, as the money was already included in the portion of the town budget set aside for fire department capital outlay.

Board members were surprised by a letter from a company evidently hired by Alltel to determine whether a proposed cellular telephone tower would interfere with any historical sites in the community.

The address given for the 145-foot tower was 950 West Knight Ave., which would place it in an area behind the Community Center.

Members of the audience reacted negatively to the idea of having such a tower in the middle of town and so close to the helipad used by the clinic. The board wanted more information. "Someone needs to explain this to us," said Bert Bertram.

The board once again considered a request to make recommendations regarding the parceling two pieces of land.

Bertram said they had had their hands gently slapped by Nye County for tabling the item at the last meeting, and that he was informed that the property owners did not need to make any presentation to the board or be present for its consideration.

County planners recommended approving the parceling but not approving a requested waiver to reduce the radii of two cul-de-sacs. The board agreed, noting that reduction of the turning radius could hamper the operation of emergency equipment.

There is evidently some movement on the development of Beatty's master plan. The master plan committee has held its first meeting, and professional pro bono help is being offered. Skip Canfield from the State Department of Lands and Mark Hoverston from the UNLV Department of Landscape Architecture plan to be at the next town board meeting Oct. 11 to outline the assistance they will be able to provide.