GREAT POND, Maine — About 150 people were partying in rural northern Hancock County when their boozy shindig was busted by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, according to a report released Monday by the office.
Around 1 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 1, deputies responded to reports of a large party in a gravel pit on Hinckley Brook Road, near Black Cap Mountain.
Partygoers had crafted two bonfires in different areas of the gravel pit, according to Lt. Patrick Kane of the sheriff’s office. A large sound system in a pickup truck provided tunes for the bash.
“It was quite a gathering, they far outnumbered us,” Kane said Monday. He added that the crowd, mostly underage, was respectful and quickly obeyed the order to disperse.
Attendees told deputies they had learned about the party on Facebook, Kane said. A Hermon teen had created an event and invited his friends. Word spread from there.
Kane said the area of Stud Mill Road in northern Hancock and southwestern Penobscot counties is a popular spot for these off-the-grid pit parties. He said it’s always dangerous to hold large gatherings in rural Maine — not only would it take a long time for an ambulance to arrive if someone were hurt, but the intoxicating effects of alcohol and drugs could lead to disorientation and partygoers could get lost.
“This is the wild woods,” he said. “It’s not Ellsworth up there.”
In all, 14 minors were issued summonses for possession of alcohol by consumption.
They were: Lucas Baillargeon, 18, of Old Town; Daniel Clark, 19, of Bangor; Colby Cronin, 19, of Sanford; Matthew Darrah, 19, of Bangor; Mason Gurney, 19, of Bradley; Alex Leithiser, 18, of Old Town; Justin Loring, 19, of Old Town; Zachary Madden, 19, of Old Town; Kristen Morse, 19, of Hermon; Tyler Mullins, 19, of Bangor; Corey Stephens, 19, of Orono; Tyler Valdez, 20, of Old Town; James Verlee, 20, of Bangor; and Justin Whittington, 20, of Bangor.
Kane said the only reason more arrests weren’t made was because many sheriff’s deputies were on duty elsewhere during the busy Labor Day weekend.
Follow Mario Moretto on Twitter at @riocarmine.
We sure used to have some good times in the gravel pits. That’s why they call them the good old days. Nowadays the bored police have to babysit us to make any money. It sure was a nice time to grow up back in the 70’s.
And 80’s. :-)
And 90’s. In Southern Aroostook County there were PLENTY of places out of the way to have some real wing-dings.
“This is the wild woods,”
I could drink legally when I was 18.
So hiding out in dangerous large gatherings in the rural Maine pucker-bush— where not only would it take a long time for an ambulance to arrive if someone were hurt, but the intoxicating effects of alcohol and drugs could lead to disorientation and party goers could get lost, was a not problem.
WE COULD JUST STAY IN ELLSWORTH.
I also wonder how come it is so lost on the Bluenoses how alcohol being just as illegal as as everything else, for which the youth are not ever “carded” , encourages more dangerous drug use.
Drug problems in Maine ?
But for the sake of “if we are old to fight and die for America’s freedom, we are old enough to BE free adults ” being an undeniable point, and carrying the day, there might have gone I.
Drug dealers support higher legal age laws.
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piscataquis pit parties were always a good time. I slept in the bucket of a front end loader one night.
Indeed it was..It’s a wonder we survived without The NANNY STATE to monitor our every move…No helmets and bubble wrap when riding our bikes , drinking from the garden hose , playing outside all day and getting dirty..Going to the dump and shooting rats with our BB guns..Making GO Carts with an old lawn mower engine and parts from the dump..And Pit Parties when we got older…Damn it’s a wonder we made it…LOL…
Yes it was. I grew up in the late sixties…No cell phones, no internet, no facebook, and no cops at the pit parties. Word of mouth worked wonders back then among teenagers.
We were legal at 18 in my day:)
Pit parties! Best part about going to high school in rural Maine!
I think the law is disgusting. ALL (That is right ALL) the citizens arrested were old enough to vote, sign contracts, fight and die in service of their country, and old enough to sell liquor.
It is criminal that one group of full citizens has a different law than the rest of us. Once upon a time (when the difference in law was based on skin color) discrimination was overturned by the supreme court and eventually by the people’s law.
Maine’s motto is “I lead” how about leading the rest of the Nation away from this stupidity. Let 18-year-olds have a beer with their dads (or moms) before they head off to war. The other alternative is make 21 the age of majority for everything, including recruitment.
I concur. See link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age
Now go change the law . I do not agree with all laws myself but anyone breaking them should not complain they did nothing wrong. How many 16 and 17 year olds were drinking? We do not know . Just saying in large events such as this sometimes people get hurt or even DIE.
