Families Flock To American River On Third Year Of Holiday Alcohol Ban
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A holiday alcohol ban along the American River appears to be working, as the booze-filled floating Memorial Day parties have become a thing of the past.
The turnout on the river on Monday skewed more toward families as it has since the ban took effect three years ago.
"It's beautiful weather," said Michael Cornez who was taking some new kayaks out. "It's not 100, it's not cold and windy, should be fun."
Before the ban, park rangers say big fights, riots and a lot of river accidents marked the holiday weekend.
Now, each cooler is searched, and, when booze turns up, it's dumped or taken back to the car. A few who got caught said they didn't know about the rule, but won't let it get them down.
Along the Sacramento River where there is no alcohol ban, deputies were giving breathalyzer tests to those who appeared under the influence.
But it wasn't their only concern. With so many children playing in the water, the DART team was once again handing out life jackets along the banks.
"We just gave away so many jackets and we may never know if we saved a life or we didn't but that's not the point," said Bob Erikson. "The purpose is that we've done what we can and educated them and the kids see it's important to wear it."
