The Kansas CW | Public Meeting on Sedg. Co. Fireworks Laws Today
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by Rebecca Gannon(WICHITA, Kan.)
A discussion about fireworks is sure to spark just that. Tuesday evening, Sedgwick County will ask residents in unincorporated parts of the county their opinion on the current fireworks law.
The county can decide to:
The neighborhood near 85th and Ridge Road north of Valley Center seems quiet. But around the Fourth of July, things change.
"We used to have lots of friends come out, and it used to be a big deal. But this year, it wasn't a big deal," said Sedgwick County resident Garry Riley. "They put the sign up, scared us off."
The Sedgwick County Fire Marshal's office put up more than 800 of those signs last summer.
Shooting fireworks in unincorporated Sedgwick County has been illegal for 30 years, but this was the first time many people learned about it.
"People either loved the signs, or hated the signs," explained Tim Millspaugh of the Fire Marshal's office. We took over 400 calls over a 4 day period right here in this office."
Most of those calls were from people who bought fireworks, and wanted to use them.
"Well, they sell them in Valley, they sell them in Sedgwick," said Riley. "We should be able to shoot them, you know."
The county decided to listen to people in a public forum, instead of listening to them over the phone.
The county sent out more than 15,000 invitations to residents for a meeting that could change the fireworks law. It starts at 6:30 Tuesday at the Cargill Learning Center at the Sedgwick County Zoo.
"We want to know what people think about the fireworks laws," said Millspaugh.
And the county wants to know now, before vendors start setting up shop, before people start buying them, and before people start shooting them.
