The Budget Approved

What a shame, this author has heard recently through the ever active grape vine that an officer has quit. Why did this author quit?

The raises. Or rather the lack of raises. Or maybe more clearly the lack of equitable raises.

This author doesn't know much more than that but will say that it seems this is another year of another 'whopping' raise for the few at the top of the chain. The chief got a large raise and a few others supposedly recieved smaller raises and some even recieved smaller raises.

This author thought there was a wage survey completed. Surely after several years of "earning" large raises the head cop isn't so far off of the minimum that he needs a large raise again. Surely the others need raises too that will help bring their pay up.

The questions these employees need to ask themselves and the Mayor include the following:

How were the raises decided? Where they decided based on the wage survey that has been done? If so, where is the wage survey and where does it say that one person needs a better raise than everyone else?

And if the employees haven't been allowed to see the wage survey, then the employees need to write to the Attorney General about this. It falls under the open meeting laws.

Where the raises decided based on work performance? Then each employee should know that and know how to improve their work. Do they?

Raises need to be based on something tangible and easily understood- not favoritism or 'just because'. If they are not based on something like work performance, a wage survey, or a scaled pay schedule each employee has the right to sue and maybe they should.

Sloppy Work

This author recently commented on the Village website when working on a post about fireworks. This author would like to comment further on this very topic now.


Take a visit to the Bosque Farms webpage and look up ordinances and spend some time reading the ordinance for Fireworks.


http://bosquefarms.us/Ordinances


Did you notice it? It looks like someone in Bosque Farms took the Los Lunas law, copied it and tried to pass it off as part of the Village ordinances and they didn't even do a very good job of that.


It has Bosque Farms at the top, clear as day but throughout the law it mentions Los Lunas boundaries and has a place for Mayor Huning to sign.


So here we are, AGAIN, wondering what in the world is going on in Bosque Farms. Question and Questions and nothing to give us any hope that the Mayor will demand better for those of us who live here in Bosque Farms.



You have to ask yourself:

Is this an official ordinance? Can the Councilors of Bosque Farms ban fireworks use in Los Lunas now? Or can Mayor Huning now make Bosque Farms declare a drought?



Or is this a proposed ordinance? (Let's hope the Councilors won't vote for this poorly done piece of work!)



Do the Village employees not look at what they are putting up on the website? C'mon the Villagers deserve better than this. How can we trust what ordinance is correct and legal if this type of sloppy work is placed on the website?

10 Minute Council Meetings

This author did not go to the last Council meeting. Why? Well, first the water rates being raised were not on the agenda and second, there wasn't much on the agenda and third, the meeting the month before last was only 10 minutes long. So why bother rushing through dinner to get there at 6pm only to hear 10 minutes of work being done.

And you know what? The Council and the Mayor are proud of their 10 minute, 20 minute meetings and are upset if they meetings go on for more than that?

Hmmm. No wonder they are having so many Special Meetings and no wonder not much is getting done except the expenditure of funds.

Double Hit

So, just for information sake, here is the ordinance taken directly from bosquefarms.us website.
And yup, your water rates are tied to your sewer rates.

Several interesting notes-
1. the business, commercial rate is the same as the residential rate and that is not typical it seems in other communities (commercial rate being higher).
2. AND the commercial businesses get a break on overages if they decide to put in two grinder pumps.
3. This provides a better argument for keeping water bills the same but lowering the amount of water for the cost to the average cost. Those that use more water should be paying more. And the more over the minimum/average you go the higher you should pay.

9-3-19 G
G. A deposit of $25.00 will be required from any Customer not on the Village Water System. The deposit shall be held by the Village of Bosque Farms and shall be returned upon notice of disconnection and full payment of consumer’s sewer bill.

9-3-20 A
1. Residential Customers connected to Village water:
a. Minimum fee for: (1) Single Grinder Pumping Unit $20.00.
b. Plus commodity fee of: (1) $2.00 per 1,000 gallons (or portion of one thousand gallons) of water used above 7,000 gallons during month.

