WA: sheriff seeks sand dune alcohol ban

[Crowdog]

Grant sheriff seeks sand dune alcohol ban

This story was published Saturday, April 9th, 2005

By Lynne Miller, Herald Basin bureau

MOSES LAKE -- Last year's Memorial Day weekend was jam-packed with accidents, many alcohol-related, at the Moses Lake and Beverly sand dunes.

But this year the Grant County Sheriff's Office hopes the holiday will be different and is supporting a year-round ban on alcohol at both locations.

A public hearing on the proposed ordinance is set for 1:30 p.m. April 18 during the county commissioners' meeting in Ephrata.

Deputy Prosecutor Steve Hallstrom, who is writing the ordinance, said the sheriff's office and the commissioners want the ordinance in effect by May 1, well before Memorial Day.

"Hopefully, it will cut down on accidents from errors in judgment," Hallstrom said. "We're not trying to keep people from having a good time."

About five years ago, Hallstrom said, he visited the 3,000-acre county and privately-owned Moses Lake Sand Dunes and found a mix of families enjoying their weekend and revelers who wanted to "recreate Tombstone from the 1800s" by disregarding laws.

Last Memorial Day weekend, about 5,000 to 8,000 people, many from Western Washington, visited the Moses Lake dunes, an area about 10 minutes from downtown that is open for 4-wheel-drive trucks, ATVs and motorcycles.

Herald archives show deputies issued about 155 tickets for underage drinking or off-road driving offenses.

Also last year, one man was badly injured in a motorcycle accident at the Beverly Sand Dunes, a 500- to 600-acre area near Mattawa.

"After last Memorial Day, we decided something had to be done," said sheriff's Chief Deputy Courtney Conklin. "It's like we're condoning drinking and driving."

Over the past year, Samaritan Hospital emergency room physicians have expressed concerns over the number of alcohol-related accident victims treated in the ER.

Moses Lake physician James Irwin, who has covered the ER during past Memorial Day weekends, said about 85 percent of the accident victims who come to the ER have been drinking.

"I've been asking them to do that for some time," Irwin said about the proposed ban.

Irwin, who's also a homeowner near the sand dunes, said he doesn't have a problem with people having fun, but he said alcohol and off-road-vehicles don't mix well.

Dave McMains, a member of the Columbia Basin Sand Commandos, a Moses Lake-based four-wheel-drive club, called the proposed ban "the greatest thing since sliced bread."

"They need control out there," McMains said. "There's too many people getting hurt. You can have fun out there and not be soused."

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/6359758p-6237114c.html

[JOEX]

This seems to an unforunate necessity, it wont be long before this becomes nation wide:ermm:

[Crowdog]

Originally posted by JOEX
This seems to an unforunate necessity, it wont be long before this becomes nation wide:ermm:

Yep. That was my thought too.

[wilkin250r]

I ran across a problem with manufacturing that is very similar to the problem I see here. My company manufactured a small electrical component that went into a larger assembly. When the assembly failed, it was our component 80% of the time. Not good numbers.

However, it turns out that 80 percent of the failures was only 0.02 percent of all total units. Out of 100,000 pieces we build, only 20 of them fail. Not bad odds, having 99.98 percent success rate.


It's silly. According to the physician, 85 percent of accident victims have been drinking alcohol.

No Sh*t?!? Heck, I bet closer to 99 percent have been riding some sort of off-road vehicle. Perhaps the answer is to ban all off-road vehicles! That will certainly cut down on the number of accidents and injuries!

I'm not saying I condone drinking and riding, but I'm fully aware of the risks involved when I go to the dunes. With more crowds comes more accidents, that's a simple fact of life. With 5000 to 8000 people on a given weekend, you're going to have accidents, alcohol or not. I'd like to see the numbers on how many accidents they actually had, instead of the percentage they think are attributed to alcohol.

If the ban DOES go into effect, they will use the statistics to prove the effectiveness. I bet a ban on alcohol will cut accidents by 75%, but mostly because it will cut the number of people at those areas by 50%.

