Town cracks down at swimming holes
Town police are expected to patrol more often in the area of the Big Deep and Little Deep swimming holes because people continue to visit the closed sites, do not practice social distancing and leave trash behind, Woodstock Supervisor Bill McKenna said.
The popular cooling-off spots, about three-quarters of a mile from each other in the Sawkill Creek, were declared closed in May because of the COVID-19 pandemic, their access roads have been blocked, and “No Parking” signs are posted. But none of that has kept visitors away.
“People are not paying attention and they are not doing the appropriate thing,” McKenna said by phone. He said people are “congregating in big groups” at the two sites and “leaving a mess.”
“The mess, we’ve been fighting with for years ... but with the pandemic going on, I don’t have the manpower to pick up the mess,” he said.
Big Deep is off state Route 212. Little Deep is off Zena Road.
Of people’s being close together at the sites, McKenna said, “it’s one thing for an immediate family to not observe social distancing, but groups of 30? Please don’t tell me they all live in the same house together.”
McKenna said town police will visit the sites more frequently and will issue trespass warnings and/or tickets to people who violate the closures.
A Facebook message posted by the town on Friday state: “Anyone trespassing will be given a warning and asked to leave. After that, the police department will be issuing summons to each individual found trespassing.”