3/12/2009
By DAVID CLOUSTON Salina Journal

Commissioners review resolution that could lift ban in time for July 4

By DAVID CLOUSTON Salina Journal

In Randy Duncan's eyes, the same argument used by opponents of public smoking bans can be used by opponents of fireworks bans -- they're legal to sell, so light up.

"People are out and about in the county, shooting fireworks illegally, and have been doing so the past 11 years. There's not enough manpower to arrest everybody. So let's allow it and try to manage it," said Duncan, chairman of the Saline County Commission. "I think people have a right to shoot fireworks and should be allowed to do so, in addition to public displays."

Duncan and fellow commissioners John Reynolds and Jerry Fowler have been reviewing a draft of a resolution that they hope will enable the fireworks ban to be lifted in time for people to sell fireworks legally this July for use in unincorporated areas of the county.

It would remain illegal to shoot off most fireworks in the city of Salina. Under the current law, only so-called novelty items such as party poppers, snappers, smoke bombs, snakes and whistling fireworks are allowed within the city limits.

It is illegal now to shoot off fireworks anywhere in the county except Brookville, which allows fireworks within the city limits with the property owner's permission.

More work on the draft resolution is necessary, and commissioners plan to have multiple public hearings on the proposal before taking any action, Duncan said. Public hearings and a commission vote on the proposal should take place by May, he said.

Fireworks are permitted in Ottawa County and portions of Dickinson County. That's led a number of fireworks vendors through the years to set up their tents just over the county line in Ottawa County, so they could sell to Saline County residents.

Scott Abker, chief of Rural Fire District No. 3 and chairman of the rural fire district chiefs' association, said he understands that neighboring counties allow fireworks to be sold.

But ...

"The biggest difference in all those areas that surround us is the population base and the sheer number of people who might choose to shoot off those fireworks," Abker said.

In other words, there are more people living in Salina who might be tempted to take their Fourth of July fun to the country than there are in smaller towns around us. The problem, he said, is not with the fireworks themselves but with people's carelessness.

"We would not want to sit quietly by and let this pass without understanding what the risks are," said Abker, who also commands a shift for the Salina Fire Department as a battalion chief.

The county's proposed resolution, for instance, would continue to outlaw bottle rockets, roman candles and similar aerial displays. But there are a lot of places -- say, a fireworks retailer in Missouri -- where one could buy those, Abker said.

"At least before, they knew they couldn't shoot them off in the county, and so they were not as likely to purchase them elsewhere," Abker said.

Sheriff Glen Kochanowski Wednesday estimated that since the county ban has been in effect -- it was instituted in the late 1990s -- there have been no more than a dozen calls each year around the Fourth of July concerning illegal fireworks use.

"It's not that much," he said.

Commissioners have another study session scheduled with county counselor Mike Montoya on Tuesday morning to further discuss the draft of the resolution.

"I always said as a candidate that I was in favor of lifting the fireworks ban," Duncan said. "That's something I've been in favor of for several years.

"In Dickinson, Ottawa and other counties, you can legally purchase fireworks and shoot them off, and do so safely. I think we can probably do the same thing here in Saline County."

n Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by e-mail at dclouston@salina.com.

Iron. $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and subscribers, $15 for students. 827-3033 or online at www.salina theatre.com.

nGulch, 9 p.m., The Blue Goat, 232 N. Santa Fe; 823-7727, www.myspace.com/thebluegoat.

n CHAPMAN: 15th Annual City of Chapman St. Patrick's Day Celebration, free dance 8:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; (785) 200-0207.

n MINNEAPOLIS: Bethany College Handbell Ensemble, 7 p.m., United Methodist Church, 418 N. Rock.

n OBERLIN: Festhaus-Musikanten German Wind Band, dinner theater, 6:30 p.m., Gateway Theater; (785) 475-3557 or (785) 475-3329.