LEETONIA — Although the village doesn’t traditionally have a Fourth of July celebration, council and Mayor Kevin Siembida decided that 2026 is the time to change that.

During their Wednesday’s regular council meeting, Siembida said next year that the United States will be celebrating its 250th birthday, and he thinks Leetonia also needs to be part of that.

Councilwoman Sue Strobel mentioned that the last time fireworks was held within the Leetonia area, it was 30 years ago at the Washingtonville Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Meeting attendees agreed that location possibly still was the best for the celebration.

Siembida plans to not only reach out to VFW officials but also the neighboring village of Washingtonville regarding a possible celebration.

Councilmembers discussed the need for fundraising and possible ideas for a prospective daylong event that could range from re-enactments to normal Fourth of July activities, like fireworks.

Concerns were expressed about how recently enacted tariffs may impact this year’s July 4th celebrations nationwide as the majority of fireworks are imported from China.

Leetonia officials are hoping the market may stabilize by 2026 for the America 250 celebrations. They added that it was important to get vendors booked early as July 4 falls on a Saturday next year.

Within Columbiana County, the cities of East Liverpool, Salem and Columbiana all made America 250’s official list.

East Liverpool marks the Point of Beginning, which kicks off the western land survey by Lewis and Clark in 1785. Salem and Columbiana’s designations were more recent.

During the Leetonia village administrator’s report, Gary Phillips announced earlier in the day that he had received paperwork from the village’s phone provider for dispatch that the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and the State of Ohio was mandating the replacement of aging copper phone lines with a more fiber or wireless based system for municipal phone systems.

The FCC already is in midst of the transition, while Gov. Mike DeWine is just now pushing it through in Ohio.

No specific numbers regarding the cost for the mandate, which would be mostly software-based rather than hardware, was discussed. No specific numbers were detailed.

Phillips confirmed that he would ask a representative from their phone system to attend a future council meeting as requested by Siembida.

In other action, council breezed through an agenda that included hiring Tyler Platt as an auxiliary police officer with the caveat that he would be supervised by another officer in the department that is not his father, who also is an officer for Leetonia.

Members also approved a $2216.35 repair, as requested by the fire chief, to an air pack mask.