Norway Police Insist Resident gets Business License for Yard Sale

In an unprecedented move, police shut down a yard sale run by local resident James Howard and insisted he apply for a Norway business license. Howard was granted a hawker's and peddler's license yesterday after briefly describing his small ‘business’ to the board of selectmen.

According to Police Chief Rob Federico, Howard was commanded to get a city business license to ensure that his yard sale wouldn’t pose any traffic or safety hazard.

Town Manager David Holt said that a peddler’s license issued to a private person for selling goods on his lawn is an unusual occurrence and he can’t remember the last time someone applied for one.

Leslie H. Dixon reports for The Sun Journal that, “Holt surmised the license was set up in 1936 with a $50 fee in order to dissuade people ‘from away’ from setting up business on the streets and taking away from local businesses;” not as a means to prevent residents from conducting yard sales.

In order to be able to monitor Howard’s yard sale, he was granted a temporary permit valid through September of this year for a fee of $25.

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