By Ari Joseph, Lakewood: As a resident of New Jersey all my life, I can as a young child remember the July 4th from our beach home in Margate. All the way up the coast until Atlantic City there were fireworks of noise, light, and smoke. This was a highlight of my summer.

When we studied the American Revolution in grade school, I reminisced about those fireworks that symbolized Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

All this being said, I want to suggest something practical. I propose saving cash-strapped townships hundreds of thousands of dollars by pooling resources and making a larger fireworks celebration at one location. All 30+ townships in Ocean County would equally invest to make one huge celebration, therefore alleviating the financial burden of each individual Township. There are so many glorious locations throughout Ocean County to observe this display. The crowd, parking, and staff logistics would be addressed accordingly.

Every township might vie to be the host of such a celebration bringing people to visit. Restaurants, gas stations, and local businesses of all kinds would benefit as an added bonus.

A single Townships Fire, Police, and Municipal employees would be available to manage, saving costs. The off years, those hard-working folk could enjoy the fireworks after the picnic with their own families.

These are trying financial times we live in. Just look around. By boot-strapping and combining efforts, we as a community can over-come any and all obstacles, in the spirit of the Founding Fathers of this amazing, blessed Nation.

Ari Joseph