jf501
07-04-2002, 05:49 AM
I am posting this to see what others think.
Before moving here we kept a large boat at lake of the Ozarks, a lake that is known for partying and sees up to what some say is as many as 90,000 boats a day during holiday weekends and the shore lines are populated with restaurants and drinking establishments.
Every year we would witness at least one to two bad boating accidents involving alcohol, but I would bet that 90% of the boats on the water would at least have some beer in the cooler and in hand which would lead me to believe although a few would get out of hand, most would be responsible about drinking.
I for one think Sheriff Andy Lee's 'ZERO TOLERANCE' law is a bit extreme. If you read the article below you will see that, statistically beaver lake is well below the national average in boating/alcohol related accidents and the law seems to be hurting a lot of businesses associated with the lake.
Several people I know that would come down from Kansas City to enjoy beaver lake have decided it would be a lot less stressful to go to table rock instead so they can enjoy a beer or glass of wine while on the water and still be responsible.
What do you think?
In second year, lake’s alcohol policy irks some, pleases others
BY ANDY DAVIS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
BEAVER LAKE — Benton County sheriff’s Deputy Mark Pitts was patrolling the Big Clifty area of this lake with another deputy and an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officer when he spotted something.
Two young men with a blue cooler were sitting on a bank.
"What’s he drinking?" Pitts asked another deputy, motioning at one of the men.
The deputies pulled their 22-foot deck boat closer to shore to get a better look. Pitts hopped out. "This gentleman is drinking beer," he said.
At Pitts’ suggestion, the two men poured out not only the offending open can of Budweiser, but also the rest of a 24-pack of Bud, three cans of Guinness and a half-full bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila.
"Is there some place we can go where it’s not illegal?" one of them asked.
Pitts handed the man a flier explaining the Benton County sheriff’s office policy in bold red letters. Drinking is strictly outlawed on or near the lake. Period.
"We’re not trying to be the bad guys here," Pitts told them. "We’re just trying to get a point across. Last year, we had a lot of deaths out here."
One year after a string of alcohol-related accidents on Beaver Lake, Benton County Sheriff Andy Lee’s zero-tolerance policy is still in effect.
From today, traditionally one the lake’s busiest of the year, until Sunday, deputies will step up patrols on the lake looking for violations of boating safety rules and of the state’s drinking-inpublic law, sheriff ’s office spokesman Tom Brewster said.
Those caught drinking on the lake are given a ticket that usually results in a fine of $25, plus court costs of up to $100, Pitts said. Deputies also threaten to seize the alcohol if the offender doesn’t willingly pour it out, he said.
Reaction to the policy has been mixed. Some boaters say it has made the lake safer. Others lament that they can’t drink a beer while fishing or relaxing in the sun.
Marina and cabin owners say the zero-tolerance policy has driven away some of the out-of-state tourists.
"It’s bad for business. It’s bad for public relations," said Jim Terry, who works at War Eagle Marina. "It’s cost us tremendously."
Nationwide and in Arkansas, the number of alcohol-related boating accidents has remained stable in recent years. Across the country, 215 people died in alcohol-related recreational boating accidents in 2000, the latest year for which figures were available, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The number was up slightly from 1996, when 190 people died in such accidents.
In Arkansas, five people died in alcohol-related boating accidents in 2001, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Eight people died in such accidents in 1996, according to the Coast Guard.
Boating while intoxicated is illegal in nearly every state, but few jurisdictions outlaw drinking on lakes altogether, said Bruce Schmidt, a Coast Guard statistician. He wasn’t aware of any other jurisdictions in the country where drinking on a lake is illegal.
Arkansas Code 5-71-212 prohibits drinking in any public place. Violating the law is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $100 and a sentence of up to 30 days in jail.
The law is strictly enforced in the 85 percent of Beaver Lake within Benton County. Benton County sheriff’s deputies also enforce the policy in some areas of the lake in Carroll County, such as Big Clifty and Hogscald Hollow, by bringing a Carroll County deputy or Game and Fish officer along in a patrol boat.
