Police report 'minimal' problems from 'Girls Gone Wild' event

Lake County Sheriff's Police officials said there were few problems on the Chain O' Lakes Saturday, despite the presence of film crews for a controversial video and a large unsupervised party for boaters.

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said Sunday only four arrests were made in the area on Saturday, a credit to the organizers of the Petite Lake Sandbar Party and the owners of Blarney's Island, where footage for "Girls Gone Wild" was being filmed as part of the "Wildest Bars in America" tour.

"We had more than 1,200 boats and about 8,000 people at that (Petite Lake Sandbar) party, and all in all, there were only minimal problems," he said. "The crowd was relatively tame and respectful. We couldn't ask for more."

Curran said police arrested two people for battery and two people for disorderly conduct. There were no arrests for operating under the influence.

Blarney's Island hit capacity at about 5:30 p.m., said owner John Haley. The bar stopped shuttling people onto the island at about 7 p.m., then stopped letting boaters park on the piers around 10 p.m.

"This was far and away the busiest day we've ever had here," Haley said. "We've hit capacity at the island before, but we've never had to shut down the piers. But we had to (Saturday) because boats were tying up to each other and we just couldn't hold everyone."

He said he hired about 25 off-duty police officers to help with crowd control in addition to the constant Lake County Sheriff's Police presence.

Curran said 25 officers also were on boats or wandering through the crowd on Petite Lake.

"We made OUI's a priority for the officers out on the water, so it's not like we weren't looking for it," he said. "But, I think people were smart enough to understand there was a heavy police presence and they didn't take a chance."

Haley agreed, saying he was approached by many boaters asking if they could leave their boats on the island overnight.

"There were at least 50 boats left overnight from people who were intoxicated and didn't want to chance their lives, and that's good," he said. "We escorted those people to the shuttle back then called for a cab from the Port O' Blarney's."

Haley said film producers were on the island at 10 p.m. and stayed for about 2 hours. He said producers of the video contacted him about a month ago and expressed interest in shooting footage at Blarney's, which bills itself as the "Key West of the Midwest."

Haley said that, while "Girls Gone Wild" has a reputation for enticing women to act provocatively, no illegal activity or nudity took place on the island. He also said he spoke with producers and proactively told the group to tone down their antics.

"We didn't let them park the bus at the Port O' Blarney's because we didn't want any problems there," he said. "And, here, they filmed and acted respectful."

Curran said he was more concerned about the Petite Lake Sandbar Party, considered the largest annual boat "tie-up" party on the Chain, because of the sheer volume of people that have typically attended the unsupervised gathering.

"Overall, I'm very pleased with the way it turned out," he said. "It was a big boost for local businesses that were having a rough year because of the flooding, and everyone handled themselves well. We really couldn't ask for more."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=223016">Girls Gone Wild coming to Antioch this weekend <span class="date">07/24/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>