SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KFSM) — A Fourth of July favorite is now causing an uproar in one Northwest Arkansas community.
Springdale officials say they have received hundreds of complaints about firework ordinance violations. The city received hundreds of calls, emails and social media posts from residents voicing their concerns in regards to fireworks.
"I have to get up every day at 4 a.m. so I decided this Fourth of July I’m going to put something in my ears," Springdale resident Gabriele Campbell said.
Many within the city say the firework ordinance is viewed as optional. The guidelines clearly state no fireworks can be shot off after 10 p.m., but residents have complained of loud pops heard well into the middle of the night.
"They are supposed to end by ten often it’s 10:30, 11 o'clock, 5 am it’s disturbing animals, veterans, senior citizens," Springdale City Council member Kathy Jaycox said.
Jaycox says the topic discussed in a recent meeting has many concerned, but she says so far there is no clear solution. She says one idea was to change the ordinance to make it stricter, but even she knows that might not help.
"I don’t think it’s going to make a difference because people still are going to do what they want to do," Campbell said.
Jaycox says even law enforcement officers have trouble this time of year pinpointing the source of the problem.
"They are inundated by calls, I mean hundreds of calls and they just don’t have staff to check out every one of those situations by the time often they get there either people have disappeared or there is no way to find the source of the firework," Jaycox said.
Jaycox urges community members to offer up ideas to the city and the mayor to hopefully find a solution. She thinks a website where residents can formally log a complaint with a location and other details could help officials become more aware of areas in need of education on the ordinances in place.