This Young Entrepreneur Had A Great Idea To Encourage Reading… And Then The Government Destroyed It!
“It’s kind of like I’m in a whole other world..."
A nine-year-old Kansas boy has a passion for reading; and in an effort to share his enthusiasm with others in his community, he set up a ‘free library’ in his front yard.
“It’s kind of like I’m in a whole other world,” Spencer Collins said of his infatuation with books; “and I like that. I like adventure stories because I’m in the adventure and it’s fun.”
He decided to display a bookshelf bearing the simple instruction ‘take a book, leave a book’ on the property in front of his home. This, he reasoned, would give his neighbors an opportunity to discover a new adventure or share one of their favorites with others.
Collins’ venture was shot down, however, when local officials received word of it.
“When we got home from vacation,” his mother recalled, “there was a letter from the city of Leawood saying that it was in code violation and it needed to be down by the 19th or we would receive a citation.”
Sarah Collins explained the city’s issue is that the bookshelf could be considered an accessory structure, which according to city ordinance is unlawful. To comply, the ‘structure’ was relocated to the Collins’ garage.
The young reading innovator, however, plans to plead his case in front of those very same municipal bureaucrats.
“I would tell them why it’s good for the community and why they should drop the law,” he explained.
City representative Richard Coleman, however, indicated that local officials would likely not be a receptive audience.
“We empathize with them, but we still have to follow the rules,” he asserted. “We need to treat everybody the same.”
Coleman maintained that there can be no exceptions to the law; however, Collins continues to show signs that he might just beat the city at its own game. Since the law prohibits structures not attached to a residence, the student got an idea.
“I thought, why not get a rope and attach it to our house and the library?”
A Facebook page he has set up to bring attention to the library has attracted an impressive following of supporters.
Read more at
http://www.westernjournalism.com/kid-great-idea-encourage-reading-bureaucrats-ruined/#Ke0tJWtkCahOPeGA.99
