RIVER CRACKDOWN ON ALCOHOL ABUSE BEGINS

TAHLEQUAH -- Cherokee County officials are asking for a little help from
their friends to deal with a drinking problem that may be getting out of
control on the Illinois River.

District Attorney Dianne Barker Harrold and Cherokee County Sheriff Delena
Goss have decided to ``declare war on drugs and alcohol on this river,''
after a Memorial Day weekend which saw one drowning, two serious accidents
and dozens of arrests, mostly for public intoxication.

In fact, the pair are calling together officials from numerous state
agencies for a summit that will deal with enforcement issues on the
Illinois. A date for the summit has not been scheduled, but it will be in
Cherokee County sometime before the equally busy July 4 weekend, Goss said.
``We're mad,'' said Barker Harrold, who also sent a letter detailing their
concerns to officials with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the state Bureau
of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

The proposed summit would include representatives from the district
attorney's and sheriff's offices, state Highway Patrol, Oklahoma Scenic
Rivers Commission, Bureau of Narcotics and the Alcohol Beverage Laws
Enforcement Commission.

Getting more law enforcement officers at key times on the river is the
primary goal of the mission, Goss said. The goal of the enhanced police
presence, she added, would be to crack down on those people who are abusing
both alcohol as well as the river's appeal to families and church groups.
``The awareness of what alcohol is doing to this river is not well known,''
the sheriff said. ``But it hit us face-first this past weekend.'' Barker
Harrold said she might even support a ban on alcohol along the river. A
similar proposal was considered by the Scenic Rivers Commission two years
ago but was not enacted.

Part of the problem, the Cherokee County officials pointed out, is that
business operators along the river are wary of any actions that might lessen
tourism. About 25,000 people visited the Illinois River over the Memorial
Day weekend.

``The river owners make their liv ing for the year from April to
September -- this is their livelihood,'' Barker Harrold said. ``We're not
trying to do anything to hurt their livelihood . . . but we do want the
river to be a family place.'' The district attorney pointed to several
situations over the holiday weekend that showed a perceived lack of respect
for the law. Many floaters, for example, insulted and yelled profanities at
law enforcement personnel who tried to move floaters along while they were
searching for the body of a drowning victim on Sunday. Most of the drownings
in the Illinois River are alcohol-related, Barker Harrold said.

Goss said some opposition to stricter enforcement may come from river
business operators. Goss said she doesn't want to hurt tourism, either, but
the safety issues are too important to ignore.

``The river operators probably will yell, but they don't have to be the ones
who have to call a parent and say, `Hey, dad, your son is dead.' '' On a
more positive note, Ed Fite, Scenic Rivers Commission administrator, said
the commission had cleaned up the litter left behind from the Memorial Day
deluge, and that the river was ready for this weekend's visitors.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"