Crowdog
12-26-2003, 08:26 AM
Eastern N.C. sheriffs say ATV riders a growing problem
12/25/2003
Associated Press
Tire marks crisscross drainage ditches, rows of crops and farm roads. At one farm, the tracks even show up in a small graveyard.
Those lingering signs of all-terrain vehicles have landowners in several eastern North Carolina counties tired of crop losses and rude riders. Many are now warning trespassing riders to stay away and pressing law enforcement agencies to crack down.
The conflict is likely to get worse after Christmas, when people receive outdoor toys and have no place to play with them.
Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright said his department has received about 200 complaints this year, sometimes two or three a week.
"It's not just four-wheel drives, it's Go Karts and minibikes, too," Cartwright said. "People get them and don't think about where they are going to ride them."
ATVs slice across cotton and soybean fields, leaving rutted paths. Gates or roadblocks often prove futile because riders just go around.
Halifax County farmer Keith F. "Moe" Britt said he tried to accommodate riders near his home in Conway by allowing them to ride on a farm path beside his fields. Riders took a bypass through his cotton after a tree blown over by Hurricane Isabel blocked the path.
"It's pitiful," he said. "If one four-wheeler decides to mess up and ride over the field, the others follow."
Britt, who tends about 800 acres, said ATV riders have increased erosion by riding up and down ditch embankments and by "mudding," or joy riding, through puddles.
"I've even had 'em come into town at night and cut across my yard to get to a canal behind my house," he said.
Britt, 46, said that he's had problems for eight or 10 years but that they seem to have worsened in the past two or three. He said only a fraction of the off-road riders in the area cause trouble, and some have volunteered to help police his land. He's not sure how to deal with those who ignore personal pleas and warnings.
In Wayne County, about a dozen landowners hired Goldsboro attorney L.E. "Trey" Taylor III to send a warning letter to several parents whose children have already been verbally warned about riding on private property.
Taylor said some riders were 9 to 13 years old and a few were "old enough to know better." He said several farmers in northern Wayne County have complained of damaged crops and property.
One resident who has complained of damage declined to discuss the incidents, saying he feared retaliation if he spoke out.
Law enforcement officers say riders are required to have permission from landowners to go on private property. But they acknowledge that pursuing a trespassing case is difficult unless illegal riders are caught in the act.
Authorities often don't have the manpower or equipment to stand guard in private fields.
"We can't drive a Crown Victoria out across a field to catch them," said Capt. Billy Anderson of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.
Some say the conflicts are a result of urbanization and the loss of open land to housing. But some, like Britt, say what has been lost is respect for the land and for neighbors.
"I like to see the children and grown-ups riding and having a good time," he said. "I wish they could respect the land so everyone could live in harmony."
http://www.wcnc.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D7VLHMN00.html
12/25/2003
Associated Press
Tire marks crisscross drainage ditches, rows of crops and farm roads. At one farm, the tracks even show up in a small graveyard.
Those lingering signs of all-terrain vehicles have landowners in several eastern North Carolina counties tired of crop losses and rude riders. Many are now warning trespassing riders to stay away and pressing law enforcement agencies to crack down.
The conflict is likely to get worse after Christmas, when people receive outdoor toys and have no place to play with them.
Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright said his department has received about 200 complaints this year, sometimes two or three a week.
"It's not just four-wheel drives, it's Go Karts and minibikes, too," Cartwright said. "People get them and don't think about where they are going to ride them."
ATVs slice across cotton and soybean fields, leaving rutted paths. Gates or roadblocks often prove futile because riders just go around.
Halifax County farmer Keith F. "Moe" Britt said he tried to accommodate riders near his home in Conway by allowing them to ride on a farm path beside his fields. Riders took a bypass through his cotton after a tree blown over by Hurricane Isabel blocked the path.
"It's pitiful," he said. "If one four-wheeler decides to mess up and ride over the field, the others follow."
Britt, who tends about 800 acres, said ATV riders have increased erosion by riding up and down ditch embankments and by "mudding," or joy riding, through puddles.
"I've even had 'em come into town at night and cut across my yard to get to a canal behind my house," he said.
Britt, 46, said that he's had problems for eight or 10 years but that they seem to have worsened in the past two or three. He said only a fraction of the off-road riders in the area cause trouble, and some have volunteered to help police his land. He's not sure how to deal with those who ignore personal pleas and warnings.
In Wayne County, about a dozen landowners hired Goldsboro attorney L.E. "Trey" Taylor III to send a warning letter to several parents whose children have already been verbally warned about riding on private property.
Taylor said some riders were 9 to 13 years old and a few were "old enough to know better." He said several farmers in northern Wayne County have complained of damaged crops and property.
One resident who has complained of damage declined to discuss the incidents, saying he feared retaliation if he spoke out.
Law enforcement officers say riders are required to have permission from landowners to go on private property. But they acknowledge that pursuing a trespassing case is difficult unless illegal riders are caught in the act.
Authorities often don't have the manpower or equipment to stand guard in private fields.
"We can't drive a Crown Victoria out across a field to catch them," said Capt. Billy Anderson of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.
Some say the conflicts are a result of urbanization and the loss of open land to housing. But some, like Britt, say what has been lost is respect for the land and for neighbors.
"I like to see the children and grown-ups riding and having a good time," he said. "I wish they could respect the land so everyone could live in harmony."
http://www.wcnc.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D7VLHMN00.html