Humarock Beach To Be Open July 3 After Years Of Closures
SCITUATE (CBS) -- Humarock Beach in Scituate will be open for July 3 after being closed that night for years. Crazy celebrations, large bonfires, and underage drinking forced police to close the area during July 4th festivities in 2017.
The reopening has nearby residents concerned.
"Kids went crazy. There was always fights on the beach and kids drunk," David Dorrer said.
"Crazy, wild," Elaine Stone recalled. "Droves. It is actually scary. It's actually frightening. We used to sit on our decks until one, two in the morning to protect our houses.
"There might be a thousand teens down here," Scott Hitchcock explained.
"Oh, it's insane," Beth Fraser added.
Police will be out in full force on patrol and foot. They hoped the temporary closings sent a serious message to anyone headed to the beach for the wrong reasons.
"2015 and 2016 was real bad, we had 30 to 40 arrests. Multiple underage kids went to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. After closing the beach in 2017, those numbers were minimal," Police Lt. Paul Norton explained.
That doesn't erase the mark the parties left on some residents though.
Stone added, "The kids were coming on the deck, they're stealing the liquor. They were brazen. They'd walk in, 'can I use your bathroom?' and I'd say, 'no, I don't think so."
Signs remind beachgoers that bonfires and fireworks are illegal.
"I don't know if you can teach an old dog new tricks though, we'll see," Fraser said.
