Penn mom concerned about South Bend pub crawl happening same day as prom Kelli Stopczynski
POSTED: 05:39 PM EDT Apr 25, 2014 UPDATED: 06:39 PM EDT Apr 25, 2014
Concern about South Bend pub crawl happening on prom nightSOUTH BEND -
A charity pub crawl that will attempt to get South Bend a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records is raising concern for at least one Penn High School parent. Both it and Penn's prom are happening in downtown South Bend, on the same day.The pub crawl, called “Bend it ‘til it Breaks,” involves 10 downtown businesses – mostly bars and restaurants. Each location is raising money for a different local charity. In order to break the old record for “world’s largest pub crawl,” participants must drink 6 ounces of any liquid at each of the 10 stops, said organizer, Mike McNeff.They’re hoping to have at least 5,000 people participate.
“It just doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Penn High School parent, Patricia Lytle.
She was shocked to read an article in the paper about a huge bar hopping event scheduled to happen
downtown on May 3.“My biggest concern is a car of 4 or 6 kids gets hit head-on and you’ve got a bunch of dead kids that were out here for the biggest night of their lives,” she added.
Lytle’s daughter is a junior at Penn and going to prom with a group of friends.
That event starts at I at the Century Center – the same time the pub crawl ends. The bar hopping event begins at noon at the former College Football Hall of Fame and ends with a concert at the Cove.“I can understand her concern, I’ve got children of my own,” McNeff said, adding he and others have safety steps in place –
including key chains with a local cab company’s number on them and cabs lined up at The Cove when the event ends. (Now they let the cabs line up, how about in front of Club Fever?)The Double Tree Hotel is a non-alcoholic location, he said, only serving coffee, water or soft drinks.
“Our event is actually going to be over with and everybody at an actual concert over at Four Winds Field by the time the prom event even starts,” he continued, pointing out the event is about bringing people downtown and raising money for charity – not the alcohol. 
“It could be water, you could come through and drink coffee throughout the whole thing. It still counts toward the record,” McNeff said, calling it ‘more of a numbers game than anything.’
But that’s little consolation for Lytle, who works at a downtown bar and restaurant and sees the aftermath of people drinking and driving.
“It’s scary as a mother, a parent, not just for my daughter but for all the kids,” she said.
Bend it ‘Til it Breaks organizers got a permit from the city to hold the event.
In a statement, city spokeswoman Kara Kelly said, “The South Bend police will step up their presence on Saturday, May 3, just as they do when there are other special events occurring downtown. At almost every event, the City increases its presence to ensure public safety. Our main focus is that people come out and enjoy themselves, and are safe at the same time.”
South Bend police spokesman Capt. Phil Trent said the department earmarks money for such events requiring overtime.
Penn Harris Madison spokeswoman Teresa Carroll told WSBT the corporation is not worried about the pub crawl, saying once students are inside the prom, they are not allowed to come and go. Also, the school hires plenty of private security for the event, she said.
(How about the ride home?)http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/south-be ... m/25664688
"Preserving and protecting the principles of the Constitution is the primary role of the federal government."
by Happy Mom » Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:03 pm 
