AREA GEARS UP FOR ANNUAL FIREWORKS SALES

As many as 25 new retail businesses will open in Cape Girardeau County this weekend, and a few more will do the same in the Scott City area.

Fireworks wholesalers and retailers are preparing for the big fireworks season, which officially gets under way in Cape Girardeau and Jackson Saturday. Scott City retailers can join the crowd June 25.

"We have 63 new items this year," said Rick Hoffman of Hoffman Family Fireworks, a wholesale operation at 2976 E. Outer Road in the Nash Road Industrial Park area.

A lot of the new items are designed as display fireworks, said Hoffman, who has been involved in fireworks for more than a dozen years, most of them in retailing. The Hoffmans opened a wholesale warehouse after purchasing the wholesale-retail fireworks business from Younghouse Distributing last year.

Some of the hot items this year are expected to be the Martin Bomber, the Glowworm and Hogwild, all manufactured by the Brothers Fireworks Co., said Hoffman.

"The Hogwild will make a 'sue-e-e-e' sound as it shoots off sparks," said Hoffman. "And the Martin Bomber shoots up a comet, which bursts into stars in the sky."

The Glowworm is also a big display item, he said. It shoots a large tube into the air, which breaks into colored stars that glow and spin.

There are the familiar items: bottle rockets, Roman candles, firecrackers, sparklers and fountains.

Users of fireworks are urged to shoot them responsibly.

"Some fireworks are misused," said Hoffman. "We are fortunate to be one of the states in which fireworks can be fired. We encourage the public to use fireworks with a great deal of safety."

Missouri is one of 29 states that permit fireworks. As many as 2,000 fireworks stands are in operation in the state each year.

Some retailers have already raised their red, white and blue-striped tents along Morgan Oak in Cape Girardeau.

"We'll also have retail outlets in the Jackson, Cape Girardeau and Scott City areas," said Hoffman.

The sales season ends in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City on July 4, but fireworks can still be sold outside city limits until July 10.

State statute requires all fireworks stand operators to have a seasonal fireworks license and a Missouri retail sales-tax license. Seasonal state licenses can be obtained at the Division of Fire Safety at 1709 Industrial Drive, Jefferson City, Mo. 65109. State licenses are effective from June 20 to July 10.

Also necessary are county merchant licenses, which are effective from June 20 to July 10. City merchant licenses must be obtained if the stands are inside the city limits. These licenses expire July 4.

Cape Girardeau County licenses are available at the county collector's office in the Administrative Building, 1 Barton Square, in Jackson, or in the Cape Girardeau office in the Courthouse Annex, 44 N. Lorimier St.

A Jackson city license may be obtained at City Hall, 101 Court St. in Jackson; a Cape Girardeau license is available at City Hall, 401 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau; and Scott City licenses may be obtained at Scott City's City Hall.

Inspectors may be checking on all the fireworks stands to make sure they have the necessary licenses, said Harold Kuehle, Cape Girardeau County collector.

Pam Seal of the Cape Girardeau Merchants License Bureau pointed out that fireworks can only be sold from 10 a.m. to 10 p,m. through July 4. Fireworks can be discharged during the same time period except on July 4 when they can be fired until midnight.

Fireworks may be sold in Jackson from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., said Mary Lowry, Jackson city clerk. In Scott City, licenses permit fireworks stands to sell from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

In addition to licenses, state, city and county regulations require safety guidelines to be followed when selling the fireworks. They require that fireworks stands operate beyond certain distances from open flames, smoking, flammable materials and businesses that sell gasoline.