Breath testing deters alcohol use at Ridgewood dance
JUNE 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014, 2:40 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
There were approximately half the number of alcohol-related incidents at last Friday’s Backwoods dance than in previous years, and event organizers chalk up the improvement to the Ridgewood Police Department’s use of random breath tests on the attendees.
Of the 950 Ridgewood High School students to attend last week’s event, which took place in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square, “only six” were reported to test positive for alcohol consumption, according to co-organizer Paul Vagianos. In comparison, 11 juveniles were cited for alcohol-related reasons at the September dance, while 10 were sent home from Backwoods in June 2013.
“We’re out of the double digits. This was the best Backwoods ever for that and other reasons,” Vagianos said.
In a conversation with The Ridgewood News on Wednesday, Vagianos noted that the dance had a different vibe than prior events, and the feeling wasn’t necessarily related to the ambiance created by the “Neon Safari” theme. Last week’s event marked the first time in the dance’s brief history that the Ridgewood Police Department conducted random breath tests on the students.
In previous years, Vagianos and David Zrike, co-organizer, greeted each attendee at the gates to the park and performed visual observations, a practice that continued last week. Any student they suspected had been drinking was directed to speak with an officer.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/towns/breath-testing-deters-drinking-1.1042905#sthash.g3UZO9Xx.dpuf
Could’ve used this device at Project Graduation on Tuesday nite….
the police need to walk the hole park, not just stand at the gate and look at the girls. I seen at lot of kids doing things the cops did not.