Commercial is the same except they may have to put in a special pump or feature and then the Council will decide that cost. And if they have two grinder pumps they can have 7,000 gallons of water for each grinder pump before the commodity fee is charged. So They can use double the water without getting billed extra, doesn't that seem a bit backwards? Especially since there is a new ice making business in town that surely will use a lot of water?

As for being billed more on sewer when you have a leak- It seems that once again the Council and Mayor had no clue what they were talking about. The utility director can suggest to the Clerk/Administrator that the bill be adjusted for a high month and she can make that final decision about the bill.

6. If a Customer can adequately demonstrate to the Utilities Director’s satisfaction a single high month of water use was the result of a break in the Customer’s plumbing system, the Utilities Director may recommend to the Clerk/Administrator the Clerk/Administrator adjust the Customer’s sewer bill for that month to reflect the estimated metered water which could not have entered the Sewer System. The Clerk/Administrator shall be the final authority in determining if such an adjustment is to be made.

An Answer to A Question

Welcome "JBlow".
You have asked one question that this author can answer to some small degree.

What happened to the bulk gasoline storage tank? Gasoline was purchased by bid prices not at retail outlets.

This actually is a program similar Counties and Cities around New Mexico. The police are given a special card that they can use to purchase gas at regular retail outlets.

It seems, this author has heard, the cost of the gas is not the same price that you and others might pay (and see on the posted price). This author believes that the price of the gas would be the same price the original bulk gasoline in the storage tank used to cost. Maybe someone else can confirm this?

One of the benefits of this program is the cards that are issued to police are hooked up to a computer in real time. Thus, those in a position of authority (Mayor, Cheif, and maybe the treasurer) can look up the price of gas, who is pumping gas when, and how much gas they pay.

In this manner it is easy to see exactly how much is being spent on gas, which officer spends the most or the least etc. Much information can be gathered from this.

Now, does the Village track all of that information? Who knows. But they could and it could be useful for budgeting. Do they track officers who are going over a set amount and talking to them and trying to figure out why they are spending more? Who knows. But they should be.

Pool Insurance Cost

Councilor Knowlton one time listed how much pool insurance might cost. According to him he called the insurance authority and it would cost maybe a thousand or two. (Note, that is not his exact words but a rough idea of what he said.)

So this author, now that the cost of a pool has been brought up, decided to look into the cost of insuraning a public pool.

The link below will take you to a site of a proposed pool. They figure the cost to build a pool $4-5 Million dollars, operating costs for a year about $160,000 and insurance is a part of that at $8,000. (By the Way: Anticipated revenues $146,000- wonder how they will maintain it with aging equipment.)

http://www.geography.wisc.edu/classes/geog305/poolsProjects/citplan3/poolsitequann.htm

That seems to be the average price of insuring a pool with the expected differences between pools that are indoors and year round versus outdoors and how long the swimming season is as well as a few other differences. Based on the few reports and newspaper articles this author could find it appears that the average cost of insuraning a public pool ranges between 8 - 10 thousand dollars.

As an additional note the two reasons this author can find for pools closing is that the cost of insurance has jumped to sky high prices or the cost of repairing aging equipment is too costly.

Even counties in Australia have had to close their pools. This one is due to lack of insurance. The insurance simply refused to cover this pool.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s503959.htm

http://www.miamiherald.com/495/story/169317.html

The Cost of A Pool Part Two

Here is another interesting article that highlights the costs of a pool other than just the original building costs.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20070513/ai_n19113193
Between 2000 and 2002, the city-town subsidy amounted to a total of about $14,000 per year. But the subsidy has grown since then, and last year it exceeded $70,000.

Moreover, the pool subsidy has often exceeded what the city and town budgeted for each year, creating deficits. When that happens, both the city and the town must find more money in their general funds. For example, the 2006 subsidy of $70,375 exceeded what the city and town had budgeted by about $28,000.

And as if that is not enough, here is what one communite found out about the costs of running pools for the public:
Indoor pools run more than $100,000 a year in operating costs, more than half of which goes to lifeguards, cleaning staff and other personnel.

