Are you hungry for breakfast food? Then get out to the Lake Orion Boat Club this Sunday (June 24) between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. for some great breakfast and help support the Lake Orion Fireworks Association (LOFA).
‘As long as the weather cooperates we should have a heck of a turnout,? said Carl Cyrowski, president of LOFA.
The breakfast will include two omelet stations, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, Mexican eggs with chips and salsa, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit and pancakes.
‘If you want blueberries in your pancakes, we can put blueberries in them,? Cyrowski said. ‘Also, Culvers is giving us custard and Applebees is giving us brownies.?
Raffle tickets to support this year’s firework show set to blast off on the night of June 30 will also be sold at the breakfast.
‘They’re (ticket sales) going slow,? Cyrowski said. ‘Everybody says ‘well I’ll wait to the end? and makes us all nervous. We got 2,000 tickets. We have to sell all of them.?
Cyrowski said they are currently at about 50 to 60 percent of their goal in sales. They’ve raised $18,000 of there $30,000 goal.
‘We need help and we need some people to step up to plate,? he said. ‘It’s getting late.?
Tickets can be purchased for $25 each at Sagebrush Cantina, Christie’s Bar & Grill, Hollywood Market, Pugh’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Valero gas station. Twenty cash prizes will be handed out to winners ranging from $50 up to $10,000.
A free boat shuttle service will be available behind the Porritt Lighhouse building the morning of the breakfast. Call the shuttle on Sunday morning at 248-693-2900. Those interested in mailing in donations may send it to the Lake Orion Fireworks Association 3912 Silvery Valley Dr. Orion, Mi 48359. For more information check out lakeorionfireworks.org.
Yes it’s true fireworks are legal now under Michigan Firework Safety Act 256 of 2011, which makes local dealers very happy.
‘It’s a relief to have fireworks legal here, because we’ve been spending millions of dollars in Indiana and Ohio and all over, now we can buy them here and shoot them here,? said Michael Mahan, a local dealer. ‘We pay a six percent sales tax and a six percent fireworks safety act we have to pay, so a total of 12 percent tax on selling them.?
Though they are legally sold here now, not every firework is legal Mahan said he still gets request for M-80’s and cherry bombs.
‘Cherry Bombs, and M-80’s have been banned since 1966, but people still ask for them everyday,? he said. ‘They are federally illegal and they could charge me with domestic terrorism if they really wanted to press it.?
Mahan said cherry bombs and M-80’s fall under the classification number of 1.3 which is a professional shell only. He can only sell fireworks that fall under the classification of 1.4, which is considered a consumer product.
‘It’s important people know what they’re buying and that’s it’s legal,? he said. ‘Anything with a 1.4 classification on it is OK.?
As for shooting the fireworks off Mahan said, all mortars and cake displays should be securely fastened to either a piece of wood or a cement blocks, or sandbags and placed on a flat surface. Even Roman Candles he said should go into the ground, so they have the pressure underneath them.
‘I know so many people want to hold them (Roman Candles) in their hand and shoot them off. I’ve seen them come out the bottom and actually hit someone in the stomach,? he said. ‘You should never hold any firework in your hand.?
Mahan also urged parents to keep an eye on their children playing with sparklers. He noted 65 percent of accidents are sparkler and firecracker related. Mahan recommended the wood stick sparklers over the metal ones.
‘Wood is biodegradable, the metal gets hot and it can burn you,? he said. ‘I just want people to enjoy them, but be safe with them. That’s all.?
Along with safety Lieutenant Dan Toth with Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and substation commander of the Orion Township Substation is urging people to be considerate of their neighbors. Over the weekend the station received 17 calls and complaints of fireworks going over after hours.
‘We’re getting complaints up to 2 in the morning,? he said. ‘Orion Township still has local ordinances as it relates to noise.?
The noise ordinance, said Toth goes into effect after 10 p.m. and it refers to any noise that can affect a person’s ‘sense of peace? such as a barking dog, loud music, or even construction equipment.
On the Fourth of July weekend, he said there will be more leeway, but until then he is asking people to refrain from setting fireworks off after 10 p.m.
‘Be kind to your neighbors, not everyone is a night owl,? Toth said. ‘We will respond to the calls, but we don’t want to write tickets on this, we simply want compliance.?