Some thoughts on the things that go boom: Fireworks on the Fourth

“I see fireworks! I see the pageant and
Pomp and parade
I hear the bells ringing out
I hear the cannons roar
I see Americans - all Americans
Free forever more”

Is Anybody There?

1776

So much fun to light off
and so illegal

We're just a day away from Independence Day and though this year's celebration falls in the middle of the week, it's sure to draw crowds to town for the annual Liberty Fest parade and the fireworks finale over the lake at nightfall. Those will be the official fireworks that are permitted, sponsored and entirely legal. Everything else lit off, blown up or shot off, be it your bottle rocket, M-80, cherry bomb, or run-of-the-mill firecracker is...well...illegal (see Article III in the Municipal Code which covers everything you want to know about fireworks).

All in good fun

Of course, we all light up or shoot off something on that night be it sparklers, smoke bombs or fountains (which quickly shoot off an array of colorful sparks). It is the 4^th after all. I'm pretty sure that if you're supervising your children as they light up some spinners or sparklers you won't have any worry of Chetek PD pulling up at your house to issue you a citation. (Having said that, this past winter while making a presentation to a third grade class at Roselawn I was asked by a student if it was illegal to shoot off fireworks inside the city limits. I told her that while it is not permitted a lot of people do anyway with no interference by the police. At which point she informed me that last summer her parents were cited for doing just that thing. My guess it was either because it was a pretty big display or it happened in the middle of the night.)

Last week I received this note via Messenger at my Mayor's Facebook page:

Will there be a post about fireworks and the limitations within City Limits? And at what time they need to be done with them? Last year it was 1 in the morning and they were still lighting them off in the city limits. Frustrated about Fireworks in Chetek

When I was a kid growing up in Milwaukee every night at 10 p.m. a public service announcement would intone: “Parents, it's 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?” That was curfew. If you were outside after 10 p.m. - with or without your parents' knowledge – chances are you were up to no good. While that message is no longer broadcasted on TV, in Chetek quiet hours begin at 10 p.m. So whether you got a late start cutting your lawn or you're having a karaoke night in your backyard, at 10 bells the mowing has to cease and the party's over. The same goes for fireworks. Realistically, by the time the Liberty Fest fireworks are over and you make your way home there's really no time left for shooting up your own display (even though by ordinance that is illegal within the city limits).

Frustrated about Fireworks, my guess is that the people who engage in this kind of obnoxious behavior are not likely to read mayor's blogs urging them to act responsibly. They're the same type who probably feel compelled to stack beer cans underneath the long bridge as they pass under it. But just in case by some wild happenstance they happen to come along this post, let me say it as simply as I can: please be considerate of your neighbors. You may have the rest of the week off but they may have an early start the following morning. They may have little kids they're trying to get to bed or a dog that has astraphobia (the fear of thunder or very loud noises). Fun is fun but don't abuse the privilege (and yes, if you're still lighting them off at 1 in the morning no one is amused any longer). Here's hoping you have a wonderful 4^th celebrating with measured frivolity. Like the old saying goes, it's all fun and games until the cops show up. Don't give them cause to show up at your house.

Celebrate responsibily