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/lo...-6237114c.html

 

I'm surprised they haven't shut down that whole area completely. Used to go there in the 80's a lot, by the mid 90's it turned into just a huge mass of total idiots. Completey careless, drunken, disrespectful, littering kids, 90% of whom needed a good *** whipping.

 

Very Well SAID!!!!!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]......It's to bad that people DON'T take a good look at themshelfs and realize what A$$holes they really are. They really are just ruining someone elses good time....... I think the end is near for both of these places (IMO "THAT IS SAD") SOME people that USE these areas need to wise-up......

 

More power to that Sheriff.

You can't Drink and Drive in your Car, so why should you be able to do so while opperating a Quad, Motorcycle or an Offroad 4X4? I for one wouldn't miss the Drunks.

 

I'm not familiar with the area at all, but it doesn't matter. There shouldn't be drinking and quads together at the same time! Go riding, have fun, and survive to party later when you aren't driving.

 

A few people have to ruin it for everybody else.

 

So if I take my camper up to the dunes for the weekend,and ride for the day, and at days end I want too kick back and knock down some beers I CAN'T.If the bike's are parked for the day, and the tow rig,I can't drinkI CALL IT BULLSH !If you are not riding or driving,that is wrong!It's up too the people to drink RESPONSIBLY,why should I pay for someone else's stupidity.The bad part is there is always some IDIOT that screws it up for everyone else.The next thing you know you won't be able to rock the camper with the old woman either.Just my .02!!!!!!!

 

Life is basically paying for other idiot's actions. From your insurance to your social security to your continuously eroding rights, there you have it.

 

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/a...als/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.

 

This statement is true, however, if you make it expensive (Large Fines) or inconvient (Jail Time), then hopefully it will detour some people from opperating vehicles while under the influence of alcohol. Someone getting their nose all bent out of shape because they can't go out and tear up the dunes with a Buzz on, ISN'T worth ONE LIFE. If you think it is, then tell that to my Dead best friends little daughter.