Roanoke has rescheduled the annual Fourth of July fireworks display, which was postponed due to this summer's extreme drought and countywide burn ban, for Sunday, Sept. 9 at the conclusion of the Roanoke Fall Festival.

The announcement was made during the Aug. 7 meeting of the Roanoke Town Council.

Council members also learned of another change to this year's festival. The handicap entrance will be moved from Second and Seminary streets to Vine and Seminary streets to help with traffic flow.
Also at the town meeting, the Roanoke Volunteer Fire Department requested approval of funds for several different projects, including $600 for maintenance to the repeater tower - a tower that rebroadcasts radio transmissions from Huntington - as well as the purchase of extrication gloves and loose equipment for the pumper tanker.

A bill for $3,275, for truck repairs completed earlier this year, will be paid and the funds will be taken out of the cumulative fire fund rather than the general maintenance fund, council members said.

The police department also requested approval for funds to repair a police vehicle that was damaged by a tree limb earlier this summer.
Phil Hibbert addressed the board with information on a water rate study, and the issue will be addressed again at the Aug. 21 meeting.

The Roanoke Board of Zoning Appeals now has two open seats, as two members have resigned. President Troy Karshner read Sheldon Cherry's resignation letter, effective in November.

The town is looking to fill those seats. Anyone interested is directed to contact the Huntington County Department of Community Development at 358-4840.
In other business, the town discussed an issue of sign restrictions in the town as laid out by the Huntington County Department of Community Development.
Mark Mussman, executive director of Huntington County Department of Community Development, says the issue is with storefronts placing signage in rights-of-way outside of the central business district.