To the Editor:
We have expressed our concerns to the Nobleboro selectmen in writing, per their request – and have also given a copy to the LCN reporter at a recent public-attended workshop meeting. We appreciate putting forth these ideas for your perusal. What a wonderful forum the “letters to the editor” are.
We both are tax-paying, property owning citizens of Nobleboro who are concerned about overregulation. We pay our taxes. We do our best to abide by the laws. We don’t fire off fireworks, don’t purchase them, or have any vested interest in using or promoting them.
What we do want to promote is personal freedom, pure and simple – within the confines of the Maine State Law. The freedom we promote is not the freedom to steal, kill, etc. It is not the freedom to hurt others by vandalizing, destroying or burning their property; we have law enforcement for that reason and respect them tremendously.
We are very weary, however, of the growing sentiment that, in any questionable situation, even if only irritating, the government owes us a solution. Town government is probably the most effective, but government, in general, is always limited in what it can solve very efficiently. However, it sure is good at burying us slowly in an ever-growing pile of rules, regulations, and pages of documents.
We realize that, even after all of the above, people will still act foolishly, still be disrespectful to neighbors, and still make mistakes. There is much which can be settled between reasonable people before any authorities are notified. For us, small consumer fireworks regulation has become an important issue of common sense, being a good neighbor yourself, and taking personal responsibility.
You perhaps have read in the papers that the then Republican-led legislature and our governor, Paul LePage had removed a prior ban and had re-written the statute, effective Jan 1, 2012, allowing the responsible sale and use of consumer fireworks, which are small fireworks, on private property by “we the people.”
Oh dear, we mustn’t have that! Concerned citizens raised preemptive alarms across the state, and towns and cities responded with local ordinances. A group was formed in Nobleboro last spring, met with the selectmen, publicly aired their worries and existing issues with neighbors, and a short question was put on the ballot last November. The town voted by a 100 vote margin (601 “yes”: 501″no”) to ask the selectmen to create an ordinance; hardly a mandate.
Let’s start with the fact that 501 voters wanted no ordinance at all. This is a sizeable number of voters for a small town. We suspect, as well, that many who voted a concerned “yes” may not have been told about the protections already in the state law, just as we hadn’t known about them in the beginning.
Did you know the Maine state law is quite involved and, in general, states:
1. You must be 21 yrs of age. To allow consumer fireworks use by juveniles is a serious state offense.
2. You must be on your own property – or have the permission of the owner.
3. You may only use consumer fireworks from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., with some exceptions around holidays.
4. Consumer fireworks, which are relatively small, are the only ones allowed on your property, and they are not the huge things we see in town displays on the Fourth of July. Look up some definitions on the Internet at maine.gov.
Did you know that the town of Nobleboro has an extensive Land Use Ordinance which is 145 pages long, and it already deals with noise, explosives, debris, water quality, etc.?
The problem, as we see it, is this: the select board, as much as they’d like to protect and reassure every citizen in town, can’t do it. We know, after attending many selectmen’s meetings as members of the public, they have our very best interest at heart, and they work hard for us. Now we are hearing from them all about limiting dates, limiting times, disturbing livestock, etc., etc. – all these proposed regulations on our own private property.
You can’t legislate good behavior or basic intelligence, and the answer to every concern is not a new law, a new tighter ordinance, in addition to our already existing 145 page document. We have laws already in place for the serious offenders and are fortunate to rely on the sheriff’s office, game wardens, etc. for those situations. For the more minor or sporadic complaints, at the Jan. 2 meeting, Sheriff Todd Brackett said his officers would do their best to enforce an ordinance, but the officers, who are the best, would deal with “culprits” who could either be quickly gone or busy finger-pointing at one another at the scene.
There will be one more public meeting. The date and time will be publicized. Attend, listen, agree or disagree in a thoughtful way, then vote in March, the Friday prior to town meeting. Our officials and fellow townspeople deserve respect, and our small town freedom of speech is so very precious.
Because of November’s vote, we need an ordinance. So be it. Let’s keep it simple and add one reasonable item which states that no fireworks will be allowed, even these small consumer varieties, when there is a Class 4 or 5 fire danger. This is more than acceptable. Going much farther than that is overkill and unnecessary in our opinion.
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” (Attributed to Benjamin Franklin.)
Clete and Carolyn Baltes, Nobleboro
