Police inundated with fireworks complaints

PARIS — Over the past two months, Paris Police has received 30 fireworks complaints and Chief David Verrier told the board of selectmen, during its July 9 meeting, that the calls are taking up a lot of his officer's time, particularly on a busy holiday weekend.

The board is contemplating a fireworks ordinance for the town, but had requested information as to the scale of the issue before moving forward.

"As you know, we've been responding to a lot of calls for service," Verrier told the board, "we don't need 30 more complaints ... during Fourth of July we're already dealing with alcohol issues."

Verrier told the board that officers could do very little about the complaints – many were recorded before 10 p.m. and were not illegal.

In cases where people illegally set off fireworks, Verrier said violators would have fled the scene by the time officers arrived.

He told the board that the use of fireworks in the downtown area particularly concerned him.

Although there have been no fireworks-related injuries recorded in Paris, Verrier cautioned that it was only a matter of time before someone was going to get hurt.

According to Verrier, residents were very concerned about the effect of the fireworks on the health and well-being of their pets and livestock.

He also told the board that he had spoken to veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan who said the explosions caused them stress.

With Fourth of July over, Verrier said, the town should see a decrease in the amount of fireworks complaints.

Rick and Marcia Campbell Cummings disagreed that fireworks use had declined following the Fourth.

Marcia Campbell Cummings told the board that their neighbors had been setting off fireworks every night until 1 a.m. for the last six nights and the commotion was panicking her livestock.

"I felt like I was in a war zone," she told the board.

"It just goes on and on," she continued, "There's no sleep, my animals are frightened, I'm upset."

Selectboard Chairman Sam Elliot assured residents the board would be looking into the issue further, but wanted to make sure any decision would be fair and balanced.

Elliot said that the board would wait to see if the number of complaints died down following the Fourth of July before considering the town's options.

"It's funny –  it's Independence Day and we're talking about limiting people's ability to do things," Elliot said.

Verrier told the board that Havoc Fireworks, located on Route 26, had been very busy in the lead up to the Fourth of July and cautioned that enacting a tough town fireworks ordinance might make Paris less attractive for the store.

"They put a lot of time and effort into establishing that business there," he said. "We don't want to have a business that's thriving move out of town."