Outdoor summer pools, Stein said, can cost about $50,000 every summer to maintain

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950807/08070049.htm

In 2004 this community decided that to operate a pool the first year it was opened would cost quite a bit. Keep in mind, this is not what it will cost to operate it after 8 or 10 or 12 years when equipment needs to be replaced or repaired and vandalism is an issue.

First year operating expenses of $720,000 include the cost of eighteen full and part-time staff members, the costs of utilities and supplies and a 10% expense contingency

http://www.scarsdalecommunitycenter.org/finances.shtml

In fact, many communities are finding the cost of running a pool too high and are closing their pools or cutting the hours it is open. Other communities are finding it difficult to find and hire quality employees.

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20061122/VALLEYNEWS/111220027&SearchID=7328609213686

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_6318403

Note: If you don't think the pool will be vandalized then you need to take a look at the bathrooms in the park. The Village won't open those bathrooms except for the summer program when an adult is present, this is because of ongoing vandalism. We can't keep our bathrooms open, what makes anyone believe they will be able to keep a pool open.

Good Job Young Student Thalmann

An 11-year-old Bosque Farms student won an award from the New Mexico Climate Center and the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences for research he conducted for his school science fair project in May.


Aaron Thalmann was given the Student Achievement in Climate Studies award from the state coordinator of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS)



http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/72687-07-11-07.html

Congratulations Clara Garcia

This author will state right up front- Clara Garcia does not know this author and does not know who the author of this blog might be, although this author is sure Miss Garcia has a few wrong guesses in mind. But because this author has sat in the audience and seen Miss Garcia doing her reporting in Bosque Farms, this author wants to acknowledge her recent award.



Having said that:

Congratulations to Clara Garcia.

Clara Garcia, who covers law enforcement, courts and Bosque Farms municipal government for the News-Bulletin, won two awards.


She took second place in the Best Breaking News Story category for newspapers with 12,000 or more circulation for her piece, "Water-logged Belen Digging Out of Mud," ...


She won third place for a joint effort with reporter T.J. Wilhelm of the Albuquerque Journal in the 10,000 or more circulation category for Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or Series for several pieces they wrote on "Rural County, Big-City Crime." ...



http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/72748-07-14-07.html



This is not the first award won by this reporter.

The Cost of a Pool

"US Military Man" recently asked:


Does anyone know what a pool costs? I read an article in the paper last week that a home pool can easily cost $60,000. I can not imagine what a commercial pool would cost. Does anyone actually know?


http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/06/worth-immediate-infromation.html



And, based on the fact that a water park, such as the ones mentioned previously can seemingly run from $25,000 to $400,000 (With a lot of other improvements including water fountains, beach sand, park bench shelters, shade awnings etc). It seems that a dollar number of a million is starting to get in the reasonable area for JUST the pool.



This certainly does not cover insurance costs, ongoing costs for running the pool, training and lifeguard pay, parking areas, chemicals to clean the pool, etc etc etc. And it certainly does not pay for an indoor pool.



The average price this author has been able to find has been about $1.5 Million for a small outdoor swimming pool. Obviously the price goes up for each 'wish' you add- do you want a zero entry pool, a water play area, a diving board, a lap swimming area, a slide, an indoor pool? Each of those add some dollar number to the pool costs. You can easily add enough 'wishes' to make a public pool cost $5 Million and more.



Keep in mind, the Village budget is maybe $3.5 this year total. That figure covers all of the basic services we currently have (police, sewer, water, etc). And the Village is going about raising water rates to cover needed repairs (?? such as those 17 year old water lines that should last fifty years or longer??). And keep in mind, this Village doesn't have other public services that many more affluent communities do have that are just as important such as a paid fire department.



Maybe this article will help

http://www.mcall.com/news/columnists/all-b1_2pooloct11,0,7122925.column?coll=all-randomcolumnistsnews-misc



The pool, which was originally expected to cost $2.6 Million will now cost $3.9 Million.



