NORWAY — The Board of Selectmen issued a hawker’s and peddler’s license Thursday night to a man who wants to continue to sell items in the yard outside his apartment on Main Street.
James Howard of 268 Main St. filed an application for the license after his sales were shut down recently due to complaints to police.
Howard told the board he has 10 tables and sells almost exclusively new items ranging from cowboy hats to sunglasses and snake ashtrays. The tables are set up in front of the apartment house with permission of the landlord.
The building is next to Dow’s Law Office and across from Norway Savings Bank.
Police Chief Rob Federico told the board he was concerned about the tables being very close to the sidewalk and limited parking. He told Howard he should speak with selectmen and file for the license.
“This is unusual,” Town Manager David Holt said of the license. “I don’t remember the last one we had.”
Selectman Russ Newcomb, who has been on the board for the past 12 years, said he could not remember one during that time.
Holt surmised the license was set up in 1936 with a $50 fee in order to dissuade people “from away” from setting up business on the streets and taking away from local businesses.
The board agreed to issue Howard a license until Sept. 30 for a $25 fee to see how the operation fared over the summer.
Howard is expected to be doing business again Friday, July 15.
In other business, Selectman Warren Sessions was elected chairman and Russ Newcomb vice chairman.
Stephen Cronce was appointed a reserve police officer.
The board approved a resolution for U.S. Air Force veteran Robert Emerson, who will be buried in Paris on Saturday. The Norway man was killed during World War II in a plane crash in the Philippines and his remains were returned here Wednesday.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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