Admission fee, fencing planned for St. Luke's Festival
BOARDMAN — Suggestions from the police department following last year’s St. Luke’s Church Festival prompted the improved security measures planned for this year’s event.
Mary Ellen Brannigan, festival co-chair, said that an altercation erupted among a few people at last year’s event that caused other attendees to leave.
Church officials spoke to the police department who made recommendations for crowd control.
“We’re going to have temporary chain-link fencing and an admission fee,” Brannigan said.
Adults and children without an adult accompanying them will be charged a $3 admission fee. Children 12 and younger who are accompanied by an adult will be admitted free of charge.
Attendees to the festival, set for July 12 through July 15, will be directed through two entrances, one at South Avenue and a second from a parking area behind the church.
Township Police Chief Patrick Berarducci said he plans a meeting with officials from St. Luke’s to discuss safety precautions.
“I’d like to see officers at each access point, scanning everybody with hand wands and checking everybody coming in,” he said.
He compared the level of security he envisions to what spectators at Cleveland Browns’ football games go through entering the stadium.
His recommendations follow a fight at the St. Charles Festival last weekend. A 16-year-old boy is accused of bringing a gun into the event although no shots were fired.
For the complete story, see Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com.