It’s a tradition as old as our great grandparents; young people going around to shovel the snow from old ladies’ driveways for a little extra spending cash. But in the state of New Jersey, this tradition might get you in trouble with the law. That’s what two high school students found out when they tried to go around handing out flyers during the recent snow storm.
Monday evening, Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf (both eighteen) decided to go door-to-door, handing out fliers to offer their snow shoveling services the following morning, in light of the snow storm that was supposed to hit the area. Of course, the snow storm wasn’t nearly as bad as many had anticipated but that wasn’t the only thing preventing the boys from shoveling driveways Tuesday morning. As they were walking around handing out their fliers, they were confronted by police, who told them that what they were doing was against the law.
The police had been called on a report that a “suspicious man” was walking through people’s yards. When they arrived on the scene, they informed the boys that they had to stop handing out their fliers. They cited an ordinance in the area that bans “unlicensed door-to-door soliciting.” Police also say the boys were not supposed to be out during the state of emergency that had been issued.
Many young folks have been learning hard lessons about government regulations on businesses. In recent years, several lemonade stands have been shut down because they weren’t properly licensed.
The boys say the police were not rude in this case and that they were just trying to make sure everything was okay.
