AFA has fun with fireworks

Dark clouds hung like a canopy over the Air Force Academy on Saturday night, but the threat of a storm wasn't about to keep Army 1st Sgt. Mark Shane from doing his part to mark Independence Day.

Shane, who is stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, showed up four hours early and waited under a building overhang with his wife, Cindy, and his parents. They huddled under blankets to keep warm through intermittent showers.

"I figure guys went out and stood in worse weather when they won our independence," Shane said.

Like-minded revelers soldiered on through the wait on the campus athletics field under umbrellas, tarps and raincoats.

And despite a menacing cloud cover that shrouded the foothills, the payoff came right on cue as fireworks lit up the sky shortly after 9 p.m.

The Air Force Academy became the de facto destination for hundreds from Colorado Springs this year after the city canceled its annual celebration in Memorial Park to help make ends meet in a tough budget year.

Cindi and Don Delota, of Colorado Springs, said they would have celebrated at the academy regardless. Their daughter, Jenna, is a member of the class of 2012, though she spent the first part of the evening waiting to participate in an academy tradition: the feeding of the doolies.

Every year, inbound cadets are released from their grueling first month in seclusion to watch fireworks from a fenced-in area near Arnold Hall. Upperclassmen take mercy by tossing them candy and other treats over the wall.

"We had to go to McDonald's so she could pick up cheeseburgers for them," Cindi Delota said with a laugh.

Although Colorado Springs was without its big fireworks show, there was no shortage of star-spangled celebrations across the Pikes Peak region, some soggier than others.

Nice weather held out in Monument for the annual Independence Day parade, a 2½-hour spectacle that drew as many as 10,000 people earlier in the day.

"They call this the biggest small-town parade west of the Mississippi," said Monument Police Sgt. Richard Tudor, who provided the attendance estimate. He said the festivities went off without a hitch, though a few children suffered scraped knees while scrambling after candy.

Pancakes were the first order of the day for people in Security.

The Security Fire Department's annual July Fourth pancake breakfast drew about 1,300 people, some as early as 6 a.m.

"We had a lot of folks here. Other fire departments, and a whole bunch of people from the community," said Darin Meek, a driver/engineer.

"We were well-prepared," he said.

The event included blood-pressure checks, entertainment and a dunk tank, where the fire chaplain Ray Briseno didn't mind getting wet for a good cause.

Revelers stopped by Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon, even as the prospect of storms replaced the promise of fireworks. People played volleyball, grilled, fished and boated while the sky was relatively clear. Unlike previous holidays, there were parking spaces and empty tables.

"It used to be packed," said Tonia Smith, who had a picnic with family members. "It ain't like it used to be. There ain't no fireworks. To me, it's ridiculous."
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Staff writer Andrea Brown
contributed to this story.