Unruly teens causing uproar in Waynesboro
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

Mobs of yelling, cursing and disorderly teenagers are sabotaging Burke County's image and pocketbook after every home football game, local business leaders say.

Several of them addressed Waynesboro City Council Monday night, describing crowds of more than 400 who take over parking lots, scare away customers and cause huge disturbances on the north end of town.

"I'm not here to put anybody down ... I'm here because I care," Jameson Inn manager Pat Shaw said, adding that Police Chief Karl E. Allen was "trying his best" with limited resources. "This has gotten out of hand, and I'm trying to figure out what we can do as a team."

Shaw described unruly teenagers who screamed and spit at her when she tried to clear them out of the hotel parking lot. She said that after the last home game, the situation got so frightening she locked her guests in the hotel lobby for their own safety.

"Ninety-nine percent of our guests are visitors who are here on business," she said after the meeting. "This is not good for us or anybody else ... it's embarrassing."

Two former hotel guests accompanied Shaw to the meeting to tell city officials about their Friday night experiences at the Liberty Street hotel. One woman described packed parking lots from DJ Petro to McDonalds, bumper to bumper traffic, numerous fights and teens darting in and out of the roadway.

"It took me fifteen minutes to get from the hotel entrance to the back of the hotel where my room was," she said. "They were screaming, hollering and making gestures you don't want me to show you ... I was scared to get out of the car."

Both Shaw and business neighbor Patricia Keefer, of The Borough Restaurant and Bar, have resorted to paying for private security.

But even that doesn't help business. Keefer said potential customers are simply too scared to come to that part of town on a Friday night.

"I think these teens need to be shown that there are consequences for their behavior ... and right now there aren't any consequences," Keefer said. "They need an example to be made out of someone ... pull up the paddy wagon and start loading them up."

Chief Allen said that in addition to extra officers after home games, he hopes that campus police and public school officials will do what they can from their end.

Because the schools have a policy regarding the off-campus behavior of students, principals could theoretically punish students who are identified as troublemakers.

However, no one is sure how many of the teens in question actually attend school here or at all.

Councilman Dick Byne recommended that business own- ers begin videotaping the disturbances, not only to document behavior but to help police and school officials with identification.

Although he was not opposed to school involvement, councilman James "Chick" Jones referred to that approach as a "band-aid" for a much bigger issue.

He likened the problems with youth to an epidemic that is hurting not just the city and county, but the entire nation.

"The leadership of this county needs to come together and deal with this," he said. "We need to find out what the real issue is. Expelling students will only cause more problems."

Keefer agreed, adding "I'm not saying kick them out of school ... make them stay longer; give them detention; make them do community

service; give them tickets for loitering and make their parents pay."

Councilman Bill Tinley also indicated that parents should be held accountable.

"It's a problem," he said. "At the American Legion we solved (the problem) by closing our doors, but the teenagers just move on to a new places. The parents can do more about this than the police can."

Mayor Jesse Stone suggested that council look at enacting a curfew for youth in addition to supporting supervised activities in the community.

In the meantime, Chief Allen and city officials hope their shortterm tactics will work after this Friday's home game.

"We'll do the best we can with what we have," Chief Allen said.