Other articles:

http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnews/2007/06/202534%20carlisle_community_pool_to_ope.html



http://www.ci.calistoga.ca.us/Community%20Pool.htm

The total budget for the project is $5.1 million dollars, which includes approximately $3.8 million dollars for the actual construction cost. The remainder of the project costs are for planning, design, construction management, inspection, and contingency.



http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=113&storycode=3063119&c=1

(an article from the UK but interesting)

Minimum Water Usage

While this author doesn't have the exact numbers for Bosque Farms to develop a minimum water usage by gallon per household of four, enough research has been done and enough number crunching has been completed and shared via websites that it is easy to find some numbers and facts.



In the United States, 45 percent of water supplies go to industry, 42 percent to agriculture and 13 percent to domestic purposes, including personal, household and municipal needs. The average American uses nearly 100 gallons of water daily for preparing food, bathing, washing clothes and dishes, flushing toilets and watering lawns and gardens. But we are finding ways to cut back.
http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?articleId=928&issueId=68

In general, domestic water use per household0 changed very little between 1960 and 198(5). The domestic water use per capita has increased over time, but usage per household has fluctuated only slightly (Schefter, 1990). (Green is this author's correction.)http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/hydrology/water_use/

New Mexico state residents use an average of 65-135 gallons per day for personal consumption. The national recommendation is 55 gallons per day.
http://www.taosdaily.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.viewarticle&article_id=629

Here is a number:
50 gallons per person per day.

So you can take that number times by four in a household and say 200 gallons a day, which is about 6,000 gallons a month. This author might agree to a lower limit on the water for the minimum current price. Then say for the next 3,000 gallons it could cost some amount for every 1,000 gallons. Then it could increase again so if you use 10,000 gallons a month you pay the minimum price for the first 6,000 gallons, a little bit more for the next 3,000 gallons and even more for the last 1,000 gallons of water.

These are just numbers pulled out of a hat based on the minimum use of water per person per day as quoted above.

Another idea.
Another question: Has the Council considered this option? Or are they more interested in simply raising more funds to spend on those leaky pipes?

Water Rates

The newest person to leave comments on this blog is "JBlow" and he/she recently had an interesting idea. Why not look at the average water usage per home in Bosque Farms (the numbers are readily available) and use that as the cap for water use at the current price. Then those that go over the average, charge them more. The ones that use more water pay for more water.

Makes sense. And yet another indication that the Council has not completely thought this water rate increase out.

And look at this:

In the United States, 45 percent of water supplies go to industry, 42 percent to agriculture and 13 percent to domestic purposes, including personal, household and municipal needs.

Wow, only 13 percent of the water used, on average, is domestic use. Thus, it stands to reason that those who use the most should pay the most. Yet more proof that this water rate increase has not been well thought out completely with every question asked and answered.

Raising water rates is just a way to make those that use the least pay for those that use the most water.

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?articleId=928&issueId=68

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/07/water-rates-and-state-law.html

Water Rates, Some Thoughts

Before anyone begins asking questions at a Council meeting regarding water rates and the upcoming increase the following quote needs to flit through your mind:

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.

-- Oliver Goldsmith

When you listen to one of the Councilors explain something; such as why they might be raising water rates, this everyone also needs to remember that:

A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a lot of explanations.

-- Saki

A question about sewer service. (From June 27, 07)

There has been a recent discussion about the price of water going up and wondering if the price of sewer service will be raised as well. During this discussion "El Tigre" said:
(I) know for sure the sewer is required for all new construction and must be installed prior to the sale of existing homes.

"US Military Man" asked:
Is El Tigre correct in writing that people must install sewer service prior to selling their homes?

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/06/water-rates.html

The answer seems to be in the Village Ordinances. Section 9-3 rewritten and updated April 2007. Look at 9-3-9:

The owner of each lot or parcel of real property within the Village limits shall
connect to the Sewer System if the Sewer System is within 200 feet of the lot or parcel and if one of the following conditions occurs: With a lot of words that says essentially you have to connetct to sewer service if you:

1. Build something new on a lot that nothing was on previously and if that new something generates waste.
2. Tear down what was on a lot and put something in on a permanent foundation and you generate waste.
3. Your septic tank fails and the state tells you it has failed.
4. You repair or remodel your home and you have to extend your drain field, then you have to hook up.

So in answer to your question "US Military Man", it appears that you DO NOT have to be hooked up to sewer to sell your home.

