By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
Jacksonville will control and police the use of fireworks even if they’re legalized, Aldermen Reedie Ray, the chairman of the fireworks committee, assured the 20 or so residents at Thursday’s public hearing.
“I’m not saying that they’ll be legal or illegal, but they will be controlled and policed,” Ray said at the end of the public hearing on whether or not to allow the use of fireworks within the city at certain times.
Currently the city bans all fireworks, except those by professionals or other groups who have received permission.
Alderman Bob Stroud, a mem ber of the committee, after listening to the residents, said, “As you’ve spoke, I’ve tallied six against fireworks and two for them. And everything everyone has said tonight, for and against, is true.”
Stroud said that the truth of the matter was simple, “You aren’t going to stop kids from shooting fireworks—you just aren’t. You need to control it. Seems to me if we have this window of opportunity, they’ll get it out of their system, we’d be better off.”
He added that the fines for using fireworks outside the window need to be increased to where parents will pay attention to what their kids are doing.
Ray told those in attendance that no decision was going to be made at the meeting, but that the committee would come back together in about two weeks and make a decision and take it to the city council for approval.
Alderman Aaron Robinson, also on the committee, said it was a difficult task because he could rebut every pro and every con brought up. “It’s going to take a lot of work from us to figure out what to do,” he said.
Among those against the idea of letting Jacksonville residents shoot off fireworks was Kathy Wadekamper. “Besides fireworks being bigger, stronger and more powerful than ever, my reasons against the idea are the mess and the fire danger,” she said.
Wadekamper said she likes to walk every morning “and you should have seen the mess in our neighborhood and on our street after the Fourth of July and we don’t shoot off fireworks. There was debris everywhere. It sure didn’t look pretty. She said the fireworks trash didn’t disappear until the rains washed them away.
She was also concerned about the fire danger especially from fireworks that shoot high in the sky and can land on roof tops.
“The fire chief said at the last meeting that the city didn’t have many grass fires from fireworks, but that’s from residents shooting them illegally. Imagine if all the residents were shooting them because they became legal. I think we’d have a big problem,” Wademaker said.
Alderman Terry Sansing, one of four aldermen attending the public hearing, but the only one to speak on the issue, said he was firmly against liberalizing the fireworks ordinance and had always voted against any relaxing of the ordinance. He said fireworks were dangerous and disturbed the peace. “I have no intent on changing my vote,” he told the six-member committee which included city officials and residents.
Bobby Kyzer and Roy Wadekamper also spoke against the idea of shooting fireworks within the city limits.
“It doesn’t matter if the window is one day or two days, it won’t work. You’ll have complaint calls from days before to days after,” Kyzer said.
Roy Wadekamper added, “I don’t know how you can turn it on and off.”
Also opposing loosening the fireworks ordinance was Rizelle Aaron. He said that while it might decrease 911 calls, ambulatory calls would increase “and people will continue to complain, that’s what they do.”
He also thought the possible change went beyond the need of decrease complaint calls and keep police on the streets instead of chasing down firecracker users. “Lots of deals were struck to get that voluntary annexation,” he said, referring to the Hwy. 67/167 business corridor just north of the air base to the county line.
Among the businesses there is a fireworks company. Aaron said the city had worked a deal to allow that business owner to sell fireworks this past Fourth of July.
Jim Durham, the city’s director of administration, begged to differ.
“All businesses along that corridor were grandfathered in. We’ve always done that. The liquor stores, the private clubs and the fireworks business were all allowed to continue to operate. There was nothing special done or promised.”
On the side for fireworks was Delores Johnson, a grandmotherly woman, who admitted up front that every Fourth of July she fires off fireworks—yes, illegally, and will continue to do so, if the ordinance isn’t change. “The parents need to step up and be responsible,” said.
Kay Noles, who along with her brother operate a fireworks stand south of the city limits agreed.
“I won’t sell to kids unless their parents are there. But I can’t make sure the parents are watching them when they shoot the fireworks, and I’m not going to be everybody’s mother,” she said.
Jacksonville resident Keith Weber also spoke for the use of fireworks. “I’m for it, with an asterisk. Legalize it, but enforce it,” he said.
Weber went on to suggest using code-enforcement officers rather than police to respond to calls. He said the ordinance should require people to clean up after themselves and make individuals responsible for any fire damage. He said the city should require parents supervise children who shoot fireworks.
Weber also suggested the city allow nonprofit groups like churches to sell fireworks. And then tax it,” he said.
Committee member Jim Moore expounded on the dangers of fireworks. “I’m talking about Roman candles, but I have research on rockets, M-80s, 500-gram fireworks and more.”
He said a Roman candle explosion has the same extreme force as a bullet, and that most people held Roman candles in their hands. “The real issue is enforcing the ordinance,” Moore said, adding that he didn’t think the solution was to open up the city to fireworks.
Noles told the committee that sparklers, not Roman candles, are actually the most dangerous fireworks. “No one would think that, but people come in search of the metal sparklers, which we don’t sell, because they want to tie them together. And it creates a sparkler bomb that can be heard from long distances and really hurt someone.”
Sparkler bombs are constructed by binding together as many as 300 sparklers with tape, leaving one extended to use as a fuse. The resulting blast can approach the power of a stick of dynamite. Federal laws ban making, having or using them. But there are websites that show how to make them. One of those websites carries the caveat, “These are at your own risk, we are not responsible if you blow your arm, leg or face off.”
Alderman Kevin McCleary, another committee member, said a lot of good ideas were presented by both sides. “Now we have to make sure we do the right thing for the city,” he said.
