Some thoughtful letters to the Bee about what happened on the river over the holiday…here are excerpts from a few of them.
1) "As a year-round user of the American River Parkway, my gripe is not with the excessive alcohol consumption, rowdy behavior, vulgar language or fistfighting. After all, it's only a few days a year the American River is abused this way. My only requests to those who partake in the event is: DON'T TRASH THE RIVER! The volume of bottles, cans, plastic bags and general garbage floating down the river, scattered along the riverbank and left behind by the rafters was staggering and grotesque.
"This complete disregard for the American River, our community and the environment should not be tolerated. If it means banning alcohol on the river in the future, I am all for it. "
2) "The idea of banning alcohol on the river during the 4th of July is just ridiculously stupid. To punish thousands of law-abiding people and let a few immature drunken sots off scot free is wrong.
"The best and only way to deal with this issue is to search out these vandals and subject them to community service. One community service act would be to make them patrol and pick up trash along the river every weekend until October. "
3) "Some thoughts on the American River/Goethe Park fiasco on the Fourth of July: I was there, and problems could have been avoided. The rafting company, which was more than willing to rent every raft in their fleet, should also have to provide additional buses to shuttle rafters back to their vehicles. I stood in line for three hours and never did get on a bus. For the first hour and a half the crowd was reasonably patient, but exhaustion, heat and alcohol consumption took their toll and fights broke out. Despite the plethora of fire, police and sheriff's personnel -- all provided by the taxpayer -- they were not proactive. Instead of enforcing an orderly line, they stood idly by and watched until a fight broke out. Cause of the fight: cutting in line.
"I'm all for the rafting company making a nice profit, but I don't choose to subsidize them with my taxes. Had they provided adequate service there would not have been the need for so many law enforcement officers."
