NEWS: Cops bust illegal lemonade stand

by **LordRemington** Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:47 am

Three girls trying to raise money to go to a waterpark thought that a lemonade stand would do the trick. But then they met the long arm of the law — their local police chief.

The girls had started up their stand in Midway, Ga., when Police Chief Kelly Morningstar and a deputy drove by.

"They told us to shut it down," 10-year-old Skylar Roberts was quoted as saying by The Coastal Source news website.

"It’s kind of crazy that we couldn’t sell lemonade," added 14-year-old Casity Dixon. "It was fun, but we had to listen to the cops and shut it down."

Morningstar defended his action and received the support of Midway's mayor. "We had told them, 'We understand you guys are young, but still, you’re breaking the law, and we can’t let you do it anymore,'" Morningstar said. "The law is the law, and we have to be consistent with how we enforce the laws."

That city law requires a business and food permits ($50 a day), even if the stand was at the home of one of the girls.

Health issues were also a concern, Morningstar said. "We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, of what the lemonade was made with, so we acted accordingly by city ordinance,” he said.

News of the bust caused an outpouring of local support for the trio — and The Coastal Source said it had given the girls tickets to the waterpark.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43769978/ns/us_news-weird_news/

Okay, I get that its "against the law" but.......really? Did they really have nothing better to do then bust a few girls on an "illegal" lemonade stand? Its barely an offense. Here I'm pretty sure in Sydney you require some sort of permit to busk, yet I know for certain, as I have had friends do it, alot of buskers don't get the permits and yet they don't normally get "busted" for it as its such a non-offense and the police have better things to do than bust them. Just saying, even if its against the law, there is a point at which something "illegal" is so unimportant that it doesn't warrant police attention and the girls' lemonade stand was one of those situations.

by **Damnagoras** Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:21 am

I don't know where this happened. But let me guess: America?

by **Andeavor** Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:46 pm

That's just ridiculous. They are really taking the fun out of being a child these days. Facepalm

by **Red-Indigo** Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:07 pm

'This is police Deputy Kelly Morningstar, put down the lemons and come out with your hands up.'

How stupid. This is the sort of thing that ruins community spirit. I get that they cant make exceptions, but honestly who is going to care? Those rules were put in place to stop dodgy tradesman who do this sort of thing as a living, not for little girls trying to to raise themselves some money.

That police officer was just a total jobsworth.

(Also inb4 LoD and any combustible lemon jokes Razz

)

by **Andeavor** Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:20 pm

Next thing, they tackle girl scouts from bushes for selling cookies without a properly filed business license. Unsure

This story makes me think of Lucy van Pelt from the Peanuts comics:
NEWS: Cops bust illegal lemonade stand Compea119a

by **Damnagoras** Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:33 pm

It reminds me of that bill they want to pass that, in it's current form, would make let's plays highly illegal. The prisons of the future are filled with girls who sold lemonade and cookies, and people who uploaded a let's play to youtube.

Hey, this would make for a great satirical sci-fi novel, wouldn't it? Very Happy

Edit: It's sort of been done already however: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=123TOfr8ZZU&feature=relmfu

by **Arkanay** Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:47 pm

Lol, come on. A lemonade stand? I'm sure police officers have more urgent matters to attend than this.

by **OneDeadSlime** Mon Jul 18, 2011 9:44 pm

How stupid. This is the sort of thing that ruins community spirit. I get that they cant make exceptions, but honestly who is going to care?

That's not good enough. If there's a law about it, I don't think it's "immoral" to shut a lemonade stand down because they are kids. It was fairly righteous. Consider this: an adult who is in need of the money wouldn't be able to get it because he'd have to pay for the permit... while little kids would.

by **Red-Indigo** Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:44 pm

OneDeadSlime wrote:
How stupid. This is the sort of thing that ruins community spirit. I get that they cant make exceptions, but honestly who is going to care?

That's not good enough. If there's a law about it, I don't think it's "immoral" to shut a lemonade stand down because they are kids. It was fairly righteous. Consider this: an adult who is in need of the money wouldn't be able to get it because he'd have to pay for the permit... while little kids would.

Under these circumstances I think it would be silly to shut an adult down too. If either the adult or the kid did it full time as a constant source of income it'd be 100% right to shut them down. The whole point of a permit is to stop people going to cities/roadsides and making a permanent income (usually, but not always, tax evading too) and to keep tabs on health and safety. The amount a roadside trader hauls in each week is more than enough to cover the cost of the permit. A homemade lemonade stand for a week would not.

In my opinion seeing these in streets makes a community a much nicer and friendlier place. I think its much better these kids were doing this and learning the value of money instead of expecting their parents to shell out.

If it was an adult trying to raise money for somthing one off too, I'd think it was pretty stupid shutting them down. But the fact that kids this age cant get substantial jobs (apart from mowing and car washing and hey, there are only so many lawns and cars to go round) as well makes this even more silly. Still, there is always someone who will complain, so I get what's behind it.

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