Crowdog
05-11-2005, 10:51 PM
Drinking banned at another popular sand dunes area in Grant County
The Associated Press
EPHRATA — Possession of alcohol has been banned at a second sand dunes area in Grant County, this time with fewer people objecting.
County commissioners voted unanimously to extend the ban that took effect May 1 in the dunes south of Moses Lake to the less accessible dunes near Beverly, east of the Columbia River and south of the Interstate 90 bridge at Vantage, effective May 16.
Few people were present at the commission meeting and only three spoke. That's in contrast to April 18, when about 50 people attended a meeting in which commissioners adopted the ban covering the Moses Lake dunes.
Commissioners said sheriff's deputies requested the drinking ban after doctors voiced concern about injuries during holiday weekends. Officials also said prohibiting alcohol would make the dunes more attractive to families.
Extending the ban to Beverly should prevent that area from being inundated by rowdy drinkers displaced from Moses Lake, deputies said.
Over Memorial Day weekend last year, officials said 155 tickets were issued for underage drinking or off-road driving offenses as 5,000 to 8,000 people partied at the Moses Lake dunes. The emergency room at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake was swamped with crash victims, 90 percent from alcohol-related accidents.
Last weekend, the first in which the ban at Moses Lake was in effect, no citations were issued and many ORV riders thanked officials for enforcing the restriction, Deputy Jason Mitchell said.
"I think the majority of the users that are coming out there are supportive of this," Mitchell said.
Rich Archer, director of the Sand Scorpions Off Road Vehicle Club spoke against the ban. He said county officials should have contacted the group before acting.
"It really irritates me that you guys can step over our heads," he said. "It disappoints me that you represent us and you don't event talk to us about this."
Archer also said the ban would not stop anyone from drinking and then going to the dunes to party.
The Associated Press
EPHRATA — Possession of alcohol has been banned at a second sand dunes area in Grant County, this time with fewer people objecting.
County commissioners voted unanimously to extend the ban that took effect May 1 in the dunes south of Moses Lake to the less accessible dunes near Beverly, east of the Columbia River and south of the Interstate 90 bridge at Vantage, effective May 16.
Few people were present at the commission meeting and only three spoke. That's in contrast to April 18, when about 50 people attended a meeting in which commissioners adopted the ban covering the Moses Lake dunes.
Commissioners said sheriff's deputies requested the drinking ban after doctors voiced concern about injuries during holiday weekends. Officials also said prohibiting alcohol would make the dunes more attractive to families.
Extending the ban to Beverly should prevent that area from being inundated by rowdy drinkers displaced from Moses Lake, deputies said.
Over Memorial Day weekend last year, officials said 155 tickets were issued for underage drinking or off-road driving offenses as 5,000 to 8,000 people partied at the Moses Lake dunes. The emergency room at Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake was swamped with crash victims, 90 percent from alcohol-related accidents.
Last weekend, the first in which the ban at Moses Lake was in effect, no citations were issued and many ORV riders thanked officials for enforcing the restriction, Deputy Jason Mitchell said.
"I think the majority of the users that are coming out there are supportive of this," Mitchell said.
Rich Archer, director of the Sand Scorpions Off Road Vehicle Club spoke against the ban. He said county officials should have contacted the group before acting.
"It really irritates me that you guys can step over our heads," he said. "It disappoints me that you represent us and you don't event talk to us about this."
Archer also said the ban would not stop anyone from drinking and then going to the dunes to party.