Overton, TX: cops shut down lemonade stand

[Angel Eyes]

. . . for not having a permit:

https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/police-shut-down-girls-lemonade-stand-for-121207241667.html

Police agreed to waive the fee of the permit, which normally would cost $150. “The officer told them they had to go to city hall to get a permit,” Overton Police Chief Clyde Carter tells Yahoo Parenting. “Then the city told them they had to check with the health department, which they didn’t do.”

Let me get this straight: open carry a firearm and you're fine[1].  Try to sell lemonade and The Man will shut you down.

There is a happy ending, of sorts:

Instead of pursuing the permit, the girls will set up a new stand this Saturday, according to KLTV: Free lemonade, donations welcome.

[1]: which I fully support.

[freakazoid]

Didn't this happen a few years ago?

[lupinus]

Someone needs a kick in the balls and a lemonade enema.

[RocketMan]

This happens all over the country where city councils have nothing better to do than mess with folks.  Pretty damn sad situation.

[Perd Hapley]

I keep thinking that the answer to things like this is to get as many kids as possible running lemonade stands, sans the silly permits, for weeks on end.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

So who complained? Or do cops routinely play health dept in texas?


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[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

Overton Texas, population 2500 or so. Right down the road from where I grew up. You don't get the cream of the crop for police. This incident should have never happened. 30 years ago it would not have. Just goes t show you that badge wearing revenue generators will just follow orders like lemmings.

[Brad Johnson]

I think the esteemed police chief and the honerable city manager are gonna get their a$$es handed to them. Overton is in the heart of east Texas. Traditional values still count there. A lot. Being a legalistic self-righteous prick is guaranteed to get you the wrong kind of local attention.

Judging by what I'm seeing in the news, the police chief and city manager will probably be hiding in their basements this weekend. (If they aren't already. The locals are piiiiiisssed.) Seems like that half of the state has decided to come to Overton and have some lemonade in a show of support for the girls. Anyone who tries to be an officious jerk may well find themselves duct taped to a lawn chair for the day.

Brad

[dogmush]

How big do you think the bribe the girls gave the cop for all the free advertising was?

 

[KD5NRH]

Seems like that half of the state has decided to come to Overton and have some lemonade in a show of support for the girls.

If it was closer, I'd go, but it's a bit over 3 hours from here.  Might try to send some friends that live in Tyler and Longview, but I suspect they're not responding to FB messages because they're already there.

The $150 fee strikes me as a bit silly too; here it's $15 for a 30 day permit, though sometimes a $25 investigation fee is added in certain cases.

[T.O.M.]

And this is just another reason why I can't trust anything from the press anymore.

Heard this story on Headline News while I got ready for work.  The HLN version indicated that police were called after a complaint about traffic.  Police shut it down because of (1) no permit and (2) health department regs on food for sale.  Story then indicated that police gave mom the information about who to talk to, how to get things squared away so the sale could continue the next day.  Story ended by saying that the girls could give away their food and drink, take donations for their cause (buy Dad a Father's Day gift), and no permit or inspections would be required.

Now, there's a significant difference between these stories.  The version in the OP makes the cops look like the bad guys driving down the street and picking on little girls, and then the .gov people look bad for requiring the permit.  The HLN version makes it sound like police and .gov employees doing their jobs as they have to, but also helping the girls continue with their stand.

Sad thing is that both versions are believable, but one is clearly written to show a bias.  Which one, I don't know.  My point: if the press is playing games with a story this insignificant, what kind of crap are they doing with the big stories?

[Jamisjockey]

And this is just another reason why I can't trust anything from the press anymore.

Heard this story on Headline News while I got ready for work.  The HLN version indicated that police were called after a complaint about traffic.  Police shut it down because of (1) no permit and (2) health department regs on food for sale.  Story then indicated that police gave mom the information about who to talk to, how to get things squared away so the sale could continue the next day.  Story ended by saying that the girls could give away their food and drink, take donations for their cause (buy Dad a Father's Day gift), and no permit or inspections would be required.

