The town of Jefferson will not hold their annual Jefferson Community Day this year because of the construction at the Jefferson Village School, Town Clerk Lynn Bond said on June 15.
Groundbreaking on the new school will take place on June 18 and construction will run throughout the summer.
The decision to cancel Jefferson Community Day was made earlier this month by Bond and Jefferson Land Planning Committee member Joan Jackson.
“With all the equipment up at the school, it’s a liability,” Bond said. “It’s major construction.”
The Community Day festivities usually make use of the school property, and between the lack of space and the dangerous equipment, “it made sense to take a year off,” Bond said.
“The school is supposed to be finished by next year, and we’ll come back with something to celebrate,” Bond said.
Along with the construction at the school, Community Day was canceled because there was a severe lack of volunteers to help organize it, Jackson said.
Two years ago, there were five people serving on the Land Planning Committee, who are responsible for organizing the event, Jackson said. As of Town Meeting this year, there is no one on the committee.
Jackson and one other person are continuing to volunteer their time to take on some of the responsibilities of the committee, but her term ended.
“I’m willing to do my share and more, but I need help,” Jackson said. “Volunteers stepped forward to work at the actual event, but there’s no one to do the leg work organizing it.”
Jackson remains optimistic about next year’s Community Day. “Hopefully it will be wonderful next year, and we’ll come out and have a good celebration.”