Two Fireworks Shows For The Price Of One

Tuesday is the in Plymouth Township, and I am excited to attend for my very first time. To be honest, as much as I love a great fireworks show, I am still not sure whether I am more excited about which fireworks show I may see.

During the , there were actually two fireworks shows. The first one actually involved real live fireworks lighting up the sky over Plymouth Township. There was a second fireworks show, though, when the rockets were done.

This fireworks show involved Plymouth Township Treasurer Ron Edwards, and his "post-show fireworks" were directed at a Plymouth Township 911 dispatcher and the Plymouth Township Police. It seems that Hizzoner Mr. Edwards was not happy with being held up in traffic as he was leaving the show.

Apparently someone had the audacity to be involved in an injury accident, which caused a traffic delay as the unwashed masses were exiting Mr. Edwards' 4th of July Fireworks Extravangaza, and that, in Mr. Edwards' world, was simply unacceptable, and the meltdown ensued.

To quote Mr. Edwards: "If this traffic doesn't get cleared right now, I'm coming down there!" So my question is this: What was he gonna come down "there" to do? Was he gonna beat the 911 dispatcher up? It may sound like a silly question, but the man has actually . Ask Kym Worthy if you don't believe me. More on that another day, though.

Maybe he was just going to give a severe browbeating in person? Or maybe he was gonna fire the offending officers for their obvious failure to keep an injury accident from happening when he was trying to get out of the fireworks? This leads me to wonder who actually is the "boss" of the Plymouth Township Police? I imagine the police chief is the immediate boss, but who is his boss? Is it Ron Edwards? He is the treasurer. Is it Township Supervisor Richard Reaume?

Logic would seem to be that the township supervisor would be the guy who gives the marching orders to the police chief, but all policy decisions would most likely be decided by the township trustees as a whole. So if I was the police chief, while I would take seriously anything said to me by any of the elected officials, I would also take serious offense to any elected official screaming at my officers. I would find that extremely inappropriate, and unacceptable, and I would take my concerns straight to the supervisor.

If I was Supervisor Reaume, I would never have let Mr. Edwards' behavior stand, as I would have taken it as an embarrassment to The Township Board of Trustees, in general, and an affront to my leadership specifically. The proper chain of command would dictate that if Mr. Edwards had an issue, he should have called the Township Supervisor, and let him decide how to handle it. The fact that Mr. Edwards did not do this makes me wonder just who is in charge of this township. More importantly, the fact that Mr. Reaume did not publicly reprimand Mr. Edwards for his foolish behavior makes me question Mr. Reaume's ability to lead.

As a resident of Plymouth Township, I take Ron Edwards' behavior last year as an insult. Who does he think he is, to be tying up a 911 emergency line screaming at people because he refuses to wait in line like everybody else to leave the fireworks? I don't give a rat's patoot whether he is an elected official or not.

The Township residents pay his salary, and he should have more respect for folks. I also don't care that he made a stupid promise to the generous folks that donated money to put on the fireworks show. He never should have made a promise that any reasonable thinking person would understand to be impossible to keep. I would even go so far as to guess that they were probably pretty embarrassed to be sitting there with him while he was having his hissy fit. I wonder if they were all in a big black SUV? I'll be looking for one at the fireworks tomorrow.

Of course, I need to remember that this is Ron Edwards I am talking about, so none of this foolishness should surprise me. He is, after all, Plymouth Township's resident bully and loose cannon. For you NASCAR fans, he is Plymouth Township's version of Kurt Busch, and for you Hollywood fans, he is Plymouth Township's Alec Baldwin. He doesn't let professionalism and good sense get in the way of his epic meltdowns, and he doesn't have the humbleness to apologize afterwards. He actually seems quite proud of his actions, even when confronted by the local news reporters for answers.

So anyway, it is with this knowledge that I find myself excited to attend my first fireworks show, wondering if there will be another post-fireworks tirade by Mr. Edwards. I can tell you one thing, though, and that is that if I were a Plymouth Township police officer or 911 dispatcher, I would have put in for my vacation a time long ago. Those are the guys I feel bad for, and actually, this whole thing would be pretty funny if it weren't for the crap those police officers have to put up with from this guy.

Note to Mr. Edwards: Click on the link, and read the comments from all of us little people. We are the ones that wait in line like everyone else to leave the fireworks. We are also the ones whose vote you are asking for in August. Time to eat your Broccoli, Mr. Edwards...

Opinions by this community blogger do not reflect views of Patch or its employees.