Dear Editor:Thank you for covering last week's City Council action regarding the Downey 2010 Fourth of July Celebration. ("Would You Help Pay for a Fireworks Show?", 3/26/10) I thought it would be helpful to share some of the planning we have already done. As of this writing, we believe the event would be held at Downey High School. We believe the celebration will be an all-day event with sports and holiday type activities for the community and local teams. It should be a great and healthy day for families and community members. We also plan to have the swimming pool open for use. There will likely be entertainment in the afternoon as well. There will be local food groups offering their specialties for all in attendance. Downey High School has quite a bit of parking and there are many options for mass transit too. Please know there may be changes as we proceed. Many of us working on the 2010 event either worked on or attended the 2009 celebration and saw first hand how nice it was to come together as a community for a day. Many people remarked the event reminded them of a reunion. Those working on this year's event would like to continue what was (re) started in 2009. Fundraising….so far I have had positive feedback from last year's sponsors. I have also had some success with new sponsors. However, we have a long way to go. The economy is not easy on anyone right now. With a fundraising goal of $40,000 and a timeline of 40 days, the slope is a steep one. Last year we had a number of families and local businesses donate $100. We recognized all of these sponsors on the event T-shirt. I am hoping some of the current Downey Patriot readers will consider pledging a donation to the 2010 event. Interested parties can contact me at ready@downeyca.org or call 562-904-6107. - Mark Sauter, City of Downey

********** Published: April 2, 2010 - Volume 8 - Issue 50