WEST PARIS — It’s getting loud in quiet, rural West Paris.

Complaints of fireworks displays and discharges have town officials scratching their heads on how to keep residents happy and property owners exercising their rights satisfied.

The latest issues arose over complaints from residents on Allen Road and Pioneer Street over the noise emanating from neighbors, according to Town Manager John White.

The issue is compounded by the town’s recent discussions over an ordinance restricting the use of fireworks in town, which residents recently brought to the attention of selectmen.

Helen Cooper, who attended the past several meetings to tell selectmen of the deteriorating scenario involving neighbors firing the incendiaries onto her property, told selectmen Thursday evening the same neighbors recently hit her house.

West Paris, like many Maine towns, does not have local ordinances controlling the discharge of either fireworks or firearms. Instead, it relies upon state regulations and doesn’t tack on additional restrictions.

While selectmen said they’ll refer the issue to police, enforcing the state’s rules — Maine requires firework displays to end by 10 p.m. except around New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July — remains elusive.

Lacking a local police force, the town relies upon the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who patrol the entire county, to compel rowdy neighbors to turn down the noise.

Maine residents voted to legalize fireworks in 2012, a move some larger towns and cities promptly met with local bans.

West Paris town officials have promised to monitor the situation and determine if a similar ordinance should be placed on the ballot election in November.

Firearm laws in Maine fall under the purview of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, but municipalities can adopt firearms discharge ordinances, though they are primarily done in larger communities for their urban areas, White said.

With no local ordinance, the town defaults to the state law, which creates a 300-foot buffer around dwellings to discharge weapons.

“We’re about the same place as we are with fireworks,” White said.

The first step to creating a local law regulating use would be to delineate which part of town the ordinance would target. White said an ordinance regulating firearms would likely result in signs warning their use is prohibited in certain residential areas.

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