Now, this author has not read ALL of the ordinances on the books so maybe "El Tigre" will raise up to the challenge and show the readers where it says you must be hooked up to sewer to sell your home.

It's for the Children

This author has been an advocate of helmet use and even a requirement that children where helmets in certain situations.

Recently though there has been one reader who has been down on this idea (for a variety of reasons) yet is willing for the Village and those of us who live here to absorb the costs of having a pool. The arguments?

It will keep kids safe.

Most affluent communities have one.


Based on that criteria "Been Around" believes the Village should have their own fireworks display.

Maybe the Village should consider putting on its own fireworks display. That way children wouldn't be forced to light their own fireworks and could be safer...just an idea. You know, like the pool.


http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/06/some-thoughts-about-this-blog.html


Ok, so there was a little bit of humor involved there but it led this author to think there are plenty of things Bosque Farms is lacking and based on the two arguments above- safety, affluent communities have one, and throw in the old argument it's for the children - and we could truly develop a list of items Bosque Farms NEEDS.

And who knows? Maybe this will help the businesses develop some ideas that might be good business ideas.


The first one that comes to mind is A Zoo. This would keep kids from petting any old dog or cat and possibly getting bit and honestly, most affluent communities have one right? Or at least they have one close by and as there isn't one that is very convenient to this area - this author says we need a zoo in Bosque Farms.


How about a skate park. Los Lunas has one and surely Bosque Farms is better than Los Lunas? Certainly more affluent if you believe many who live in this community. And this would keep children from using their skateboard at the park on a basketball court. So this is a double safety issue, it will keep those using the basketball park safe and those who need a place to use their skateboards safe.

How about apartments? Most affluent communities have these, and they as Bosque Farms is closer to town those with children driving to town could drive less thus reducing their accident risk and thus be safter.

Why don't you pitch in and help develop this list of "NEEDS".

"Coulrophobic" shares some information



I understand that the Village bought a shade canopy to put over the picnic table by the playground so the kids could get out of the sun. It was fastened to the chain link fence. But some industrious low-lives have stolen it! I’m sure they didn’t give a second thought to the needs of the kids who were benefiting from that shade, they just wanted a ‘free’ canopy! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could catch these hoodlums and make them pay for their indiscretions?!

A large permanent shade structure is on order and will be a benefit to all that use the park. And the low-lives won’t be able to steal the new one. Let’s hope they don’t tag it.

Keep your eyes open for vandals at the park, it could save the Village some money and keep things intact for all to enjoy.



http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/06/summer-program.html

This author is glad, happy, thrilled that finally the park that the children play at will have some shade. This has been needed for many many years and it is a shame it wasn't a priority before this.

This author has also advocated in the past on this blog that the Village leaders put their heads together to see if they can find a way to stop the vandalism at this park. Previously some nets that were left out were ruined, swings have been broken and bathrooms closed due to vandalism. Maybe with some proactive thinking a solution can be arrived at that will stop much of this vandalism.

For the record: This author does agree that those who do this vandalism are 'low lives'.

Another Job?

Recently "Really" had some comments regarding the police in Bosque Farms:

Where, oh where are the police when they should be patrolling the Village instead of congregating at the eateries? I have yet to see any on them driving around the Village. They only seem to patrol the Boulevard passing out speeding tickets and for that I'm 'really' glad. And where is our highly overpaid chief? Is he actually on the job in the Village or at his OTHER job up in Albuq.?

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/06/summer-program.html



And this leaves the author saying "Other Job"? Surely there is no law against the police having two jobs but this author hopes that this 'other job' does not interfere in how the chief does his job here and just as importantly, this author hopes that this 'other job' is not something that will reflect poorly on Bosque Farms.

Long's Saddlery

This author has been meaning to point out the For Sale Sign on "Long's Saddlery".
This author is sad to see this business leave. It has been here in Bosque Farms for as long as this author can remember.

It has supported many young people in their efforts
to better themselves by donating money to their trips, their contests and sponsoring them.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/opinion/33219-05-14-03.html

Yet another business leaving under this administration. It seems there have been quite a few.

