DEBORAH CORRAO / L’Observateur / July 3, 1999

Tonight I will be helping to sell concessions for the American Red Cross at the Fourth of July Celebration in St. Charles Parish. If it’s really hotthat night, I may miss the fireworks, as I pour soft drinks for the crowds.

But more than likely I will be “oohing” and “ahing” along with the rest of my friends and neighbors during the fireworks extravaganza.

I am one who firmly believes that fireworks are best left in the hands of professionals.

For several years it has been against the law to sell or to use fireworks in St. Charles Parish. However, the law seems to be, as far as I can tell,largely unenforced.

Last New Year’s Eve I attended a party at a friend’s home. At midnightsome neighborhood families began setting off a fireworks extravaganza that rivaled some of the smaller professional shows I’ve seen. In order toaccommodate the size of the explosives, they shut off a major neighborhood thoroughfare to through traffic, engulfing the neighborhood in smoke.

Conspicuous by their absence were the two or three sheriff’s deputies who regularly patrol that street, stopping those who violate the 30 mph posted speed limit.

The fireworks were, in my opinion, no less a violation of the law than speeding, and breaking that law is supposed to carry with it a $100 fine, 30 days in jail, or both.

In the midst of the hooplah a neighborhood child asked me if my granddaughter, who was attending the party with me, could light a sparkler. I said “no.”Carley questioned my answer, asking why not. I responded that, first, itwas against the law and, second, it is very dangerous.

I am not personally against other people buying and using fireworks if they choose to take the risk of endangering themselves as well as spectators.

My concern is that there seems to be nonchalant attitude toward the law in this instance. The sale and use of fireworks in St. Charles Parish sendsa message to our children that it’s OK to bend the rules or break the law.

If we believe in obeying our laws, let’s enforce them. If we’re not going toenforce them, let’s take them off the books so we don’t look like hypocrites to the children who look to us to set an example.

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