Pubdate: 5/30/98 Source: Tulsa World (OK) Contact: http://www.tulsaworld.com Author: Rod Walton 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"