[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish fireworks ban may go up in smoke

[Westley Annis]

from June 25 through July 5 and from Dec. 15 through Jan. 1

I don't want to be the spoiled sport (??) but that's a long timeframe to
allow the shooting of fireworks.  I don't shoot fireworks but 15 days of
having that going on in front of houses is a bit much.

JY




	
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	St. Bernard Parish fireworks ban may go up in smoke
	by Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune 
	Monday February 02, 2009, 6:00 AM
	
	More than 25 years after St. Bernard voters chose to ban them, the
Parish
	Council is reigniting the debate about fireworks sales in the
parish.
	
	Under a plan introduced last month, shooting and selling fireworks
would be
	allowed from June 25 through July 5 and from
	 Dec. 15 through Jan. 1 of each
	year. Parish Councilman Wayne J. Landry, who proposed the measure,
said it
	offers a way for St. Bernard to better control what has already
become a
	common illegal practice around New Year's Eve and the Fourth of
July.
	
	"A large majority of the people are using fireworks, and we want to
tax it
	and control it, " Landry said. "We want to let folks purchase them
in
	our
	parish to get some tax revenues in place, and put these rules in
place to
	make sure we monitor it well."
	
	Selling fireworks is allowed in unincorporated St. Tammany Parish,
St. John
	the Baptist Parish, Plaquemines Parish and in some of the
municipalities of
	Jefferson Parish. Landry has argued that residents are taking their
money to
	other parishes and then bringing fireworks back into St. Bernard
anyway.
	
	A vote has not yet been scheduled for the fireworks ordinance. The
council
	is working out many of the
	 details in committee meetings.
	
	As it is now, the proposal would prohibit the sale of fireworks to
anyone
	younger than 16 or "any intoxicated or irresponsible person." The
	parish
	would require a $1,500-a-year license to sell fireworks and would
prohibit
	anyone convicted of a felony from holding a license.
	
	The proposed ordinance prohibits shooting fireworks within 1,000
feet of
	churches, gas stations, hospitals or public schools and within 75
feet of
	where fireworks are stored or sold.
	
	Fireworks have been illegal in St. Bernard since 1981, when voters
approved
	a referendum banning their sale after a series of house fires in
Chalmette
	on New Year's Eve in 1980. The parish's Police Jury followed up with
an
	ordinance that made sale and discharge of fireworks illegal,
sparking a
	contentious lawsuit filed by several fireworks dealers that made it
all the
	way to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
	
	St.
	 Bernard Parish Fire Chief Thomas Stone said he is reviewing the
	council's proposed ordinance and is not taking a stand on it yet.
Cracking
	down on violators, even with laws on the books, is nearly
impossible, he
	said.
	
	"It's very difficult to enforce the law, " Stone said.
	"There's widespread
	use in St. Bernard Parish, and it happens in other parishes too."
	
	Chris Kirkham can be reached at ckirkham at timespicayune.com or
504.826.3321.