Board would ban sales of air guns, silly string

You may have to holster your air rifles, BB guns, switchblade knives, pea shooters, and slingshots -- and even your silly string -- if Town Meeting bans their sale or use next month.

Selectmen have recommended the ban, prompted by a couple of incidents at last fall's Oktoberfest, to cut down on the hazards possibly posed by the weapons and -- in the case of silly string -- the mess.

The proposal particularly pleased education officials as a way to reinforce strict antiweapons measures already in place in schools.

''I think all those things in some form or another could cause harm to children," said Paul Howes, School Committee vice chairman. ''In a perfect world, we'd like to be able to police ourselves with these types of things. In the world we live in, I think it's a good move."

Support for the ban is not unanimous. Even Howes's 14-year-old son, while agreeing that school is not the place for weapons, contended that officials should allow at least silly string during special events.

''If they sold it for Fourth of July, that would be OK, because you're just using it for recreation," said Paul Howes.

But that is what worries officials.

The impetus for the proposal came after someone shot a potato at the head of a man driving a children's motorized train during the annual Oktoberfest, said Michael Gianotis, town administrator. The man suffered a welt on the side of his head but kept on driving, Gianotis said.

No charges were filed in connection with the incident, according to Police Chief James Corcoran. Corcoran described the weapon, called a potato gun, as an air rifle with a wide barrel like a bazooka that can shoot projectiles.

Also at Oktoberfest, widespread spraying of silly string ''made a mess of the parking lot," Gianotis said.

More recently, Corcoran said, police picked up a 14-year-old after he was seen walking outside with what looked like a firearm. Charges were dropped on March 31 after the gun was judged to be an air rifle and not a real firearm, he said.

Officials said incidents involving children and weapons are unusual in this small town.

''I typically think we have a pretty good group of kids," said Jack Dillon, assistant principal at Maynard High School. ''We don't have problems with things being brought into the school."

Still, Corcoran said, one can never be too careful, and even silly string ''can be dangerous if used the wrong way." Warning labels on the back of silly string cans recommend keeping it away from the eyes, face, and clothes, and not ingesting it.

Such concerns prompted Maynard to model its proposed bylaw after a Marlborough ordinance.

That law dates to the 1950s, and includes water pistols, said Ron Guest, the city's legal administrator. Guest recalled he was in a high school chemistry class when his teacher announced that water pistols would no longer be allowed in class. Then the teacher proceeded to whip one out of his pocket and drench all the students in the first row.

''That was his way of making a point," Guest said.

Silly string was prohibited years later, after Dennis Hunt, then a city councilor and now mayor, was sprayed during a Labor Day parade and it ruined his suit, Guest said.

Illegal or not, the gelatinous goo is not hard to find.

At Solomon Pond Mall, in Marlborough, Spencer Gifts had a whole row of different kinds of silly string last week, right there with Simpsons memorabilia, neon pink flamingos, and sex poetry refrigerator magnets.

The salesgirl strongly recommended that the stuff on sale for $3.49 plus tax, called Stinky String, not be used inside.

''It really smells," she said.

Was she right?

Think locker room. Think day-old diapers. Better yet, don't think about it at all -- which is exactly what Maynard selectmen want you to do.

Connie Paige can be reached at cpaige@globe.com.