Neighbors feud over
4th of July rockets

By Tracy Farr
Editor, The Daily Spittoon

When Jason Plant built his house on the banks of Stinky Creek Lake last August, he had no idea he would be entangled in a feud between neighbors that had been going on for several years.

The feud escalated over the 4th of July weekend when reclusive neighbor Norm Kordell launched several large homemade rockets over the lake. His neighbors had asked him not to launch the rockets, fearing that they might go astray and hit their homes.

"You've got to understand that these were not just little bottle rockets," Plant said. "They looked more like SCUD missiles. Every single one of them was at least five-feet tall, and they looked like they could do a lot of damage if they came down in the wrong place."

According to neighbors, the feud started more than 20 years ago when houses started being built around the lake. Mr. Kordell lives on a hill overlooking the lake and took offense when homes started popping up everywhere, destroying his view.

"He has made it quite clear that he isn't happy about the lake development," said Howard Pardell, a local homeowner. "Mostly he just mouths off, but every know and then he builds one of those rockets and makes us all nervous."

Mr. Plant, as well as the other homeowners in the neighborhood, called Sheriff Max Welter in the hopes the sheriff could talk Mr. Kordell out of shooting off the rockets, but to no avail.

"I tried to make him understand the concerns of the neighborhood," Sheriff Welter, "but that's all I could do. They don't live in the city limits, so there aren't any restrictions to firing off fireworks."

"I have every right to celebrate the 4th of July as I want to," Kordell said. "If it makes them a little nervous -- so be it. Maybe it'll scare some of them off, or maybe it'll just remind them that I'm still here."

The rockets, all of which safely exploded over the lake in a profuse of color, caused no damage.