Still Foaming

Last month, The Pitch reported that the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce had pushed local veterans groups out of running the beer garden at the town’s annual Fall Fun Festival. Since then, the issue has folks foaming at the mouth, according to Blue Springs City Councilman Ron Fowler. “This thing has taken on a life of its own,” Fowler says. “It’s gone beyond our city borders. Veterans outside Blue Springs want to know why the city is picking on veterans. This is something our Chamber of Commerce is mainly doing and that’s where we’ve started to address it.”

Blue Springs veteran groups have not tempered their dissatisfaction with the decision. “Without us, they don’t have a chance to do well” with beer garden sales, says Bob Tharp, the Elks festival chairman and a member of the American Legion. “They are getting some bad PR right now.”