Dunes attendance drops after alcohol ban

Patrols see more families, kids

MOSES LAKE — Along the county road through the Moses Lake sand dunes, it's not hard to spot the command post.

Before many of the riders had pitched their tents for the holiday weekend, deputies with the Grant County Sheriff's Office parked their bus atop a dune looking over the park's mud pit and across from Competition Hill, two locations where many incidents have occurred in previous years.

Many of those problems didn't occur at the dunes over Memorial Day weekend, and Off-Road Vehicle Deputy Jason Mitchell said many issues with fights and alcohol-related accidents didn't materialize at the levels they have in previous years.

"In previous years," Mitchell said, "we've had to boot people out of the mud hole on several occasions."

This was the first holiday weekend since passage of a year-round alcohol ban at the park.

The ban was passed by the Grant County Commissioners earlier this year, and deputies weren't sure what to expect. Once the weekend started, though, deputies remarked about minimal reports of fights, theft and assaults of previous years. The demographics changed too, and Mitchell commented on seeing fewer partygoers and more families at the dunes.

"There's way more kids out here," Mitchell said, "which is nice because that means there's more families."

Estimates of as many as 10,000 people were expected at the ORV park, but just about 3,000 came to the dunes this year. ORV Deputy Eric Talbot attributes the ban for stopping the majority of the injury accidents, thefts, assaults and rapes that deputies have been called out to in past years. Talbot acknowledged that he has received quite a few complaints from ORV riders about the ban, but he has also received positive feedback from riders.

"I can tell you right now, there are more kids out here riding bikes and quads than I have ever seen," Talbot said.

Tickets were issued for alcohol though, and drinkers were arrested as a result of the alcohol ban. As they manned their makeshift station and patrolled through the dunes, deputies weren't just patrolling for alcohol. An ORV rider also saw a siren if they were riding without a helmet, without a flag atop their vehicle or riding two to a vehicle. Deputies made quite a few stops to educate riders as well, a task Talbot said he prefers to writing someone a ticket.

"We contact a lot of people," Talbot said, "whether it's just to talk to them, see how things are going or if they're in violation of something."

The GCSO was out in force at the dunes, and deputies were also out patrolling other areas of the county on one of their busiest weekends of the year. In past years, deputies were called in from their county patrols to respond to problems at the dunes. Not this year.

"It's actually a lot better than our expectations," said GCSO Chief Deputy Courtney Conklin. Conklin was one of many patrolling the dunes. He said there have been quite a few complaints about the ban, but he also remarked about families and the absence of trash at campsites.

The number of serious accidents were also down. Grant County Fire District No. 5 responds to the calls at the dunes, and EMS Business Manager Barbie Maier said they responded to about one-quarter the number of calls as in prior years. The district always gears up at their station near the dunes entrance on Division Street, but the emergency crews weren't called out on as many accident calls.

"We manned up just like every other year," Maier said.

While the mellower dunes were a boon for law enforcement and emergency crews, riders had mixed reviews about the alcohol ban.

"Usually this place is hella packed," said Bobbiejo Krausse. Krausse said the sand dunes on Memorial Day is usually a weekend that everyone looks forward to, but she said the fun was taken away this year.

Zach Bradbury came to the dunes from Tacoma, and said he's heard lots of complaining about the ban in his home area. He said people shouldn't drink and ride, but should be able to go to campsites and have a beer.

"I know all the guys I ride with, they feel it's kind of cruddy that they took it completely out," Bradbury said of alcohol.

But rider Travis Goodwin said he thought the banning of alcohol was a good thing. He and a few friends came from Walla Walla to enjoy the dunes with their families. His opinion is alcohol isn't a bad thing, but it starts to become a problem in situations that arise at the dunes.

Despite lower numbers, sand still spewed out the backs of ORVs zipping by, and boats still packed into waters near the park. As deputies patrolled, Mitchell said they just kept their eyes open. They were on the lookout for violators, but they were also making friendly contact with riders and responding to accidents and other problems.

"You could write violations constantly if that was your soul intention," Mitchell said, "but we try to educate the public so it doesn't happen again and everybody's safer."

Users spend weekend on guard

Those who do come, make do with recent alcohol ban

By Brad Redford

Herald sports editor

MOSES LAKE — The sand dunes has become a destination point for Memorial Day weekend enthusiasts — but not anymore.

Fine for some and horrible for others, this weekend was witness to thousands not showing up to the off-roading, partying, camping haven on one of the biggest weekends of the year. For the purists who wished the dunes all to themselves — great — but for those who loved its former party atmosphere over Memorial Day weekend, the deserted dunes was a disappointment.

The reason for the drop, said those who stayed dedicated to their annual weekend destination spot, was the recent ban on alcohol at the dunes declared by the Grant County Commissioners on April 18.

Crowding the entry roads to the sand dunes used to be RVs, tents and off-road vehicles, and even more people, sometimes numbering 10,000 over past Memorial Day weekends. In stark contrast to those previous years, by Sunday evening, more and more campers were packing up and leaving before their weekend came to a close.

"I knew once they outlawed the alcohol, people would go elsewhere," said Rich Archer, director of the Sand Scorpions, a local ORV club.

While the Grant County Sheriff's Department sat perched on the hill overlooking the most commonly populated areas of the dunes, those who came to relax remained guarded. Alcohol continually found its way into the dunes — a place it had no right to be according to a recently passed county law — by those partakers who found ways to hide it from law enforcement.

Thermoses, hidden compartments and code words came in handy for those wishing to consume the banned substance.

"You are always looking over your shoulder," said Tony Flores of the Tacoma-Puyallup area.

"It hasn't ruined our weekend, but it would be nice not to have to hide it," he added about the ban.

"Muskrat!" Tacoma-Puyallup resident Mark Melvinson yelled. The code word traveled the beach line and camp grounds warning dunegoers of law enforcement in the area.

Hiding the alcohol became easy for some, but the sheriff's department continued to give out tickets to those who had alcohol on them, in their vehicles or in their camps.

Others retreated to the wildlife refuge on the west side of the dunes, where drinking alcohol in camps was still legal. Even though some had to change camping destinations, for people like Jared Guffey of Graham, the sand dunes experience was still worth it.

"Other than (the alcohol ban), it is pretty cool," Guffey said.

Sassy Bartholow, owner of the Madd Hatter food stand which she operates at the dunes during popular weekends, said the weekend "sucked."

Her food establishment crumbled from lack of customers, who she described as scared to approach her eatery because it was across the road from where the sheriff's department set up its main headquarters.

"We come out here because people come out here to party," Bartholow said. "The alcohol ban is bad enough, but then they come out here with the heavy-handed message they used, people were scared to leave their camps."

But with the lack of numbers and increase in patrols at the dunes, Bartholow said the party moved elsewhere and she and other local vendors suffered. What normally turns out to be a profitable weekend was cut short as Bartholow packed up early Sunday afternoon after making little profit.

"I don't think they stopped the drinking," Bartholow added. "All they did was ruin the business for the people who were out here and the good times for the people who come out for the parties."

In Archer's opinion, public nudity was down, littering decreased and the restrooms were attended to more frequently by the county. He liked seeing the increase in law enforcement, but the ban on alcohol still rubbed him the wrong way.

"I don't like the fact that they are making laws to make laws," Archer said. "They had plenty of cops out here last night busting people and I think that if they were doing that last year, they never would have had to make the law."