[[{“value”:”A 13- year- ancient Girl Scout and her mother received$ 400 in fines for selling cookies from a driveway owned by the teenager’s grandparents.
Erica Fairbanks McCarroll and her daughter Emma set up a stand on Erica’s parents property, which sits adjacent to the major thoroughfare of Pinedale, Wyoming.
But, that did not prevent a municipal code official from imposing hundreds of dollars in fines on the mother and daughter.
Your reassurance that the majority of zoning and code enforcement is done by active individuals doing absurd things, like punishing Girl Scouts for selling cookies in their own grandparents ‘ driveway. https ://t.co/ToCrGIAXGu
— Dan King ( @Kinger_DC ) April 29, 2024
Cowboy State Daily reports:
Because the code enforcement officer was knowledgeable about the regulations governing where a Girl Scout can stand and where her mother can park their car while selling them, Emma McCarroll, 13, nearly failed to meet her sales goal.
The Girl Scout and her mother got into a fight when the code enforcement officer inquired if the mother, Erica Fairbanks McCarroll, had permission to sell from the city’s Pine Avenue lot and park a car it.
Puzzled, Fairbanks McCarroll did n’t answer the officer’s question because the spot where she parked was in the driveway of her parents.
The officer previously made a connection between the people who own the driveway and those who sell Girl Scout cookies there.
” I personally do n’t think she ever understood that I was related to the Fairbanks, my parents who own the driveway”, Fairbanks McCarroll said.
However, the officer captured images of Emma McCarroll’s sales activity between March 13 and March 15 to show that her mother had improperly parked in the driveway on Pine Avenue while Emma McCarroll had set up the stand.
A local by-the-book municipal code officer slapped a 13-year-old Girl Scout from Pinedale with more than$ 400 in fines for selling Girl Scout cookies. The girl was shocked. https: //t. co/5Tiyt5GQYq
— Cowboy State Daily ( @daily_cowboy ) April 23, 2024
The Wyoming Department of Transportation ( WYDOT ) essentially controls the small town’s main thoroughfare and asserts ownership of the property, according to Cowboy State Daily.
supposedly infringed on WYDOT’s right of way of the street through activities like selling cookies.
” You ca n’t sell within the WYDOT right of way”, Pinedale Mayor Matt Murdock told the outlet.
According to the Daily Mail, Fairbanks McCarroll said on Facebook,” We sold for about 1 hour and 30 minutes when she showed up and handed me 3 parking tickets totaling$ 400.”
A 13- year- ancient Girl Scout in Wyoming was fined$ 400 for selling cookies from her family driveway with her mother https ://t.co/RmCZHorjB6
— ABC 10News San Diego ( @10News ) April 26, 2024
Per Daily Mail:
I responded that I had followed her instructions and had left the street. She said the tickets are n’t simply for being on the sidewalk and that this is for your daughter’s safety.’
According to the municipal code, there must be at least five feet of unobstructed passage on the sidewalk, and Fairbanks McCarroll is fined$ 100 for parking on the sidewalk,$ 150 for unlawful obstruction, and another$ 150 fine.
‘ Maybe I just think that government can be absurd. It was n’t reasonable to be fined$ 400 for selling cookies in front on my grandparent’s property,’ Emma told Cowboy State Daily, who photographed the mother daughter duo.
Emma, who has a history of Girl Scouting since she was six years old, wanted to sell 1,200 cookies to receive a$ 350 credit toward summer camp.
Fairbanks McCarroll said,’ She did not identify herself as Code Enforcement, she did not say what I was doing was illegal, she did n’t say she would or even could write me a ticket, she did n’t even say I could n’t sell there anymore. All she said actually was you should n’t block the sidewalk.’
Fairbanks McCarroll responded,” The Fairbanks are my parents and they do n’t care,” when the code enforcement officer informed her that she probably would not like her blocking their property. She then said,” OK, I just recommend you do n’t block the sidewalk,” and then turned around.”}]] [[{“value”:”
A 13-year old Girl Scout and her mom were fined $400 for selling cookies in a driveway that belonged to the teenager’s grandmother.
Erica Fairbanks McCarroll, her daughter Emma, and Erica’s parents set up a booth on Erica Fairbanks McCarroll’s property, which is located adjacent to Pinedale, Wyoming’s main thoroughfare.
But that didn’t prevent a municipal code official from fining the mother and her daughter hundreds of dollars.
You are reminded that most code enforcement and zoning is done by busybodies doing silly things, such as fining Girl Scouts who sell cookies in their grandparents’ driveway. https://t.co/ToCrGIAXGu
— Dan King (@Kinger_DC) April 29, 2024
Cowboy State Daily Reports
Emma McCarroll, 13 almost missed her sales goal. The code enforcement officer in Pinedale was an expert at the rules for where a Girl Scout can stand and where her mother could park her car while selling the cookies.
The conflict between the city, the Girl Scout, and her mother began when a code enforcement officer asked Erica Fairbanks McCarroll if she had permission from the landowner to sell on the city’s Pine Avenue location and park a car in a nearby driveway.
Fairbanks McCarroll was puzzled when she didn’t respond to the officer’s questions because the place where she parked in the driveway of the parents.
The officer did not make the connection between the owner of the driveway and those selling Girl Scout cookies.
Fairbanks McCarroll: “I don’t believe she understood that I am related to Fairbanks and my parents own the driveway.”
The officer took photos of their sales between March 13 and 15, to prove that Emma McCarroll set up the stand and mom had illegally parked in the driveway which crossed the public sidewalk along Pine Avenue.
A 13-year-old Girl Scout from Pinedale was surprised when a local by-the-book municipal code officer slapped her with more than $400 in fines for selling Girl Scout Cookies.https://t.co/5Tiyt5GQYq
Cowboy State Daily April 23, 2024 (@daily_cowboy).
According to Cowboy State Daily the Wyoming Department of Transportation claims ownership of the main thoroughfare of the small town.
WYDOT claims that activities such as the sale of cookies infringed upon its right of way.
Pinedale Mayor Matt Murdock said to the outlet that “you can’t sell inside the WYDOT right-of-way”.
Fairbanks McCarroll told Daily Mail that she handed her three parking tickets worth $400 on Facebook.
A 13-year-old Girl Scout in Wyoming was fined $400 for selling cookies from her family driveway with her mother https://t.co/RmCZHorjB6
— ABC 10News San Diego (@10News) April 26, 2024
Daily Mail:
I replied that I had done as she asked and moved off the sidewalk. She said that the tickets weren’t just issued for being on a sidewalk, but for your daughter’s protection.
Fairbanks McCarroll received a $100 fine after parking on the sidewalk. A $150 fine was issued for an illegal obstruction, and a further $150 fine was issued for violating a municipal code which stated that there must be at least 5 feet of clear space on the sidewalk.
‘Sometimes, I think the government can be unreasonable. Emma told Cowboy State Daily that it was not reasonable to fine her $400 for selling cookies on the property of her grandparents.
Emma, a Girl Scout who has been in the program since she was six, wanted to sell 1,200 boxes so that she could get a credit of $350 for summer camp.
Fairbanks McCarroll stated, “She did not identify herself as Code Enforcement. She did not say that what I was doing is illegal. She did not say she would write me a citation, or even that she could. She didn’t tell me I couldn’t continue to sell there. She said that you shouldn’t block sidewalks.
Fairbanks McCarroll responded that the Fairbanks were her parents and didn’t care if she blocked their property. She said, “Okay, I just recommend that you don’t do it.”
“}]]
