WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2004
JULY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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17
FIREWORKS Police department ready to issue fines
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16
Because Douglas County permits the sale of certain fireworks during specified hours from July 2 to July 4, fireworks vendors can line up tents along the outskirts of town to attract Lawrence residents.
The residents won't be breaking the law until they re-enter the city.
Rich Barr, Douglas County Fire Marshal, said the majority of residents would obey the ban because they understood it existed for the safety of the city and that violators could be fined.
Kansan File photo
Officers receiving complaints can also issue warnings, confiscate contraband and disperse crowds.
Use or possession of illegal fireworks in Lawrence is punishable by a fine of up to $200, and each subsequent violation can garner another fine and the possibility of six months in jail.
Dan Ward, sergeant of the Lawrence Police Department, said they would be adequately staffed to handle complaints
and issue fines.
No fines were issued last year. But Barr acknowledged some would continue to break the law.
"There are those people who feel it's their right to light off fireworks," he
said. "Just take it out of the city, please."
— Edited by Marc Ingber
Parks regulate fireworks this week
By Amanda O'Toole
aotoole@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Josh Oaks, Overland Park senior, plans to be at Clinton Lake on Sunday with friends to celebrate the Fourth of July, but he is not planning to bring fireworks.
Because Johnson County, like Douglas County, has a fireworks ban, Oaks said he was used to celebrating a regulated Independence Day.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks estimates more than half a million people will be at state parks during the holiday weekend; 10,000 are expected at Clinton Lake according to Clinton State Park manager Jerry Schecher.
He said it was easier to shoot off fireworks at lakes without getting caught and that the location provided a more partylike atmosphere.
Oaks said he doubted that many people abided by the no-fireworks rule.
Schecher disagreed and said he would have officers patrolling the park more frequently this weekend.
"We're a little stricter on the holiday weekend," he said. "If we see fireworks or a lot of alcohol we remind people of
what our policies are and try to allow them to police themselves."
State parks only allow 3.2 beer and Clinton Lake has quiet hours that begin at 11 p.m., Schecher said.
Across town, Lawrence Jaycees will host their annual fireworks display over the Kansas River near Bircham Park, 200 Indiana St. Lawrence Bus Company will provide a shuttle from downtown parking lots to the park from 6 p.m. until the fireworks start.
Gary Saathoff, Lawrence Jaycees president, said the group spent $9,000 on the fireworks this year so the show would be 45 minutes, 15 minutes longer than last year.
Two bands, Prairie Acre and Alfred
"We're a little stricter on the holiday weekend. If we see fireworks or a lot of alcohol we remind people of what our policies are and try to allow them to police themselves."
Jerry Schecher Clinton State Park manager
Packer Memorial String Band, will perform at Burcham Park at 6 p.m. and the fireworks display will begin about 9:45 p.m.
Saathoff said students would find the show a safe alternative to shooting off their own fireworks.
More than 40,000 people watch the display throughout the city and 3,000 to 4,000 of those will be in the park, Saathoff said.
"It's free, it's safe and it's a place you can go and have a good time with your friends." he said.
Because the park is on state property, the 3.2 beer policy will apply.
Rick Renfro, owner of Johnny's Tavern, 401 N.2nd street, said some people would go to his bar to watch the display so they could have a margarita instead of a beer.
Mike Perkins, Douglas County operations division manager, said the ban brought a lot more people out to county parks Lone Star Lake and Wells Lookout Point last year, where state-approved fireworks were allowed.
"It provides people a location where they can do it without legal repercussions," he said. "If people use common sense it won't jeopardize anyone's property."
Renfro, who doesn't agree with the fireworks ban, said some of his customers were headed to the county parks where shooting off fireworks was legal.
He said the Fourth of July fireworks tradition would bring even more people back there this year.
Oaks agreed that people would continue a fireworks tradition,but that they may not go out of their way to do so legally.
"If someone wants to use fireworks, they're going to," he said.
— Edited by Marc Ingber