Two issues should concern city leaders
You ever wonder why the city of Shreveport seems to always be an afterthought when it comes to cities in Louisiana and is often ignored?
Well, one reason could be that it lacks progressive thinking and action and is satisfied with the status quo. I was hoping with a new mayor and some new council members that longtime burrs under the saddle might be removed. No such luck.
The first issue is fireworks within the city limits. The city’s Code of Ordinances stipulates the dates on which fireworks can be sold and discharged. It said the sale and discharge of fireworks are allowed from noon June 25 through 10 p.m. July 5 and noon Dec. 15 through 10 p.m. Jan. 1 of each year. Fireworks cannot be discharged between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. except Dec. 31 when the time is extended to midnight and Jan. 1 when it is extended to 1 a.m.
Well, those restrictions are not worth the paper they are printed on. No one seems to obey the rules or perhaps they just don’t know them. These fanatics apparently believe as soon as they buy them, they can begin disturbing neighborhoods until the wee hours of the morning. Such was the case this past Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
The ordinance also states fireworks must be discharged on private property, but most of the activities are done in the streets. And don’t bother calling the police. They won’t respond nor should they have to. There are more important things taking place in the city that need their attention. The answer, of course, is to ban fireworks within the city limits.
Fireworks are dangerous for those who are not educated in their use. But more importantly, they can be a fire hazard for neighboring houses. And the noise created late at night upsets elderly residents, annoys those who live in the area where the fireworks are being discharged, and pets are traumatized.
As if that is not bad enough, former state Rep. Roy Burrell had legislation passed that allows vendors to set up shop earlier so Juneteenth, which is June 19, can be celebrated with fireworks. June 19 commemorates the date in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to deliver news that the Civil War had ended and slaves were free.
In Louisiana, the number of parish and city governments that ban fireworks is steadily increasing. Currently, fireworks are illegal in Baton Rouge and all of East Baton Rouge Parish. The same goes for Ouachita Parish and the cities of Monroe and West Monroe and Terrebonne Parish and the city of Houma. Some of the cities which ban fireworks include Lafayette, Lake Charles, Ruston, Opelousas, Thibodaux, Denham Springs, Gonzales, Donaldsonville, St. Francisville, Port Allen, Crowley and Abbeville. So why not Shreveport?
Issue No. 2 involves the Mardi Gras parade route for the krewes of Centaur and Gemini, which takes them into the residential neighborhoods of Broadmoor and Shreve Island. Those of you who read my column know that I have long been an advocate of moving the parades out of these neighborhoods. It is a disaster waiting to happen, and it will probably take a disaster to get the attention of city leaders. In fact, there have already been instances where residents were delayed in getting medical attention, but they were basically ignored by officials, the local media and the krewes.
The residents of those neighborhoods who deplore the lockdown that occurs and drunkenness and rudeness of many paradegoers who have little regard for an individual’s property are, of course, outnumbered. Those officials and krewe members who don’t live in or near those areas could care less about the problem. The krewes are adamant about the route infringing on residential neighborhoods, and it is obvious that the mayor and her administration and the city council members are afraid to confront the almighty krewes. They apparently believe all the hype about the great financial impact the parades have on the area.
Some residents saw a glimmer of hope. With a construction mess at the intersection of East Kings Highway and Shreveport- Barksdale Highway, surely the krewes would have to alter the parade route this year and perhaps keep it on Clyde Fant Parkway where it should be. Think again. The krewes plan to meander through all of the construction to make sure they get into the residential neighborhoods. In fact, city officials are so infatuated with these parades they would likely be willing to build an overpass for them if asked to do so.
Several suggestions have been made to city leaders and the krewes to cut down on the inconvenience experienced by the residents of Broadmoor and Shreve Island. Among them were that the parades begin on East Preston and end downtown and that setups for paradegoers be limited to two hours before the parade starts. That would cut down on the amount of time for drinking and partying along the parade route. And it would reduce the disruption of businesses along Shreveport-Barksdale Highway and in Shreve City where most of the raucous behavior takes place.
Hope springs eternal. So far, the suggestions have fallen on deaf ears.
Lou Gehrig Burnett, an award-winning journalist, has been involved with politics for 44 years and was a congressional aide in Washington, D.C., for 27 years. He also served as executive assistant to former Shreveport Mayor Bo Williams. Burnett is the publisher of the weekly “FaxNet Update” and can be reached at 861-0552 or louburnett@comcast.net.
