CLAY COUNTY – Large-scale promoted events are illegal in rural Clay County for the foreseeable future.
Que Brownlee, owner of event organizer Bottom World, is crying foul. He organized a bonfire Nov. 16 on Cousins Road on the western side of the county where five people were shot, a teenager was allegedly assaulted and an all-terrain vehicle was stolen.
Brownlee said he promotes events all over Mississippi, where law enforcement takes a more active supporting role in maintaining their safety. He even sees events in West Point get more support from local law enforcement than he believes his Clay County events receive.
“We have the Prairie Arts Festival … and law enforcement are there helping those people, helping everything stay safe and maintain a safe environment,” Brownlee said. “So why (as) … citizens and taxpayers, why can’t law enforcement help us with our events?”
In a separate incident in August, a male victim was found severely beaten on an ATV trail near Mudslingers near the Chickasaw County line, where an unpermitted concert was being held.
Clay County Board of Supervisors on Monday approved an indefinite suspension of large-scale promoted events outside the city limits. While bonfires and trail rides spurred the discussion that led to the ban, Board Attorney Angela Turner-Ford explained the move pauses the entire permitting process for paid special events.
“(Bonfires and trail rides) are the events that have, I would say, triggered the concern,” Turner-Ford said. “But … (since) the permit process has been suspended, I would say paused, then it applied to all of those types of events.”
Since the Bottom World shooting, District 1 Supervisor Lynn “Don” Horton said the board has received numerous concerns from residents requesting some kind of action be taken to mitigate the violence occurring at these events in the county.
“We have had issues, and we were hoping that it would get better,” Horton said. “… But it looks like it gets bigger each time one of these guys would have one, more and more people would attend. … It’s out of our control, we can’t do anything with it. So we decided to just cut it off.”
Horton said discussions would continue on how to tighten and re-implement a permitting ordinance.
“We’re not trying to keep the younger generation from having fun, and the ones that promote these shows, we’re not trying to stop them from (hosting events) because that’s their business,” Horton said. “… People that live here, they (are) tired of waking up on Sunday mornings and hearing about … people getting shot. … We decided that, well, if they want to have (these events), it won’t be in Clay County.”
In its current, paused form, the county ordinance requires special events held on county property to acquire a permit. That includes any event on public right of way, has fifty or more participants with loud outdoor amplified sound, has 75 or more people present and serves alcohol or has 100 or more people.
Sheriff Eddie Scott said safety issues have primarily occurred at large-scale promoted events held by at least three different organizers in the last year. Horton also noted issues law enforcement officers have had when responding to emergency situations at large events with thousands in attendance.
“The general public needs to understand that as far as first responders, we need to be prepared for large-scale events like this, so that we can have additional staff and all, we can all make sure our ambulance service knows … because we still have to service the entire city and county at the same time,” Scott said.
Horton said smaller events, like those hosted by families and churches in the area, will not be impacted by the suspension as the ordinance already exempts them from the special permit requirement.
The suspension will remain in effect while the board discusses and decides on changes to improve safety concerns with special events. While those changes are still up in the air, Scott suggested one modification could be requiring promoters of larger events to have a business license to put on an event in the county.
Turner-Ford said she expects a resolution to be made sooner rather than later.
“We all are on the same page with it until we figure out a better process,” Scott said. “… There’s just several different things that we got to look at … so it’s just going to take us a little time. You learn something from each one of these events. We want to fix it to where people can still have a good time, but we want to ensure the safety of the people that’s attending also.”
Improving public safety
Brownlee told The Dispatch his organization typically hosts one bonfire and trail ride each year. Brownlee’s concern, he said, lies with what the permit suspension could mean for his organization’s events going forward.
“To be honest, it’s really not a money thing,” Brownlee said. “We do it for the culture, just getting people out and coming to see the way we live and our lifestyle, and just coming to enjoy the outside with us. … Because (for) many people in this area, there’s never really (anything) big going on in these parts.”
Brownlee said he hopes part of the solution going forward is better communication with the sheriff’s office and first responders for special events in the county.
According to the ordinance, the sheriff has the authority to require law enforcement personnel be on-site at the applicant’s expense to monitor the crowd and regulate traffic. Events must also have a location for on-site medical aid and emergency access points for first responders. Plans for both must be submitted for approval when the permit application is filed.
In a press release issued Nov. 21, the sheriff’s office alleged the Nov. 16 Bottom World bonfire organizers and on-site security failed to control the crowd. The press release also said first responders struggled to access the scene due to vehicle congestion in the area to give medical attention to an individual suffering a seizure.
“These continued acts of violence that occur is what’s got our attention,” Scott said. “We’re not opposed to people getting together to have a good time, but what we are opposed to is the violence that keeps occurring, and we just (are) trying to get a reign on it.”
Posted in News
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