Beach Blast numbers bring new problems
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

'Boro Beach Blast organizers are rethinking next year's event after getting more teens than they could handle Friday night.

According to DOOR chairman Nan Palmer, more than 3,000 people attended the downtown event, the vast majority of them being unsupervised teens.

"We couldn't have been more prepared," she said, in reference to 40 volunteers who communicated with officers via cell phone and LINCs. "There were just too many kids."

In addition to four Waynesboro police officers on site, there were nine county deputies and several off-duty officers who worked as volunteers.

Early in the evening, officers made two arrests following an argument in which 19-year-old Nathaniel Cook reportedly assaulted a vendor.

Cook's cousin, Rashaad Dally, 17, was also arrested when he began pushing people out the way in an attempt to help his cousin.

When officers searched Dally, they found a handgun in his pocket that was inoperable due to a missing clip.

Besides another brief scuffle involving three juveniles, officers say there were no other problems.

"I think it went off really well," said Chief Deputy James Hollingsworth who patrolled the event on foot. "Let's face it. When you have three thousand people in a confined space, you're bound to have a few scrapes."

Palmer says that although DOOR volunteers want to have events for local teens, the turnout at this year's Beach Blast took away from what was intended to be a family-oriented event.

"When we have kids who are making it so it's not fun or not safe for everyone else, something's going to have to be changed," she said.

While DOOR members say they're hesitant to abandon the event, which has kicked off summer for the past six years, Palmer says the event's timing will probably be changed so that it no longer coincides with the last day of school.

She said she'll also ask DOOR members to consider holding the Beach Blast on a Saturday morning as opposed to Friday night.