By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

Oktoberfest and the Fort Hays State University Homecoming weekend was a relatively uneventful one for local law enforcement agencies.

According to Lt. Brandon Wright of the Hays Police Department, there were no reported problems at Municipal Park on Friday for Oktoberfest. It was pretty much “a typical weekend night in Hays,” Wright said.

Between Thursday and Sunday, the Hays PD made six driving under the influence arrests, according to the department’s activity log. The Ellis County Sheriff’s Office also made one DUI arrest, according to Sheriff Ed Harbin.

According to the arrest log, there were 10 alcohol- and six drug-related arrests over the four days between Thursday night and Sunday morning.

Wright partly attributed the relatively quiet weekend to the increased police presence. Along with the Hays PD and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, the FHSU Police Department, Kansas Highway Patrol, Alcohol Beverage Control and Union Pacific Police were all on patrol in Hays this past weekend.

“All area law enforcement came together to make the community safer,” said Wright.

On Friday night, Wright said they had a few people ask the police to break up a party before it got out of control.

Saturday night, there were even groups who registered their parties through the Party Smart program, which gives people guidelines for having a party and allows them the chance to interact with the police if something were to go wrong without receiving a citation.

Harbin said, “Kids were respectful and polite.” He added that it was not what he expected from previous experience.

Safe Ride also had a busy weekend, according to Anna Findley, transportation manager of DSNW/ACCESS Public Bus Transportation.

On Friday, the service provided transportation to 861 people for a total of 635 miles. 369 individuals took advantage of Safe Ride on Saturday and they drove a total of 158 miles.