3 girls busted for illegal lemonade stand

Three girls trying to raise money to go to a waterpark thought that a lemonade stand would do the trick. But then they met the long arm of the law — their local police chief.

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The girls had started up their stand in Midway, Ga., when Police Chief Kelly Morningstar and a deputy drove by.

"They told us to shut it down," 10-year-old Skylar Roberts was quoted as saying by The Coastal Source news website.

"It’s kind of crazy that we couldn’t sell lemonade," added 14-year-old Casity Dixon. "It was fun, but we had to listen to the cops and shut it down."

Morningstar defended his action and received the support of Midway's mayor. "We had told them, 'We understand you guys are young, but still, you’re breaking the law, and we can’t let you do it anymore,'" Morningstar said. "The law is the law, and we have to be consistent with how we enforce the laws."

That city law requires a business and food permits ($50 a day), even if the stand was at the home of one of the girls.

Health issues were also a concern, Morningstar said. "We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, of what the lemonade was made with, so we acted accordingly by city ordinance,” he said.

News of the bust caused an outpouring of local support for the trio — and The Coastal Source said it had given the girls tickets to the waterpark.