This is why adults vote and not minors. They do not have the experience yet in many cases to see why this is illegal, to give them pause before doing something potentially deadly. It’s because they are cared about not repressed.
I do not agree with all laws myself but anyone breaking them should not complain they did nothing wrong. How many 16 and 17 year olds were drinking? We do not know .
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if anyone under 18 was at caught at the party, you can be SURE the police would have informed the BDN. They would not have printed their names as they are minors, but they WOULD have reported it.
Why in the world would anyone post this as a public event on Facebook!? That’s just asking for trouble. Don’t get me wrong… I do enjoy a good drunken party, but man… keep it private.
someone should have NOt posted it on facebook…lol that is just not a good thing to do. The person should have just called 911 and said hi we are here come get us…lol
Gee can’t anyone wait until 21 to become a drunkard. Plenty of time after twenty-one to totaly fry your brain on alcohol. Still the number one drug of teenagers by far. Kills more of them than all other drugs combined. Alcohol and nicotine the gateway drugs to all the others.
bad parents and getting knocked up to get welfare are the gateway drugs to all other drugs
I can’t prove it but I bet if you paid your child support your ex wouldn’t be on welfare and you wouldn’t have such a chip on your shoulder.
alcohol is the gateway to awesome!
Good luck with your future.
Perhaps to a young person, but again you have plenty of time to do that in your twenties. I am not saying don’t drink, just wait until you are legal.The simple fact is that a teenager can get addicted to all sorts of things faster than an adult. Make it 21without drink or drugs, and chances are you will not get addicted to any of them. Dead teenagers with broken bodies in car accidents don’t have a life or a future.
Point is if you are a happy person doing something with your life that you want to do, you won’t need the alcohol or the drugs. Meanwhile the drugs and alcohol can wreck your life, and wreck your brain. Not too mention they can play havac with you earnings. Many of a poor person could have a lot better life if they were not wasting it away even on alcohol and cigarettes, much less on the other drugs. Been there, done that, and finally grew out of it. But give your life a chance to get started before you put it all to risk.
I imagine you will have to learn it the hard way, as few are going to learn from others mistakes. Perhaps it might help if you have others do a video of what you look like, and act like, messed up. The parts that you might not remember, or might not want to remember. Read the paper and you see what fools many people make of themselves.
One bourbon, one scotch, one beer
Well I ain’t seen my baby since I don’t know when,
I’ve been drinking bourbon, whiskey, scotch and gin
Gonna get high man I’m gonna get loose,
Need me a triple shot of that juice
Gonna get drunk don’t you have no fear
I want one bourbon, one scotch and one beer
One bourbon, one scotch, one beer
Are you really trying to say that the only people that attend parties at 18, 19 and 20 are welfare babies? Really? Get a grip on reality – the reason you can’t prove it is because it is not even close to being true. I suppose that is the nature of a tea troll though huh – say it and it must be true.
I’ve seen your recent comments on this and other articles….you have NOTHING useful or intelligent to post…so with that being said…I’ll give you $1 to just go away forever
the article said the police told the people to disperse… so there were a huge number of drunk, underage kids driving around… is it just me or does this not seem right that the police force them away instead of taking the alcohol and protecting the scene. many of those kids would have been MUCH safer staying in the pit then risking their lives and other people’s lives driving drunk at 1 am.
I think you prove “it” by your post.
Another great Maine tradition bites the dust….
Awesome, we don’t want our woods turned into a party out here anyway! Then they all travel back home down Route 9 while Intoxicated in the wee hours of the morning. Thanks Hancock County, you probably saved a bunch of lives on this occasion.
“This is the wild woods,”
I could drink legally when I was 18. So hiding out in dangerous large gatherings in the rural Maine pucker-bush— where not only would it take a long time for an ambulance to arrive if someone were hurt, but the intoxicating effects of alcohol and drugs could lead to disorientation and party goers could get lost, was a not problem. WE COULD JUST STAY IN ELLSWORTH.I also wonder how come it is so lost on the Bluenoses how alcohol being just as illegal as as everything else, for kids are not ever “carded” , encourages more dangerous drug use.Drug problems in Maine ?But for the sake of “if we are old to fight and die for America’s freedom, we are old enough to BE free adults ” being an deniable point, and carrying the day, there might have gone I.Drug dealer support higher legal age laws.
wow where are they supposed to go party in town and get run over or in the woods and take a chance of getting lost i pick in the woods
You can join military and die for your Country but not drink a beer …….
What gives?!! I have Face-space and I never got the invite!
Who would of thunk it?????
A pit and a party….
I was on the Stud Mill rd last Saturday, ran in to 3 guys riding around drinking Allens and milk, what a crew, I only had miller lite….
1 girl was summonsed? sounds like a pretty typical down-east sausagefest!