Now, there's a significant difference between these stories.  The version in the OP makes the cops look like the bad guys driving down the street and picking on little girls, and then the .gov people look bad for requiring the permit.  The HLN version makes it sound like police and .gov employees doing their jobs as they have to, but also helping the girls continue with their stand.

Sad thing is that both versions are believable, but one is clearly written to show a bias.  Which one, I don't know.  My point: if the press is playing games with a story this insignificant, what kind of crap are they doing with the big stories?

There was a day in America where the cops would have just been lemonade customers, and the only thing that would have made the blotter would have been an accident, assault, rape or murder.

[T.O.M.]

There was a day in America where the cops would have just been lemonade customers, and the only thing that would have made the blotter would have been an accident, assault, rape or murder.

...and it wasn't that long ago.   

[SADShooter]

...and it wasn't that long ago.   

Poached frog legs, anyone?

[MechAg94]

I guess that is why all the money raising car washes down here are for donation.  We probably have the same rule just no one has shut down a little girls lemonade stand. 

[vaskidmark]

A principal at some Florida school got fired/reassigned to administrative duties.  http://townhall.com/columnists/toddstarnes/2015/06/11/he-did-nothing-wrong-florida-principal-fired-after-defending-texas-cop-n2011348

Just who  was it that contacted the press after the cops came by?  Why would they have done that?

stay safe.

[T.O.M.]

A principal at some Florida school got fired/reassigned to administrative duties.  http://townhall.com/columnists/toddstarnes/2015/06/11/he-did-nothing-wrong-florida-principal-fired-after-defending-texas-cop-n2011348

Just who  was it that contacted the press after the cops came by?  Why would they have done that?

stay safe.

First story sucks to high heaven...but knowing things like that happen is why I don't comment publicly on anything anymore.  Especially on Facebook or a news sites comment section.  Someone would get butthurt, call my boss to complain, and it would be nothing but trouble.

Second, on the press thing...listening to people milling around the courthouse, it seems that the S.O.P. these days if you have any involvement with the police is to call the press.  Guess if you can't win in court, you hope to win in the court of public opinion.  Which sometimes is more important in modern America.

[MechAg94]

You at least don't use your real name for commenting. 

[HankB]

Once again, the actions of law enforcement officials help young minds develop an opinion about "their" police.

And then they wonder why support and respect for LEO's has diminished over the past several decades. 

[KD5NRH]

A principal at some Florida school got fired/reassigned to administrative duties.  http://townhall.com/columnists/toddstarnes/2015/06/11/he-did-nothing-wrong-florida-principal-fired-after-defending-texas-cop-n2011348

On the other hand;

He did not retract what he wrote nor did he apologize for what he wrote.

At least he's got the guts to stand behind his opinion.  I'm sure there are still some employers who will value that, though I suspect he's going to have to go into a different field to find one.

[Sergeant Bob]

Second, on the press thing...listening to people milling around the courthouse, it seems that the S.O.P. these days if you have any involvement with the police is to call the press.  Guess if you can't win in court, you hope to win in the court of public opinion.  Which sometimes is more important in modern America.

Ah, the glory of the 1st Amendment! It's a feature, not a fault.

[MechAg94]

On the lemonade stand, I heard a comment today that the quickest way to get bad laws removed is to enforce them to the maximum extent.  Those people shouldn't be going after the cops so much as the mayor and council that set up those laws.  

[zahc]

Yeah,  if we value the rule of law,  don't we want them enforced equally and as - written?  Asking the cops to selective enforce laws just makes their job even more no-win.

[MechAg94]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Brothers-Mow-Lawn-To-Keep-Woman-From-Going-To-Jail--306874101.html
Here is a similar issue that has a happier ending (so far).

[Jamisjockey]

Yeah,  if we value the rule of law,  don't we want them enforced equally and as - written?  Asking the cops to selective enforce laws just makes their job even more no-win.

Because shutting down dangerous lemonade stands is a great use of the police state.