Washington County sheriff’s office deputies won’t make an arrest for drinking unless someone is driving a boat while drunk, which is a separate offense from drinking in public, said Cpl. Ricky Williams.
"If you’re just enjoying a beer, we’re not going to say anything," he said.
Three alcohol-related deaths in just over a week prompted Lee to start the zero-tolerance policy last summer. The deaths included Scott E. Robertson, 37, of Fort Smith and Michael R. Pringnitz, 27, of Rogers, who drowned June 16, 2001, after they were thrown from a speedboat near Rocky Branch Marina. Deputies found alcohol on the boat, and witnesses told them the men had been drinking just before the accident.
On June 24, 2001, Marcus Jones, 22, of Fayetteville drowned after he fell off a boat near the War Eagle Branch of the lake. A Game and Fish Commission report said Jones had been "drinking heavily" before the accident.
From June 18 through Aug. 5, 2001, Benton County deputies issued 66 tickets for drinking in public, seven for being a minor in possession of alcohol, two for public intoxication and one for boating while intoxicated, said Brewster, the sheriff’s office spokesman.
He said the policy is working. No one has died in an alcohol-related accident on the lake this year.
Angie Wheeler, 45, of Bentonville said the policy has made her feel safer about visiting the lake.
"This should be family-oriented out here," said Wheeler, who owns a barbecue restaurant and a courier service in Bentonville. "I don’t think alcohol and water mix."
Others said the laws should be enforced with more moderation.
Mike Cheval, a 46-year-old carpenter from Bethel Heights, said he and his wife like to pull into a cove after work, turn on the stereo and drink a beer. He said he sticks to the Washington County areas of the lake to avoid any trouble.
"There’s no beer in my boat now, but I don’t think I’d go up there" to Benton County, he said. "I don’t know how I’d react if a deputy pulled up and asked if he could look for beer in my boat."
Business at the Prairie Creek Marina dropped "substantially" after the policy went into effect last year, said manager Paul Davis. He said he received calls from people in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma wanting to know if they were allowed to drink alcohol. When they find out about the policy, they usually decide to go someplace else, Davis said.
Before moving here we kept a large boat at lake of the Ozarks, a lake that is known for partying and sees up to what some say is as many as 90,000 boats a day during holiday weekends and the shore lines are populated with restaurants and drinking establishments.
Every year we would witness at least one to two bad boating accidents involving alcohol, but I would bet that 90% of the boats on the water would at least have some beer in the cooler and in hand which would lead me to believe although a few would get out of hand, most would be responsible about drinking.
I for one think Sheriff Andy Lee's 'ZERO TOLERANCE' law is a bit extreme. If you read the article below you will see that, statistically beaver lake is well below the national average in boating/alcohol related accidents and the law seems to be hurting a lot of businesses associated with the lake.
Several people I know that would come down from Kansas City to enjoy beaver lake have decided it would be a lot less stressful to go to table rock instead so they can enjoy a beer or glass of wine while on the water and still be responsible.
What do you think?
In second year, lake’s alcohol policy irks some, pleases others
BY ANDY DAVIS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
BEAVER LAKE — Benton County sheriff’s Deputy Mark Pitts was patrolling the Big Clifty area of this lake with another deputy and an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officer when he spotted something.
Two young men with a blue cooler were sitting on a bank.
"What’s he drinking?" Pitts asked another deputy, motioning at one of the men.
The deputies pulled their 22-foot deck boat closer to shore to get a better look. Pitts hopped out. "This gentleman is drinking beer," he said.
At Pitts’ suggestion, the two men poured out not only the offending open can of Budweiser, but also the rest of a 24-pack of Bud, three cans of Guinness and a half-full bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila.
"Is there some place we can go where it’s not illegal?" one of them asked.
Pitts handed the man a flier explaining the Benton County sheriff’s office policy in bold red letters. Drinking is strictly outlawed on or near the lake. Period.
"We’re not trying to be the bad guys here," Pitts told them. "We’re just trying to get a point across. Last year, we had a lot of deaths out here."
