You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.
Tonight at the La Verkin City Council Meeting, the mayor and council unanimously passed a resolution limiting the discharge of fireworks to the City's main park, Wanlass Park. While this may seem like a minor decision to some; in a community that feels strongly about property rights, the decision by the council to limit fireworks is sure to be a controversial one.
I strongly support this decision and was impressed with the minimal amount of discussion this issue required. Mayor Wilson stated it was the shortest discussion ever had on the issue. Our councilmen exercised great judgement in recognizing that the combination of the current dry conditions our community is facing this year and the decision by the State legislature to allow aerial fireworks and the wind gusts that the area has been experiencing are all a combination for potential disaster. Councilman Jensen stated that he clearly supports personal property rights, but felt that it was in the best interest of the health and safety of the community to limit fireworks to a contained area.
Last year, while watching a fireworks show in the neighboring community of Hurricane, we watched the hillside in that community blaze from stray sparks from the show. This was not the first time we had watched a hillside burn as the result of professionally discharged fireworks. The Town of Springdale experienced the same thing several years ago and it prompted that Town Council to do away with the Town's 4th of July Fireworks Display and limit fireworks within the Town to residents on the ballfield.
But last year, we were not able to leave the flames behind and return safely home. Shortly after getting our daughters to bed, my oldest daughter started yelling that our hillside was on fire. Sure enough, neighbors shooting off fireworks in the street had caused a section of the hillside to start on fire. Luckily for us, there were plenty of neighbors ready with hoses to put it out, but it was a very terrifying night for our family as it brought back memories of when fire had spread up that same hillside the year previous and destroyed our home.
Fireworks will never go away. And manufacturers and distributors will continue to lobby the legislature to continue to minimize communities ability to limit this business. I want to be clear that I enjoy fireworks, both the professional displays and the kind you can set off yourself. But like anything else, common sense in use needs to prevail. So I applaud tonight's decision by the La Verkin Council. It may not be the popular choice, but it is the right choice for this year and I know that my children will sleep better because of it.
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