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The 9-year-old who fought to have a snowball fight ban overturned

DANE BEST

ReporterAshley | Twitter | Fair Use

Sophia Swinford - published on 12/06/18

After 100 years, children can throw snowballs again in this Colorado town.

In an act of heroism for his fellow 9-year-olds, Dane Best has successfully lobbied his town to overturn a century-old ban on snowball fights.

Best presented his case to the town board of Severance, Colorado, with some very relatable arguments: “It’s an outdated law. I want to be able to throw a snowball without getting in trouble.”

The ban itself fell under the broader ban on aiming “missiles” at people, animals, or private property. Evidently, this law had, in the past, been interpreted to understand snowballs as “missiles.”

Kyle Rietkerk, the assistant to the town administrator, says Best is not the first young malcontent to take issue with the law, but, though he has encouraged others to take matters into their own hands, no one has taken the bait until now. Best garnered support from his classmates, writing letters with them in favor of overturning the ban.

After the town board ruled in Best’s favor, he had the pleasure of selecting his first target: his little brother.

But Best’s local activism is not quite done yet. He has turned his sights to a law that restricts the definition of a pet to only cats and dogs. Best himself owns a guinea pig as a pet … which is also, technically, illegal.


CLAIRE WINELAND
Read more:
Claire Wineland, a champion for sick children, passes away at 21

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