According to police, the roadblock near Spring Fest ’95 Saturday night was intended to nab drunk drivers and had been planned since January, but the host of the festival disagrees.
June 8, 1995
Sergeant Bob Scott of the Carbondale police, the officer who planned the roadblock, said it was a coincidence that it happened the same night as the event.
We have several (DUI roadblocks) planned throughout the year and that happened to be one of the days, he said.
Larry Brunkin of Stuff Productions, said he thought the roadblock was created to hamper his festival.
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Roadblocks on the only two roads that lead into Makanda from Carbondale? I don’t believe that it’s a coincidence, he said.
Police stationed at the roadblock, which was one of six that are organized each year, did not prevent partygoers from attending Spring Fest ’95, Scott said.
We did have concentrated patrols in the area, but no one was stopped from going down there, said Sergeant David Nichols of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
Any partygoers that came here were told (by police) that the party was over, he said. I had advance ticket holders that told me they couldn’t get through.
Carbondale Chief of Police Don Strom said the safety checkpoint did not begin until near the end of the event.
It didn’t start until 9:15 or 9:30 that night, he said. There was nothing to block people from going to Spring Fest ’95. There was nothing to stop his buses from going through.
Brunkin said the roadblock was started early to create problems at his festival.
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(A DUI roadblock) starting at 8 p.m.? I’ve never seen a roadblock that early, he said. It’s funny that they set it up way before the bars closed. Only the people going into Carbondale after the festival were getting stopped.
Despite Brunkin’s claims that there was an excessive police presence near the event, Nichols said there was only one additional officer scheduled to work the roadblock.
Nichols said he did not harass
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