Fireworks stands setting up with one less day for sales (2024)

Rob SchlotterbeckDaily Sun editor

Fireworks go on sale in the city of Beatrice on Saturday. But some people have been buying them elsewhere already.

"I had a lady tell me she wanted to buy from me, but her grandkids are going to be gone when we're able to start selling," Chris Cullison, owner of CNC Fireworks, said as he and his employees were setting up their tent Thursday near the Ace Hardware at 2317 N. Sixth St. "So she has to go to Cortland, and she was unhappy about that."

Cullison spoke before the City Council this past winter trying to convince the members to not change the ordinance. The council voted to do so anyway in March.

Cullison ordered his inventory in October before the council began considering shortening the time for purchasing and using fireworks within the city from seven days to six, June 29-July 4.

"So I have more inventory than what I need because they changed the law," he said.

Cullison said in past years he's had customers come back every day to purchase fireworks, sometimes spending hundreds of dollars each trip.

"For some people, this is their Christmas," he said.

"I seen some stuff going off last night," Cullison said. "I know people have gone to the surrounding towns and are bringing it in. Yeah, that's frustrating to me when I'm trying to run a legitimate business. … It's just frustrating that I wasn't able to sell it. I think they're still going to continue to buy as much as they can when they can."

CNC Fireworks has seven high school employees, Cullison said, plus another 10 or so family members that work for him. He has other workers who work on the year-round business' professional fireworks shows, including one during Homestead Days.

But Cullison said he is looking at possibly moving his Beatrice-based business because of the lost day of sales.

"That's frustrating to me because I'm born and raised here. … My main support group is right here in Beatrice," Cullison said. "If I move out of the county to another town that we're looking at, … all my employees are going to have to drive a half hour, and that's frustrating when I could be doing the same business, you know, in 'staking my claim,' as the city says."

Cullison said CNC has been selling at the Sixth Street location for 14 of the business' 17 years operating. CNC also has a location at R&B Arms, 423 W. Court St.

"We started out in a 30-by-50 (foot tent), and we are now in 40-by-100," Cullison said. "We're the largest tent in town." He has enough space for two semi-loads of fireworks.

Down the road at St. Joseph Catholic Church, at the corner of Sixth and High streets, the Knights of Columbus were getting their tent organized on Friday.

When the Knights first sold fireworks there 15 years ago, they only sold from July 1-4. Brock Lohr, grand knight of the Council 1723, said they extended to seven days last year, so scaling back to six wasn't a problem.

"We still are going to move a lot of product and people are just going to have to come one less day," he said.

Lohr said the money raised by the nonprofit Knights goes to charity.

"This is our huge fundraiser for the year, and we usually get between $40,000 and $45,000," he said. "… All the money we raise goes back to the community."

Lohr said about 30 volunteers will work the Knights' tent over the six days of sales.

"We are successful because the community supports us," Lohr said. "They come from Omaha, from Kansas, from all over to come to this tent, because we have good customer service. And we're here to serve the community. … I think people come to support us because of that reason."

For CNC, there's more than just sales going on. Cullison and his crew are doing a fireworks show choreographed to music on Wednesday for the Rotary Club at Beatrice High School.

"We're constantly doing something," he said.