Groups to gather Saturday at sand dunes
MOSES LAKE — Rich Archer says his job won't be complete until he gets his rights back.
The Moses Lake man doesn't drink, but feels that his rights were taken away earlier this week with the approval of an alcohol ban at the Moses Lake sand dunes.
"It really irritates me," said Archer, who is also a director of the Sand Scorpions Off-Road Vehicle club. "Because of a three-day weekend, they've pretty much turned us into criminals."
The County Commissioners unanimously approved a ban on alcohol at the dunes Monday, after hearing reports from those in law enforcement and medical professions about the high number of alcohol-related accidents at the park.
Archer has since distributed what he calls the Sand Dunes Survival Kit, along with a letter that he hopes will draw attention to the ban. Archer's Sand Scorpions and the Big Bend Community College Young Democrats have already joined forces to protest the ban.
For what it will take to enforce the law, Archer states in the kit, the county could "build and maintain restrooms, develop real camping areas with garbage disposal and asphalt parking lots." Archer states the county should look to enforcing existing new laws, not without enacting new ones.
"The law's the law," Archer said of existing laws. "You'd think the damn thing would work for everybody."
To try and convince the commissioners to change their minds, Archer has listed the cell phone numbers of each of the commissioners in his survival kit letter.
"The only way we're going to control this thing," Archer said, "is to inundate them with phone calls."
Chief Deputy Courtney Conklin said in responding to comments like Archer's that the GCSO does enforce its laws, and added that safety is the department's highest consideration.
The new law doesn't go into effect until May 1, but the Sand Scorpions and members of the Young Democrats will meet this weekend to protest the ban. The two groups will gather at Neppel Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to protest the ban. The protesters have a goal in their protest, to get the ban reversed.
"It's a goal," said BBCC Young Democrat Patrick Hutchins, "It might be a lofty goal but its a goal none the less."
Hutchins has concerns about people drinking and then going to the dunes afterwards, a situation he said could cause a drinking and driving problem on county roads.
Young Democrat Director Jeff Heimark is concerned of what impact the ban will have on local businesses. Heimark sympathizes with many business owners who he said weren't notified about the ban until this month.
Heimark said he understands that accidents do happen at the dunes, and that alcohol is a potential problem; but he said the people are the ones causing the accidents, not the alcohol.
Dave McMains said he doesn't have a problem with a ban on just holiday weekends, but said he doesn't feel like alcohol needs to be banned at the dunes year-round.
McMains is a rider with the Sand Commandos, and Moses Lake sand dunes coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association. He said the dunes were not intended as a place for people to get drunk and get naked, but said he feels officers should just cite abusers for being drunk in public or drinking as minors.
The ban is a safety issue for County Commissioner Richard Stevens, who defended his vote by saying the safety of the many definitely outweighs the pleasure of a few.
"I'm not ever happy about the loss of anybody's civil liberties," Stevens said, "But I thought it was a safety issue for the majority." The protest is scheduled for Saturday, but Archer said they will keep up their work even after that.
"Even after Memorial Day, We're going to continue as long as the law's there," he said.
The county commissioners have plans to hold a similar hearing to discuss an alcohol ban at the Beverly sand dunes. A hearing the Beverly ban is tentatively scheduled for May 9.