Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Non-Jefferson County residents who have been barred from accessing the Wacissa River boat ramp for a little more than a month will find that they are now welcomed again at the ramp.
Effective Friday, May 8, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) – which had been enforcing the Jefferson County Commission's policy of not allowing nonresidents on the site – posted a message on its Facebook website saying that the ban had been lifted.
Stated the JCSO post: “Per the Jefferson County BOCC- Wacissa
River Headwaters Boat Ramp is open to all boaters effective Friday, May 8th. The beach area remains closed until May 15th. Please continue to follow all recommendations set forth by Department of Health and CDC. Be safe!”
The Jefferson County Commission made the decision to reopen the board ramp on Thursday evening, May 7.
Commissioner Stephen Walker, whose District 5 encompasses the river and who recommended the closure early last month because of concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, suggested opening the boat ramp again to all comers.
Walker noted the governor's efforts to restart the economy and surrounding counties' opening of their parks and other recreational facilities. He didn't want, he said, for Jefferson County to be singled out because it was keeping its parks closed.
The beach, however, he believed should remain closed to all individuals, Walker said. The other commissioners agreed with keeping the beach closed, after discussing that it would entail the JCSO having to enforce the social-distancing measures if beach goers chose to ignore them.
Commissioners also discussed possibly putting certain limitations on the number of people from outside the county who could access the river.
Commissioner Betsy Barfield proposed the idea. She shared that she had been receiving calls from constituents who were expressing pleasure at being able to enjoy the river without the usual and sometimes rowdy crowds that made the popular recreational spot uninviting at times.
“We need to look at a way that we can limit the participation at the beach,” Barfield said, suggesting as a possibility a pay-to-play fee for nonresidents or some other method to limit the number of nonresidents who could access the park at any one time.
The other commissioners seemed amenable to the idea and indicated a willingness to discuss it further at a later meeting.
When commissioners enacted the order closing the boat ramp to nonresidents, it was in light of the governor's stay-at-home order and growing concern of the impact from the coronavirus outbreak locally.
The commissioners wanted to protect local residents from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. At the same time, they wanted to provide a recreational outlet for residents who were stuck at home because of the pandemic and the governor's stay-at-home order.
At the time Walker proposed the closing, he noted the many out-of-state and out-of-county visitors who had been coming to the Wacissa River Headwaters Park in recent weeks, evident by the various license plates.
He argued that restricting access to the boat ramp to only Jefferson County residents would accomplish two things. One, he said, it would give local residents a place to go boating without having to travel to other areas. And two, he said, it would help prevent people from other areas coming into Jefferson County and possibly bringing in the coronavirus.
“We are fortunate that no cases have been discovered so far in Jefferson County and it's our responsibility as county officials to do our best to keep it that way,” Walker said at the time.
Soon after, the county had its first recorded cases of COVID-19. As of present, the county has 28 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two related deaths.