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Opinion: Parade Committee Defies Resolution To Ban Beads, Candy

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By JERRY LOFSTROM

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 3, 2008

Related Links

• Beads, Candy Allowed At Parade
• Parade Death Report, Recommendations
• Photos: Tragedy At Parade

Jordan Hays

PLANT CITY - Remember as children when we didn't get our way, we would defy authority and do whatever we wanted to do. When children act like children, generally there isn't much harm done - and what damage does occur usually happens to the children alone.

However, when adults act like children, oftentimes it's not the people involved who get hurt. Someone needs to tell Fran Neilsen and the Plant City Christmas Parade Committee of that reality.

In the November issue of Focus Magazine, Neilsen, co-chairperson of the Plant City Christmas parade, was quoted as saying that she and members of her parade committee will defy the city commissioners' resolution banning the distribution of candy and beads at Friday's parade. The committee will allow distribution of goodies as long as they are handed out and not thrown.

"The city commission passed a resolution to not allow beads and candy for the parades," Neilsen was quoted as saying. "But it is a resolution, not an ordinance. We have decided to allow the distribution of beads and candy in the parade."

Repeated attempts to contact Neilsen for comment were unsuccessful.

Consider these facts:

On Dec. 7, 2007, Jordan "Booka" Hays, a 9-year-old Inverness boy, was killed at the Christmas parade as he helped distribute candy while he accompanied a church float.

In an interview with The Tampa Tribune after the accident, Frank LaBarbera, founder and co-chairman of the Christmas Parade Committee said, "Although over the years we've never had any serious accidents, each year there are 'close calls' when kids rush onto the street for candy."

On Dec. 7, 2007, luck ran out - although not with a spectator. Jordan was caught underneath the wheels as he reached for candy to distribute from a trailer that served as a church float.

The city responded immediately.

On Dec. 10, City Manager David Sollenberger called on police Chief Bill McDaniel and Neilsen to "review the tragic event last Friday evening at the Christmas parade so measures can be identified and put into effect to avoid recurrence."

Fire Chief George Shiley was called upon to evaluate fire-rescue response in terms of ability to reach the scene, whether there were problems and to provide recommendations to safeguard this from happening again.

A select nine-member committee that included Neilsen, McDaniel, representatives of other local parades and other leaders was formed to review the police and fire chiefs' findings and recommend a course of action.

It seemed as though everything was set in place for the city to get to the bottom of this tragic accident and to find ways to make our parades safer.

On Jan. 4, McDaniel submitted a comprehensive report to city commissioners, recommending changes in parade rules, among them the banning of the distribution of candy and beads.

After nine months, six committee meetings and careful consideration, the Parade Safety Committee members concluded their findings on Sept. 22 and submitted their report to city commissioners. Their recommendation: "all tossing and passing out of candy, beads and any other item" be banned from all parades in Plant City.

There was no ambiguity in the conclusions submitted by our public safety officials and the Parade Safety Committee.

On Oct. 13, the city commission voted in favor of a resolution to ban the distribution of candy and beads at all parades in Plant City.

Here's the burning question: How can the committee overseeing the Christmas parade defy the ban and allow distribution of candy and beads at this year's parade? Just one year ago, Jordan died doing just that.

According to City Attorney Ken Buchman, "A resolution is a stated policy by the city commission that doesn't have any enforcement powers like an ordinance would. The Christmas parade committee can do whatever they want under a resolution."

Oh, really! Then why did the city draft a resolution if it allowed the parade committee to do whatever its members wanted?

In the annals of small-town politics, the devil-may-care attitude of the Christmas Parade Committee toward the city's resolution will go down as a real doozy.

Why would the Christmas Parade Committee, which depends on the city for funding, permitting, police coverage, ambulance service, use of public streets, sanitation and trash pickup, and street barricades, be so blatantly defiant toward the city's resolution?

Why would the committee "bite the hand that feeds them"?

Maybe they didn't.

Plant City is a closely knit town where politicians have been known to favor their constituents over staff and committee recommendations.

Don't you know that every time a line is drawn on principle, a deep-seated human instinct emerges - the instinct to compromise, particularly when it applies to politicians.

One thing is for sure.

Friday is the Christmas parade, a Plant City tradition. Go snatch some candy, grab some beads, have a great time.

Above all else, safeguard your children and be safe.

Correspondent Jerry Lofstrom can be reached at jdlmcl@aol.com.

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