It seems that every year I write this same letter to the editor. As I write, it is only July 3; fireworks in most areas are already restricted to certain hours on certain days. Since July 1, the barrage has been evident. We have had a serious injury and hopefully not a fatal one!
The debris, the noise pollution, the obscene amount of money placed in the pockets of “entrepreneurs,” the claims by churches and organizations that they cannot survive without the infusion of funds that they obtain through the sale of fireworks. Then you have the issue of a stressed economy and just how much “food and assistance money” is spent on five minutes of display!
We have enormous and elegant public displays that almost everyone can see and they are spread over several days. And to allow the unrestricted sale of illegal and unsafe fireworks at the “Soverign Indian Reservations” has to be stopped. I will spend a hour or more over the next two days cleaning up the street where the local church has a display and leaves the debris for others to pick up. And then we have the injuries. Then we have the fires set by bottle rockets and other illegal but readily available pyrotechnics. Let’s take control and stop this waste and useless practice. Ban all but public fireworks and we can and will make a difference.
David B. Silliman
Camano Island
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