Water Rates and State Law

This author has been searching and to date unable to find the state laws that govern water rates increasing; in specific the water rate laws that Mayor Ake mentioned.


Maybe some other very smart reader can provide these laws:


- The law that says water rates can't be waived if you have a leak?

- The agreement through the Federal Grant that says you can't force anyone to hook up to the system? (Note to Councilor Wallace: this is typically done the other way- you make city water available and FORCE everyone to hook up!)

- And while you are at it, what is the amount of fine the Village would be fined if it demanded everyone hook up to water?

Surely there are other state laws that govern water and water rates, if you find them feel free to share. This author will continue looking in spare time at work.

And while this author is looking let this author make note: Those who say the words 'state law' often seem to think you can say 'oh it's state law...' and others will back off because it's law. But if you want this author (and the readers of this blog hopefully) to believe it's state law- provide the law, give us the information.

Shade on the walkpath

"EyeCare" asked a question:

Since there wasn't anywhere else to post this question, I choose to do it here...WHY did the multi-use path committee decide to place the shade and bench facilities for the multi-use path "UNDER" already existing shaded areas (trees) on the North and South Loop? I really don't see the logic in their decision, that's why I posed the question. And a simple explanation will do without any smarty pants answers...

This author is posting on the main page so that anyone who might know the answer will have the chance to see it and provide some information.

Another Blog

When clicking on names and checking out if any of the new readers had blogs, it has come to the attention of this author that "Formerly Counciled" has her own blog. It looks like a collection of political emails she has recieved in the past and thought were interesting or correct.

Shade on the walkpath

"EyeCare" asked a question:

Since there wasn't anywhere else to post this question, I choose to do it here...WHY did the multi-use path committee decide to place the shade and bench facilities for the multi-use path "UNDER" already existing shaded areas (trees) on the North and South Loop? I really don't see the logic in their decision, that's why I posed the question. And a simple explanation will do without any smarty pants answers...

This author is posting on the main page so that anyone who might know the answer will have the chance to see it and provide some information.

Happy Fourth of July

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

A little bit of information about the Founding of this Country.

http://www.101july4th.com/history.html

And a Little bit of information about fireworks

http://www.pyrouniverse.com/history.htm

Please be safe and have a happy July 4th.

Happy Independence Day

The clearest call for an "American" independence up to the summer of 1776 came in Philadelphia on June 7. On that date in session in the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall), the Continental Congress heard Richard Henry Lee of Virginia read his resolution beginning: "Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/declaration_of_independence.html

After this motion the Congress allowed those men who needed to gain permission from their respectives states to vote yeah or non to this motion time to travel to and from Philadelphia to gather the needed permission (or not).

On July 1 Congress met again and debated the merits of Richard Henry Lee's resolution. July 2 1776 this was passed by 12 of the 13 colonies. New York did not vote.

After that the Declaration of Independence was considered and debated and changed and passed on July 4, 1776.

Please treat fireworks with respect, read all of the cautions and warnings and use common sense.

• Lighting fireworks indoors, throwing them from automobiles and lighting multiple devices at the same time can lead to accidents and are not how fireworks are intended to be used.


• Always obey all local laws pertaining to the use of fireworks.


• If you see someone misusing fireworks, stop them. Show them the correct way to use consumer fireworks and do not ever use professional fireworks or illegal explosives. Do your part and everyone will be safer.


• Use fireworks and sparklers only outdoors.


• Only persons over 12 years of age should handle sparklers of any type. Too many young people get burned by sparklers every year. By keeping sparkers out of youngsters, we can reduce these injury rates.


• Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you are, don’t use them. If drought conditions mean a ban on fireworks, follow the law.


• Only use fireworks as intended. Don’t try to alter them or combine them.


• Fireworks and alcohol do not mix. Have a designated “shooter”


• When all else fails, use common sense.


• Respect fireworks and sparklers as the great American tradition they are, but also respect the fact that the must be used with caution.

http://www.fireworksafety.com/



The above was completely taken from the link provided and as such it is marked, because it is long this author did not provide the complete quote in blue as is typical for this blog simply for ease in reading.