Kipke Encourages Safety at Dobbins Island Bumperbash

The annual Dobbins Island Bumperbash is coming up and fans from around the area are preparing to head to Dobbins Island for an evening of entertainment. Each year, hundreds of people rig their boats together and party on the Magothy River. The 2011 Bumperbash will take place on July 23 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"The Bumperbash has been a great social event that has gone off without a hitch for years," said District 31 Del. Nic Kipke (R-Pasadena). "Families take a boat out, they tie their boats together near Dobbins Island and it's like having a picnic on the water. It's been great for years."

Kipke said that in recent years, however, the event has become more unruly. Toward that end, he's requested that the Department of National Resources Police, Coast Guard and Anne Arundel County authorities work to ensure public safety at the event.

"Last year, we saw minors blowing up rafts and heading out to the island or getting dropped off there," said Kipke. "Somehow they get their hands on large amounts of alcohol, they get drunk, they get into fights and brawls and as a result last year all the local beaches were taken over by the fire and police departments as staging areas."

"The whole time, they were bringing people back on stretchers from fights or people who were engaged in the brawls and intoxicated," added Kipke. "It's a great risk from a public safety perspective that these people will get injured or drowned."

Kipke said that dozens of people were taken off the island by first responders. He added that there was great public cost in the required overtime for police, fire and medical responders and that while nobody has yet died during the event, it's a distinct possibility without further precautions.

"There's a cost factor but the public safety factor is really our primary concern," said Kipke.

"The department is currently in the planning stages for the event," said Anne Arundel County Police Department Public Information Officer Justin Mulcahy. "The preparation for enforcement efforts will be done in conjunction with other area agencies such as the Coast Guard and Natural Resources Police. We have received complaints related to parking and trespassing."

Mulcahy said that the plans for the event weren't currently finalized.

Some Pasadena residents are looking forward to the event but are also concerned about safety.

"I love the Bumperbash," said Pasadena resident Cathy Macnulty. "My family went last year and it was great! I guess it got a little unruly but I wasn't worried about my own safety. If people are getting drunk and going on the water though, someone's going to get hurt."

"I'm glad someone will be doing something about those kids," said Pasadena resident Jim Johnson. "They're going to get themselves killed."