Muleskinner

Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: News

ID check­- Ryan Todd, senior geography major, shows his driver's liscense to junior Kyle Hunt at the door of Club Blue, 112 W. Pine St.

After a fight which resulted in injured police officers in the Warrensburg downtown area, the community is looking for ways to keep UCM students and Warrensburg citizens safe.
The Warrensburg Area Partners in Prevention met shortly after the incident to discuss ways to keep alcohol-related problems from escalating into dangerous situations.

"The downtown situation is one where they had a lot of chaos and confusion," said Rich Morrell, chairperson of the Warrensburg Area Partners in Prevention and vice president of Student Affairs. "There was an altercation between patrons at one of the establishments downtown that escalated to a situation where dozens of people involved in the melee, I would call it."

The fight took place in front of Club Blue on Warrensburg's Pine Street, a popular night spot for Central students. When the on-duty police officers could not handle the situation, an all-call for the Warrensburg Police Department, Central Public Safety and the Johnson County Sheriff's Department was issued.
Five people were arrested, including four Central students, but officials say as many as 50 to 100 people could have been involved. Those arrested were:

Rachel Courtney Whitehead, 22, 512 McGoodwin St., was arrested on one count of public affray and one count of obstruction by resisting and failure to obey an officer.
Adrian A. Carson, 22, 512 W. Clark, Apt. D, was arrested for refusal to disperse.

Deborah J. Jones, 18, 402 N. Ellis, was arrested for assaulting an officer, public affray and obstruction.
Whitney Robert Conner, Jr., 20, 509 Anderson St., was arrested for assaulting an officer and two counts of obstruction.

Valentine Uchenna Ejilika, 29, Kansas City, was arrested for refusal to disperse and obstruction by resisting and failure to obey an officer.

All are scheduled to appear in court March 13.

"I thought this was a great opportunity to take this to the Warrensburg Area Partners in Prevention to say, 'OK, what can we do as a group to resolve this situation?'" Morrell said.
Warrensburg Police Chief Bruce Howey met with business owners who hold liquor licenses to further resolve the issue.
Possible solutions discussed at the meeting included early intervention with fights and altercations in bars, stricter door and I.D. checks, dress codes, access fees, fines and penalties for violators.

Howey also discussed the possibility of sanctions for establishments that do not obey the law or work with it. These included a suspension or revocation of licenses and an over-21 requirement for bars.

As a result, Club Blue is now asking to see a student ID along with a driver's license to get in the door. Prices for those without student IDs are double the normal prices. For example, Friday night Happy Hour prices without a student ID are $16 for regular and $30 for premium.

"We are trying to de-escalate the problem before it gets to a serious mode," Morrell said. "Once it was a full-flung melee in the bar, we couldn't have got enough law enforcement officers to manage the situation. It was just out of control."

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