Still, unfortunately, I think you guys are right, I think it's inevitable. It just bugs me that lawmakers are trying to keep me from activities that I'm obviously far too stupid and weak to refrain from.

[JOEX]

Yeah, statistics can be skewed anyway you want them.

I bet 99% of the 50% reduction of visitors are those who think alcohol is more important than riding. Nothing wrong with keeping the trash out.

If someone wants to get chit faced and f' themselves up that's their choice but when they take out others with them it's another story.

We all know it's the few dumbasses out there that screw things up for the rest of us.

[norcalatver]

Crowdog, thanks for the always informative info you pass on to us. I wouldn't know any of what the lawmakers are trying to do if it weren't for people like you keeping us aware. Thanks again.

[Crowdog]

Originally posted by norcalatver
Crowdog, thanks for the always informative info you pass on to us. I wouldn't know any of what the lawmakers are trying to do if it weren't for people like you keeping us aware. Thanks again.

No Problemo. Got to keep educate folks so we can try to keep our riding areas open. It is an uphill battle for sure....

I am in your neck of the woods (Shingle Springs). Do you go to Sand Mountain?

[norcalatver]

Originally posted by Crowdog
I am in your neck of the woods (Shingle Springs). Do you go to Sand Mountain? [/B]
My family and I go to Sand Mountain as often as possible. We also go to the Oregon Dunes as often as possible.

[Disaster]

You may be able to ban it but u wont stop it...

[PHIL_B54]

It would suck for those of us who are responsible, but it is going to become a necessity.

This last weekend in Little Sahara a group of campers next to us drank more than they rode. I counted that they went out riding twice a day for 20-30 minutes a time. They drank til 5am one morning, and 3 the other. Yelling, swearing, fighting and reving their fourwheelers. They woke up at 10am and started drinking again.

These are the people that bans are for, and the reality is that yep attendance of these types may go down, but I would gladly pay an extra dollar or two a day to ride where there are less people like this. Maybe this type of ban will allow family attendance to improve? If I had children or a family, I would have had to move my campsite. Remove some of the drunken party animal image from our sport and we all might benifit.

[Crowdog]

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2005/04/15/editorials/edit01.txt

Grant County is considering a year-round ban on alcohol at the Moses Lake sand dunes.
Posted: Thursday, Apr 14, 2005 - 04:03:31 pm PDT

It's a topic with many considerations:

If the ban goes into effect, will the area lose out on an always needed boost to the economy if such a ruling scares away tourists and the money they normally pour into many local businesses?

If no ban is passed, will someone else die in the sand dunes this Memorial Day weekend due to the carelessness of a drunk driver carousing through the sand in a pickup truck after one too many beers?

How can a ban like this possibly be enforced? Should we just focus our attention on controlling what does go on there better?


There are two sides to this story; we've decided to present both. In doing so, we hope to open up a community discussion, and remind people that the best way to make your voice heard on this subject is to attend the public hearing on the proposed ordinance at 1:30 p.m. April 18 in the Grant County Commissioners' hearing room.

-- The Editorial Board

1. Alcohol ban in dunes is long past due

It is past time to take drastic action in order to control the holiday weekend chaos at the Moses Lake's sand dunes.

Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend have become the traditional party weekends at the dunes, drawing people from all over this state, and even around the Northwest, who come for the sun, sand and water sports the area boasts.

But the dunes have become a dangerous place, especially on those weekends. The scene is one of mayhem and destruction, full of public nudity, unruly parties and a disgusting amount of garbage strewn across our natural recreation wonderland by out-of-towners who don't seem to care what they leave in their wake. The area is overcrowded and overrun with too many people and too many ATVs, motorcycles and 4-wheel-drive vehicles. Alcohol becomes the exponent in the dunes, raising the power and potential devastation of the crowds and off-road vehicles -- it's a formula for disaster.

That formula has been proven time and time again with the consistent number of deaths and injuries that occur at the dunes each year. They are unfortunate and unnecessary, and often alcohol-related.

