Coos Bay Barge to the Rescue, July 3

The fireworks show over Yaquina Bay on the Central Oregon Coast this year will be center stage on a barge provided by a Coos Bay company.  Billeter Marine has been working in the waterway and offered the use of one of its barges for the organizers of the nighttime show.  For years, the Newport Fire Dept. fired the aerial show off from South Beach near the Hatfield Marine Science Center.  However, the locating of NOAA’s MOC-P facility at the site forced fireworks officials to search for alternative locations.  They attempted McLean Point, but it was too far east for those who crowded around the lower bay to get a good view.  The barge will be loaded with fireworks and placed in the center of the bay.  Billeter Marine will be paid $2,000 for the use of the barge.