Alcohol and ORV drivers don’t mix well

Trouble has been brewing at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes, driven partly by the off-road vehicle enthusiasts who flock there, but mostly from the alcohol that comes along for the ride.

Ever since a particularly stressful Memorial Day weekend last year, the Grant County Sheriff’s Department has led an effort to ban alcohol at the popular off-road vehicle playground between Interstate 90 and Potholes Reservoir.

The riding area includes 3,000 to 3,800 acres, depending on the level of Potholes Reservoir and the spring closure of some areas to protect nesting birds.

The County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing and vote on the proposal for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Grant County Courthouse commissioners hearing room in Ephrata.

“In the last few years after the Oregon Dunes (National Recreation Area) imposed an alcohol ban and a penalty that has a big bite to it, we’ve seen more and more traffic from the Seattle area on holiday weekends coming to Moses Lake,” said Courtney Conklin, Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

“A majority of these riders are a pretty good group, but with them comes the party crowd. Last Memorial Day weekend we had over 90 crashes in the dunes, and over 90 percent were alcohol related,” Conklin said.

“We had at least seven or eight Med Star flights. The waiting line at the hospital emergency room was six or seven hours at one point.

“It’s created an aura where party crowds come wanting to see this mayhem.”

Sally Schwab, ER coordinator for Samaritan Health Care in Moses Lake, confirmed the sheriff’s concerns:

“On Memorial Day Weekend 2004, we saw 62 people on Saturday, 50 on Sunday and 55 on Monday,” Schwab said. That’s 30 to 50 percent higher than for other holiday weekends, she added, noting that roughly 90 percent or more of the emergencies originated from the ORV area and a high percentage were alcohol related.

“We had 17 major traumas and 13 of them were transferred to a higher trauma facility,” she said. “It’s a significant impact on our emergency department.”

“Originally we looked at making it a day-use-only area,” Deputy Conklin said, “but then we took a closer look and realized that 90 percent of the problems were due to alcohol. Safety is our first concern.”

Peny Archer of the Moses Lake Sand Scorpions, said an alcohol ban would punish a lot of responsible people for the recklessness of a few.

“We go out there picking up the area and trying to do the right thing,” she said.

They also like their beer.

The club, organized in 1990, involves 238 families, many of whom will be at the commission hearing to protest the proposed ordinance, she said.

Another Moses Lake ORV group, the Sand Commandos, has voiced support for the alcohol ban, Conklin said.

After all, it’s not a new concept that drinking and driving don’t mix.

Archer pointed out that the Oregon Dunes – the Pacific Northwest Mecca for ORVs – still allows alcohol in its campgrounds despite the ban in the dunes area.

“Here at Moses Lake they’re trying to ban alcohol altogether,” she said.

Deputy Conklin said the Moses Lake Sand Dunes area doesn’t have designated campsites. “We used to have four toilets out there,” he said. “Now we have only two. Anything that’s nice out there gets destroyed.”

The Oregon Dunes, which has been leading the way in curbing the crime, accidents and litter involved with alcohol and ORVs, used to have a dispersed sand-camping policy in which people could pack their gear on dune buggies and go out anywhere and camp.

That program has had to be reeled in, too.

Starting May 1, campers must register and camp only in the designated Oregon Dunes sand-camping areas.

No alcohol will be allowed in the sand-camping sites.

“The dunes bring in a lot of money to Moses Lake,” argues Archer.

But Oregon has learned its lesson, and Grant County should, too.

Any loss of business caused by an alcohol ban at the dunes would certainly be made up in savings in emergency response, health care and enforcement, not to mention a little peace of mind for people who recognized the danger of soused speedsters.

“In addition to the problems at the dunes, we usually have a big concert at the Gorge,” Deputy Conklin said. “We’re so understaffed, we cancel all days off for Memorial Day weekend and bring in posse members, search and rescue members and pay lots of overtime.”

Somebody has to take a stand for safety and sanity, he said. “And I guess it’s us.”