Drum Keeping Eye On Local Bars

The military ban imposed last month on the Strand Music Theater in Watertown has been lifted, but that doesn't mean Fort Drum brass isn't keeping an eye on local watering holes. Senior noncommissioned officers on "courtesy patrols" are making late-night stops at bars throughout Jefferson County, including the Strand and the Thunderdome on Factory Street.
"We're not out there to tamp down anyone's good time," Fort Drum media relations officer Benjamin E. Abel said. "We just don't want soldiers getting in trouble."
Maj. Gen. Michael L. Oates, commander of the 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum, placed an off-limits order on the Strand within weeks after a soldier plowed through a group of people with his car March 15 outside the club, injuring eight fellow soldiers.
The ban lasted all of May before being lifted the first week of June, Mr. Abel said.
On June 7, a handful of uniformed NCOs milled outside the Franklin Street tavern about 11:30 p.m. They then loaded into a van and drove to the Thunderdome, 204 Factory St. Some entered the club while others stood in the street and on the sidewalk.
Mr. Abel said the patrols will be "fairly random." He did not disclose what bars will be visited or what nights the patrols will be performed.
Watertown Police Chief Jo-seph J. Goss said he met with Fort Drum leadership earlier this month about the ban being lifted on the Franklin Street tavern.
"We asked if they can contact our on-duty supervisor (when the patrols are in the city) and if they need assistance, they can call the Watertown police anytime," he said. "We think this is a great idea by the Fort Drum command."
The chief said he believed that courtesy patrols also will be performed at bars outside the city.
About 12 to 15 NCOs were back at the Thunderdome on June 14. They declined an interview and asked that the reporter contact the Public Affairs Office.
Attempts to contact Michael Fusco, who owns the Thunderdome and neighboring Mick's Tavern, were unsuccessful. His home and business numbers are both unlisted.
Members of the courtesy patrol do not arrest soldiers, but if there's a problem involving soldiers, the NCOs can take them back to their units.
"If there's a role they can legally play, then they will step in as command staff for the general," Chief Goss said.
When the NCOs are in the city, "they are on their own and following the rules and regulations of the military and the commanding general at Fort Drum," Chief Goss said.
The chief said that during the ban on the Strand, there were "absolutely no issues whatsoever."
City staff found less debris, like beer cans and fast food wrappers, in the municipal parking lot during that time. The parking lot behind City Hall is used largely by Strand patrons.
The March 15 incident that injured eight people began when Kristopher B. Hendricks, 23, struck a parked car in the municipal parking lot. He then drove his 1995 Cadillac the wrong way along Goodale Street, striking several groups of people who were leaving the Strand.
Since March, citywide patronage at bars has decreased, which correlates with an annual trend, Chief Goss said. He suggested that revelers began traveling to bars in resort communities along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River as the weather improved.
"I can say this - when we do have problems, it's a very small percent of people," he said. "We don't see riots in the streets or anything like that."
Watertown Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham said he has not seen the courtesy patrols outside the bar he co-owns and manages, Fort Pearl, 557 Pearl St.
"It's not the same situation as a nightclub," he said. "There's a different atmosphere to it."
When asked whether the military's decision to begin courtesy patrols at city bars helped police, he replied: "As the mayor, I don't have any comment on it either way."
Calls to the homes of the Strand's owners, Donald J. Meunier and Patrick F. Shanahan, were not returned. Numbers for Janica C. VanBrocklin and Philip A. Maphey Jr., who also are listed as owners on the establishment's liquor license, could not be found.