No Permit, No Lemonade: Kids Shut Down by Bully GovernmentBy Lily Dane People came by and bought little cups of your refreshing, sugary thirst-quencher when they were taking breaks from mowing their lawns or gardening. Maybe, like me, you even sold homemade cookies to go with your lemonade. Neighbors complimented your drink-mixing and baking skills and tossed a little extra change in your money jar. Yeah, those days are over. You see, nowadays, you need a PERMIT to do that. Two creative young ladies in Overton, Texas found this out the hard way earlier this week. Sisters Andria and Zoey Green wanted to raise $105.00 to buy their dad a special Fathers Day gift, so they set up a lemonade stand. We were trying to raise some money to take our dad to Splash Kingdom, 8-year-old Andria explained. Zoey described their business plan to KCTV: We had kettle corn and lemonade. The lemonade was for 50 cents and the kettle corn was a dollar, but if you got both it was a dollar. We were there for about an hour and the police department pulled up, code enforcement officer and the chief. She pulled me to the side and said we needed a permit, said their mother, Sandi Green Evans. Right there with you, Andria. The city agreed to waive the $150 fee for the Peddlers Permit, but the girls mother said they hit another obstacle: they were told theyd have to get licensed by the Rusk County Health Department before being allowed the permit. A license. To sell lemonade and kettle corn. What planet are we on, again? Texas House Bill 970, or the Texas Bakers Bill, prohibits the sale of food which requires time or temperature control to prevent spoilage. Since lemonade technically must be refrigerated to prevent the growth of bacteria, by law, the girls can not sell it without an inspection and permit, explains KCTV. The girls mother said, I think thats ridiculous. I think theyre 7 and 8 and theyre just trying to make money for their own cause. I think most rational people would agree with her. Oh, except for Police Chief Clyde Carter, whosaid it is the LAW and Overton police are going to enforce it: We have to follow by the state health guidelines. They have to have a permit if theyre going to do the lemonade stands. The girls obviously had to stop selling their goodies. Thankfully, publicity surrounding the story led to generous donations from local businesses. We received free passes to Splash Kingdom, where the girls wanted to take their dad for Fathers Day, Evans said. We got them from the owners of the theme park and then again from a radio station.They were also given free tickets to Six Flags. The girls were also given $200 in donations, but they arent keeping the money: We do have so many positives coming out of this, and since I dont feel right keeping the money now that they got their dads gift for free, were going to give away the extra tickets and set up scholarships with the donations theyve collected, Evans said. Were going to give the scholarship to a local graduating high school senior majoring in business management. Here, the girls talk about their first run-in with The Law: We were doing just fine until the cops came. Andria, if I had a dollar for each time Ive heard someone say that Lily Dane is a staff writer for The Daily Sheeple, where this article first appeared. Her goal is to help people to Wake the Flock Up! 