06/30/2026
To my Hill City Folks and Visitors, with the 4th of July approaching I have had a few questions on what you can and cannot do, so I figured I would post here. We are not out to get everyone, lord knows we cannot possibly police the 2000 plus visitors we get to town for the 4th and our awesome year-round residents so I ask you to read this so you do not draw unwanted attention from the cops. For some of you this will fall on deaf ears and we will still require a visit, but heck at least I can say I tried.
We don’t care if your child/young adult is driving a dirt bike, atv, electric bike, electric scooter, or any other combination of those things, but I do ask this if you are under 18 you better have a helmet on, please respect traffic signs, especially a stop sign. The stop sign is a universal thing that says stop, look around and then proceed when it is safe. This goes for you mister or misses I am too cool for this sort of thing. Trust me on those machines mentioned above, it doesn’t matter if you’re the next Levi Lavalle, a car, truck, rv, or semi will crush you.
The 90cc rule, obviously if you are a baby in a diaper you should not be allowed to operate a 1000cc atv with turbo, if you are a baby in a diaper or younger kid I assume you are not reading this but this is where I ask the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to use some common sense, if the machine looks to big it is probably to big so please be safe but always wear a helmet. If a golf cart has 4 seats or 2 seats that doesn’t mean to cram 47.5 people on it like you are sneaking across the border, again common sense folks
Now onto to the fireworks, yes, it is the 4th of July, yes I launch fireworks too, only legal ones of course 😊 But for gosh sakes do not launch them at 2am, please do not shoot them at each other, and do not use your head as a launching pad no matter how small of the firework or mortar. Again, back to the common theme in my posts of common sense. If you do not want the attention of the police then be respectful and launch at a decent time, keep in mind some folks have issues with fireworks and/or animals that are scared so be mindful of your neighbors.
Open bottles and such, no we do not care that you are walking up town with a beer or from uptown to the beach or any other place in town, but again for gosh sakes if you are stumbling drunk, throwing up in a garbage can, or seem to be lacking clothing then yes you will draw attention to yourself and we will make it a point to come chat. It is not that hard to be left alone by the cops, be respectful, don’t break the law, and be courteous to your friends and family.
During the parade, please be mindful of the big rigs, if you want to continue to have the parade then make sure your kids stay back, we try to put on a show and some of those vehicles are not very easy to drive especially with kids running all over for candy. So parents be parents and hold your kids back, parade candy tossers, please pretend you have played more than 1 inning of T Ball and throw the candy beyond the tires of your float, it is not that hard to do.
We have trash cans all along lake ave, also at the beach, use them they are there for a reason, here is a huge concept to grasp if they are full tell someone and bypass that full trash can or find one with some space in it.
Truly sad, I have to bring these things up or say them in prep for the 4th of July but here we are. Please get out enjoy our amazing town, visit with my cops, fire, and ems folks, if you need a ride just ask. We are here to help you have a safe and enjoyable 4th, please be extra careful with the large amount of extra traffic and lastly have fun, be safe.
