I saw that a whole bunch of people, with their own T-shirts, blitzed the Clark County Council to argue in favor of fireworks.
Classic "squeaky wheel" politics.
They argued persuasively that a lot of good causes benefit from selling fireworks. That argument is, however, irrelevant. There are plenty of ways to make money for your cause. But unlike other means, which involve individual choices to participate or not, one guy shooting off fireworks in your neighborhood can create involuntary misery for some or all of his neighbors. That's the difference, and it's significant.
I live at the top of a hill. I can see the whole valley, all the way to Portland. And here is what I've learned after many years of enduring fireworks. First, the boundaries laid down by the local government are a joke. Time limits. Law enforcement. Legal vs. illegal devices. It is, in fact, the wild west out there. And the guy who said that people set them off for weeks before and after the appointed day is absolutely right. The county elected officials are delusional if they don't see the blatant disregard for the boundaries as a giant middle finger to the council.
Secondly, most of the explosions have no physical display, so the people setting them off just want to agitate the rest of us. These are the people who keep setting them off for weeks afterward. Third, after about 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m., a dozen or less displays can be seen within 4-5 miles. Twelve or so people (probably drunk by 10 p.m.) who can keep the rest of us awake well beyond the cutoff time.
And one thing that I endure at the top of the hill: The biggest display of fireworks in my neighborhood is set off by the people just below me. So, their mortars explode at eye level with my house. Maximum noise, seemingly going on forever. And they don't start until late.
Finally, the debris on my, and those of others, and roofs. A clear trespass. Under any other circumstance, it would be a crime. I'm sure the city would just argue that its people are just having fun. One of these days, I'm going to test that argument.
So what to do? Put it to a vote. Not a survey of just a few people. Everybody gets to vote. The pro-fireworks people need to win by a supermajority. That’s 50% plus one vote. The minority does not get to inflict misery on the majority.
The city should offer to put on a show in one spot for a couple of hours.
Vancouver has it right. It's time for Battle Ground to grow up.
Rick Hauser
Battle Ground
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