Each tragic death and every senseless accident caused because of alcohol builds the case to remove alcohol from the dunes equation. How many more people will have to suffer before we fix this crisis?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Ban any idea of a ban

Holiday weekends at the sand dunes boost the local economy significantly, but that is the last reason why drinking at the dunes should continue. Trying to keep alcohol from hitting the sand dunes is like trying to keep rain from hitting the ground.

They say where there is a will there is a way, and with multiple entrances to the dunes from land and lake, even a thousand law enforcement officers couldn't stop every daft party-goer who wants to drink on a three-day weekend. There is no sense in creating a ban that cannot be significantly enforced.

That doesn't mean that the drinking should go unchecked. Stepping up patrols and cracking down on underage drinking would make the sand dunes safer, while keeping it enjoyable for those who are of age. We don't ban alcohol because someone drinks and drives, we ban drinking and driving.

Alcohol should not be banned from the dunes in principle and it cannot be banned in practice.

[Crowdog]

County bans alcohol at Moses Lake Sand Dunes

This story was published Tuesday, April 19th, 2005

By Lynne Miller, Herald Basin bureau

EPHRATA -- Alcohol will be banned at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes off-road-vehicle area beginning May 1, Grant County commissioners decided Monday.

The decision came after at public hearing attended by more than 50 people, with 21 testifying. Of those, 14 opposed the ban and seven favored it.

But the three commissioners said the action is necessary for public safety. A similar ban at the Beverly Sand Dunes, a 500- to 600-acre area near Mattawa, may be imposed later after the county gets legal land descriptions from state agencies.

One of the ban's opponents, Mick Hansen of Moses Lake, told the commissioners the new rule would turn away tourists and mean less money for Grant County.




Others opposing the ordinance included area ORV users, a businessman, a pizza vendor and two property owners who said they were concerned drinkers would migrate to their farmland.

Peny Archer of the ORV group Sand Commandos said deputies should use current laws to nab drunk drivers.

Last Memorial Day weekend, deputies wrote about 155 tickets for underage drinking or off-road driving offenses at the 3,000-acre Moses Lake dunes, where 5,000 to 8,000 people visited. The area, about 10 minutes from downtown Moses Lake, is open to 4-wheel-drive trucks, ATVs and motorcycles.

The seven people who spoke in favor of the ordinance included Samaritan Hospital's emergency room supervisor, a sand dunes accident victim, three Grant County sheriff's deputies and two ORV users.

"There's kind of this aura now, people don't want to ride, they come to watch the mayhem," said Chief Deputy Courtney Conklin.

Barbara Karas of Wenatchee said she favored the ban and recounted an alcohol-related accident she was in five years ago. Karas, then 36, said she broke both legs, her back, both arms and left shoulder after a Ford truck she was riding in attempted to jump to a nonexistent dune.

Commissioners Deborah Moore, Richard Stevens and LeRoy Allison approved the proposed ordinance without changes.

"I hate to see peoples' personal liberties eroded, but the few ruin it for the many, it falls down to that," Stevens said. "I'm sorry it comes down to that."

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/6394932p-6273782c.html

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by Crowdog
Of those, 14 opposed the ban and seven favored it.

Funny, I always thought the trend was to decide in FAVOR of the majority...



Barbara Karas of Wenatchee said she favored the ban and recounted an alcohol-related accident she was in five years ago. Karas, then 36, said she broke both legs, her back, both arms and left shoulder after a Ford truck she was riding in attempted to jump to a nonexistent dune.

Again, maybe I'm the odd one, but I wouldn't necessarily blame alcohol for her injuries. Instead, I would put the blame right on her shoulders for being stupid enough to get in the truck with a drunk driver!

[plkmonster2]

I think that drinking should be limited, like they should patrol the areas. One reason I feel this way was that I was almost smashed into a tree last year at Sand Lake. I was out around 10 pm running the one way tree run. I hear someone comign the wrong way at me at pretty good speed. Luckily, I saw their lights and got out of the trail. The guy flipped his bike about 100ft after passing me, and he was drunker than ****. They need to enforce it for safety.