Mayor outlines America250PA county celebration plans and urges West Nile precautions

At the Aug. 25 meeting, the mayor announced Lebanon County’s plans for a July 4, 2026, America250PA celebration and requested community fundraising and volunteer support. The mayor said an America250PA Lebanon County Committee, formed in early 2024, is organizing an all-day anniversary event at the Lebanon Valley Expo Center with historic demonstrations, music, food trucks and, for one year only, a larger fireworks display moved from Coleman Memorial Park to the Expo Center. The mayor said organizers need to raise an additional $10,000 to enlarge the fireworks show and invited residents to sponsor or donate to a “fireworks for the fourth” fund through City Hall; Bonnie Loy was named as the committee chair.

The mayor said the county celebration plans include historical displays and demonstrations, costumed interpreters, a historian-led trivia event, and other family activities; a parade was not planned given volunteer and funding constraints but could be added if volunteers and funding are secured.

Separately, the mayor issued a public-health advisory about West Nile virus, noting positive tests in Lebanon County and nearby municipalities and recent mosquito-spraying by the County Conservation District. He advised residents to wear insect repellent at dusk and night, wear protective clothing and remove standing water from properties (clear gutters, clean bird baths weekly, empty unused rain barrels). The mayor offered tips such as using goldfish in open-top rain barrels to eat mosquito larvae (comment from an attendee), and said the county had conducted spraying in recent weeks.