What’s next for Ocean Springs beaches after cops break up several weekend parties?
Ocean Springs police broke up a party of 20-plus people gathered on Front Beach on Sunday evening, one of several large groups broken up over the weekend to maintain social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The officer showed up and asked them to disperse,” Ocean Springs Police Chief Mark Dunston said Monday. “Some of them had glass bottles as well, and the officer got with them and said, ‘Hey, y’all got a lot of people here’ and they just packed up and left.”
Glass bottles are prohibited on the beach.
Mayor Shea Dobson was among those to get complaints over the weekend about large beach crowds. He said he wanted the beaches closed, but had to wait on Jackson County supervisors to take such action.
“All of this would be a lot easier, and we could get over this a lot faster, if everybody would just cooperate and abide by the recommendations from the CDC,” Dobson said. “I know this is not fun. Nothing about it is, but let’s just get through it.”
Lawrence Leake, a semi-retired emergency room doctor at Singing River Health System, is among the Ocean Springs residents who noticed the large beach crowds over the weekend.
“Physical distancing does not exist on Ocean Springs Front Beach,” he said. “Every day, but especially this past weekend, hundreds of mainly young folks gathered there. Groups of as man as 25-30 in constant close physical (contact) with each other sharing beers and cigarettes, etc.
He said many of the vehicles he saw parked on the beach on Saturday and Sunday had Louisiana, Florida and Alabama license plates.
“These are the folks who will get the coronavirus and most will not have a problem themselves, but they will carry it wherever they go and infect many others, including those most vulnerable,” Leake said.
“The beach is a great place for exercise, sunshine and relaxation, but this is out of hand. Who is supposed to be policing this area?”
The supervisors want to keep the beaches open. They hired four constables to work as independent contractors to monitor the beaches in Pascagoula and Ocean Springs and disperse crowds of 10 people or more.
Constables as beach monitors
Constable Shane Langfitt is among those monitoring the beaches.
“Saturday and Sunday were really busy days,” Langfitt said Monday. “We asked the large groups to break up and, for the most part, they did. We did take the volleyball nets down because large groups were congregating around there. We thought it was the best thing to do.”
By Monday morning, Jackson County had digital road signs set up along Front Beach to remind people of the recommendations to limit groups to fewer than 10 and maintain the recommended 6 feet between each person.
In addition, the county has added beach monitors on tractors and placed barricades around Fort Maurepas and nearby areas to prevent parking. A barricade surrounds what used be a parking area for an old seafood factory at Washington and Jackson avenues.
No parking regulations along Front Beach are extended, leaving them in effect from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. daily.
“Every day is going to get easier,” Langfitt said. “For the most part, people are doing the right thing and that’s the key.”
So far, he said, no citations have been issued related to crowd size.
“With everybody working together, I think we can keep these beaches open and let people have a little bit of freedom,” Langfitt said. “They can come out here and get a little sunshine.”
County wants to ‘prepare for peak times’
Jackson County Supervisor Troy Ross was among those monitoring Jackson County over the weekend and Monday to see if people were following safety protocols.
For the most part, he said, crowds had gathered in groups of fewer than 10 and maintained the recommended distancing.
“We’ve done a lot good things today to mitigate the problems,” Ross said Monday, including the digital warning signs and barricades. “We’ve been trying to prepare for the peak times. Ocean Springs police is here to help us.”
He said having outdoor space available to the public is important during the stress of a pandemic.
“We want to give people an outlet so they can get outside, so they are not dwelling on this (COVID-19) in their home, getting depressed and creating other problems,” Ross said. “We have enough to deal with, and we owe to the people keep some kind of outlet where they can be outdoors and have some normalcy and be safe.”
He called the next few days ahead a “test run” to see if the county’s efforts will keep the crowds down.
“We don’t want to close the beach,” Ross said. “But if we keep seeing the large crowds, we may have to call a meeting and do something about it.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 4:59 PM.
