As expected, crowds and traffic were everywhere during last weekend’s Independence Day celebrations, including at the annual party on Masonboro Island on July 4th. That party is where police and town officials focused their attention on Independence Day afternoon, as both the town’s park ranger and its police boat enforced rules keeping boats off of the beach and curtail the informal taxi service to the island.
“We don’t want any of that coming over here,” said Wrightsville Beach Park Ranger Shannon Slocum, who issued two tickets to boaters who parked on the south end of the beach.
When the park ranger arrived around noon on July 4th, there were several groups of people waiting for rides to the boat. Slocum encouraged them to seek rides from Wynn Plaza. He issued a ticket to one woman for drinking a can of beer. She had several more in a box next to her.
On July 4th, one of the town’s busiest beach day of the year, the park ranger takes a diverse range of roles, from tour guide to ordinance enforcer. The ranger’s white pickup truck is a familiar sight on Wrightsville Beach and so is Slocum, who’s been at the job for 16 years. Mainly, he serves a watchful eye over the crowd, making sure it remains a family-friendly destination for visitors.
“Really, it’s just about enforcing good beach etiquette,” Slocum said. “We’re trying to curb some behavior that affects other visitors. People can have epic times here and never get a ticket, they just have to keep it clean and be respectful.Slocum said most tickets are for bottles and alcohol. He said a stronger focus on alcohol violations have improved conditions for beachgoers in recent years.
The park ranger doesn’t often look in people’s cups, but he does look for obvious signs of alcohol. In one case, he checked the identification of a woman pouring what looked like canned beer into a cup, but didn’t issue her a ticket. He did issue a ticket to a man drinking from an opened can, saying it served for the group that had several cans out in the open.
Glass is a particular problem, as Slocum said he is quicker to write tickets on those violations, since glassware is prohibited in most waterfront locations, including lakes and rivers.
But Slocum said one of his most common duties is answering questions from visitors, who will ask him just about anything from medical questions to restaurant advice.
On July 4th, one visitor flagged him down to ask about swimming conditions in Masons Inlet, before letting him know her skills were limited to the doggie paddle. And she didn’t have her arm “floaties.”
“Stay ankle deep, those are rough, dangerous currents,” he said.
