Folly Beach considering alcohol ban
Staff Report
Published July 9, 2012
Residents concerned with, or in favor of, consuming alcohol on Folly Beach should attend a workshop in the Folly Beach City Council chambers Tuesday night.
The city is considering a ban on the consumption of alcohol after Independence Day celebrations turned rowdy and got out of hand. The incident involved 10 Folly Beach police officers, five Charleston County Sheriff's deputies and led to the arrests of seven people.
Several incidents also were reported before the July Fourth holiday, cited in a letter from Mayor Tim Goodwin.
The City Council workshop will occur at 5:30 p.m. in Council chambers with the City Council meeting to follow. An ordinance to put the issue up for a referendum in November could be put up for first reading.
Folly Beach is one of the few beaches in South Carolina that allows alcohol to be openly consumed in public.
Comments:
Added:
9 Jul 2012
Cool! I AGREE! Lets penalize the hundreds of thousands of law abiding citizens who drink responsibly on Folly, just because of this. That makes sense, you old coots who make the laws. Dust off your glasses, Alice....no wonder SC is seen as an back-asswords state by so many.
MM
Added:
9 Jul 2012
This is a great idea. Take away everyone's rights because of 7 people.
WB
Added:
9 Jul 2012
I do not drink alcohol, but why should a few (spoiled) rotten apples ruin it for the rest of those who responsibly enjoy a drink while walking or laying out? Increase the drinking age on Folly to 25 - or even 30 - to eliminate the college-aged kids who tend to be the rowdiest, but please do not allow the actions of a few punks (non-local ones, at that) influence your decision!
I do, however, think there should be more of a police or public safety presence at the beach. I'm changing the subject now...My pet-peeve is parents who either dig or let their kids dig huge holes in the sand without filling them back in when they leave; how many people have broken their ankles or fallen by stepping into one of these holes? At the end of the day it looks like a bunch of mutant moles have attacked the shore!
If alcohol is banned, might as well go ahead and ban hole-digging. But don't stop there. Ban radios unless used with headphones. Ban those pesky medal-detector 'thieves.' Ban anyone from taking live sea animals (conchs, starfish, etc.) And for the love of G--, please ban any guy who wears European swim 'trunks.' Remember..Big Brother is closer than you think, and he's moving in as quickly as the Folly tides.
Kat
Added:
9 Jul 2012
That's one way to curb the traffic problem. How about throwing the book at the perpetrators and making an example of them. Why should law abiding citizens be punished for a few thugs.
JP
Added:
9 Jul 2012
I dont believe that it is the drinking on the beach that is the issue. There has always been large crowds drinking on Folly Beach during holidays such as the 4th of July and Memorial Day why all of a sudden is this an issue? Could it be the approach of the new Chief of Public Safety who is not a local or from SC? Has he ever worked in an area with such large crowds? Could it be the inexperienced officers that the new Chief has brought in who are also not locals or from SC? Have they ever worked an area with such large crowds? Was this a fight that broke out in the crowd or a public safety issue with the crowd? What brought the situation to that point would be my question? All I see other than a chanting crowd is Police removing one person who is obviously a problem? Where's the brawl? Too many unanswered questions, this seems like a knee jerk reaction to me!
Folly
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