One year after a string of alcohol-related accidents on Beaver Lake, Benton County Sheriff Andy Lee’s zero-tolerance policy is still in effect.
From today, traditionally one the lake’s busiest of the year, until Sunday, deputies will step up patrols on the lake looking for violations of boating safety rules and of the state’s drinking-inpublic law, sheriff ’s office spokesman Tom Brewster said.
Those caught drinking on the lake are given a ticket that usually results in a fine of $25, plus court costs of up to $100, Pitts said. Deputies also threaten to seize the alcohol if the offender doesn’t willingly pour it out, he said.
Reaction to the policy has been mixed. Some boaters say it has made the lake safer. Others lament that they can’t drink a beer while fishing or relaxing in the sun.
Marina and cabin owners say the zero-tolerance policy has driven away some of the out-of-state tourists.
"It’s bad for business. It’s bad for public relations," said Jim Terry, who works at War Eagle Marina. "It’s cost us tremendously."
Nationwide and in Arkansas, the number of alcohol-related boating accidents has remained stable in recent years. Across the country, 215 people died in alcohol-related recreational boating accidents in 2000, the latest year for which figures were available, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The number was up slightly from 1996, when 190 people died in such accidents.
In Arkansas, five people died in alcohol-related boating accidents in 2001, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Eight people died in such accidents in 1996, according to the Coast Guard.
Boating while intoxicated is illegal in nearly every state, but few jurisdictions outlaw drinking on lakes altogether, said Bruce Schmidt, a Coast Guard statistician. He wasn’t aware of any other jurisdictions in the country where drinking on a lake is illegal.
Arkansas Code 5-71-212 prohibits drinking in any public place. Violating the law is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $100 and a sentence of up to 30 days in jail.
The law is strictly enforced in the 85 percent of Beaver Lake within Benton County. Benton County sheriff’s deputies also enforce the policy in some areas of the lake in Carroll County, such as Big Clifty and Hogscald Hollow, by bringing a Carroll County deputy or Game and Fish officer along in a patrol boat.
Washington County sheriff’s office deputies won’t make an arrest for drinking unless someone is driving a boat while drunk, which is a separate offense from drinking in public, said Cpl. Ricky Williams.
"If you’re just enjoying a beer, we’re not going to say anything," he said.
Three alcohol-related deaths in just over a week prompted Lee to start the zero-tolerance policy last summer. The deaths included Scott E. Robertson, 37, of Fort Smith and Michael R. Pringnitz, 27, of Rogers, who drowned June 16, 2001, after they were thrown from a speedboat near Rocky Branch Marina. Deputies found alcohol on the boat, and witnesses told them the men had been drinking just before the accident.
On June 24, 2001, Marcus Jones, 22, of Fayetteville drowned after he fell off a boat near the War Eagle Branch of the lake. A Game and Fish Commission report said Jones had been "drinking heavily" before the accident.
From June 18 through Aug. 5, 2001, Benton County deputies issued 66 tickets for drinking in public, seven for being a minor in possession of alcohol, two for public intoxication and one for boating while intoxicated, said Brewster, the sheriff’s office spokesman.
He said the policy is working. No one has died in an alcohol-related accident on the lake this year.
Angie Wheeler, 45, of Bentonville said the policy has made her feel safer about visiting the lake.
"This should be family-oriented out here," said Wheeler, who owns a barbecue restaurant and a courier service in Bentonville. "I don’t think alcohol and water mix."
Others said the laws should be enforced with more moderation.
Mike Cheval, a 46-year-old carpenter from Bethel Heights, said he and his wife like to pull into a cove after work, turn on the stereo and drink a beer. He said he sticks to the Washington County areas of the lake to avoid any trouble.
"There’s no beer in my boat now, but I don’t think I’d go up there" to Benton County, he said. "I don’t know how I’d react if a deputy pulled up and asked if he could look for beer in my boat."
Business at the Prairie Creek Marina dropped "substantially" after the policy went into effect last year, said manager Paul Davis. He said he received calls from people in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma wanting to know if they were allowed to drink alcohol. When they find out about the policy, they usually decide to go someplace else, Davis said.