Several years ago I lived in the Village of South Haven in Van Buren County and worked about 25 miles north in Holland, MI, a city in Ottawa County. One unique characteristic of Ottawa County is that no alcohol may be purchased on Sunday (a.k.a. a dry county). Yet on Sunday afternoon a steady stream of vehicles would make the trek from Ottawa County and converge on Van Buren County to the south where, like other counties in Michigan, one could buy adult beverages after 12 p.m. (the county line was riddled with party stores).
So much for everyone agreeing that purchasing an alcoholic beverage on Sunday was a bad idea.
Such Sunday laws often walk that fine line between church and state that few wish to tread.
On Oct. 8, at 7:30 p.m., in the Brandon Middle School Cafeteria, Brandon Township officials will hold a public hearing to discuss the Off Road Vehicle Ordinance that includes a ban on operating ORVs on Sunday. The concept would (one would think) have less to do with the religious observance of the day rather, to promote a few hours of peace and quiet from the buzz of two-cycle engines. In theory the measure would, for one day each week, alleviate residents and the environment from the sometimes-callous recreational machines.
However considering Sunday is often the only day some residents have to “recreate,” that’s a lot to ask.
Perhaps a better solution would be a Sunday morning ORV moratorium until say, noon. The a.m. ban would be a nice gesture to keep the peace between those that like spending their weekends zipping across the countryside on two or four wheels and those who’d rather bask in moderate peace.
By giving a little to each side a better community should prevail.