Marksville restricts fireworks to 3 days

Limited to July 4th, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve

 

   There will be fewer firecrackers popping and bottle rockets flying around Marksville in future holidays, the City Council decided at its July 13 meeting.
  Mayor John Lemoine said he received numerous calls during the recent Independence Day holiday from people who were complaining about other residents setting off fireworks around town.
   “These firecrackers make people’s pets just go wild,” Lemoine said. “They disturb everything.”
  Resident T-Joe Panichella addressed the council and asked that residents receive some relief by amending the ordinance on fireworks to restrict the days and times that fireworks can be shot. Panichella said he would not be opposed to a total ban on fireworks within the city limit -- with the exception of the city-sponsored fireworks display. However, he said he understands the tradition of popping firecrackers on the 4th of July and New Year’s and would understand if the city did not want to prohibit fireworks.
   Although fireworks can only be sold at certain times around certain holidays, Marksville’s ordinance was worded so that it was legal for a resident to shoot fireworks “any day  (of the year) from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.,” Lemoine said. The ordinance allowed fireworks to be fired until 1 a.m. on July 5, Jan. 1 and Dec. 25.
   Under that ordinance, for example, fireworks purchased on July 3 could be fired off on Oct. 3, or any other day, as long as it was not before 10 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
   After discussing the issue, the council unanimously voted to restrict residential fireworks to July 4th and Christmas Eve between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. 
  After briefly considering the same restriction for New Year’s Eve, the council decided to uphold the tradition of firing fireworks at midnight to welcome the New Year, allowing fireworks from 10 a.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. on Jan. 1.
   Lemoine said the restriction will not only reduce disturbances for residents and their pets, but will also reduce the likelihood of injuries from firecrackers.