Being pestered? There may be a law

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2012

ARTICLE OPTIONS

A A

LYONS FALLS — A unwelcome knock at one resident’s door led to a call to the police when the woman she said she wasn’t interested in what the peddlers were selling but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The vacuum cleaner salesmen returned to the property a second time, “became very pushy and used foul language,” according to state police.

When they could not produce a peddlers permit, as required by a Lyons Falls village ordinance, “they were dispersed from the village limits.”

The requirement of such a permit is decided by each town or village, according to Lewis County Undersheriff James M. Monnat. He said he was aware of occasional problems with unpermitted solicitors.

Permits to sell door to door in Lyons Falls are obtained at the clerk’s office. Part of their application process requires fingerprinting at the sheriff’s department. There are currently no peddlers permits approved in Lyons Falls.

The town of Lowville has no such requirements, but the village of Lowville does.

To solicit within the village, sellers have the option of a one-day permit for $25 or a year-long pass at a cost of $50. The permits are obtained from the village clerk’s office, where an application is filled out for the entire sales group. Each individual traveling with the group must produce a driver’s license which will be verified with village police. There are currently no peddlers permits issued in the village of Lowville.

The village of Croghan also requires permits. A permit for an ice cream truck was the last issued, recalled clerk Elizabeth S. Jones.

The villages of Castorland, Constableville, Copenhagen and Harrisville have no permit requirements, but Mr. Monnat said residents can still call for assistance if a salesperson won’t leave the property.

“If you tell them to leave and they don’t leave, call us,” he said. “We’ll take care of it.”