Bikers Ascend On Meeker To Attend Town Board Meeting
Today I received an email from Tiger Mike Revere, the ABATE legislative liason, about an incident that happened over the weekend near the Sparks Oklahoma motorycle rally. It seems the OHP, Meeker Police and Sac & Fox Police set up a drivers license checkpoint on a gravel road near the Sparks American motorcycle rally. Several motorcyclists felt that bikers were being "profiled" and that this checkpoint showed that the local police were "unfriendly" to motorcyclists.
I have spent the morning trying to figure out exactly what happened. So far I have talked to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Meeker Police Department, Meeker City Manager, and the the Sac & Fox Nation Police Chief. I have tried contacting Tony Ward and Mike Revere to get more details on the event and will update this blog once I find out more. I did uncover an excellent story about the incident by Carol Jenkins that ran in the Meeker News.
Bikers Ascend On Meeker To Attend Town Board Meeting
by Carol Jenkins - Meeker News
Nearly 100 motorcycle enthusiasts along with Sparks America owner, Tony Ward, attended the Meeker Town Board meeting held Monday, June 18. Sparks America Bike Rally is being held this week in Sparks and bikers from across the country attend this week-long annual event. Ward and the other bikers were upset by a Drivers License (DL) Check Point set up be the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) this past week near Sparks at Hwy. 18B and Hwy. 18. The OHP had called for a Meeker Police unit to assist in the DL Check Point. It was also noted that Sac and Fox Police also participated at the DL Check Point. Ward told the board that he has lost thousands of dollars in revenue due to "word of mouth" that bikers are being profiled in Meeker. "I have four phone lines into Sparks America and they have been ringing non stop with people wanting to know if they will be harassed by local law enforcement officers during the rally or if they could get in," Ward stated. "People are coming here on vacation and they shouldn't be hassled on their vacation," Ward told board members during the open public comments portion of the regular town board meeting. A man known as the "Picture Guy" told board members that he was a photo journalist who travels to bike rallies across the nation and has been profiled more times than you can imagine during different bike rallies. "What you are doing can ruin your commerce if the local government allows it," he told board members. "I am a 15-year veteran with the Marine Corps. I am about as squeaky clean as you can get. If you want the commerce in your city don't go out of your way to stop someone who rides a bike and wears leather," he added. Cindy Dillenger, also spoke during the meeting asking board members, "Why would you want to run business out of Meeker. We do a lot of charity work as well. Why would you want to push us away. If we are blatantly breaking the law, then yes, but to just harass us, that's not right," she stated. Mike Revere, a political advocate for bikers, also stated, "These people are a very close knit family. Everyone has a common bond in the aspect that they enjoy riding a motorcycle in America. These people are proud Americans and proud Oklahomans and they take an active roll in all levels of politics and we are concerned with keeping our way of life," Revere stated. Steve Durst of Kansas who is a former police chief and city council member himself told board members that, "If there is a problem I recommend you fix it. Take advantage of Sparks America. It's an excellent opportunity for you." Meeker Mayor Gary Stell thanked the group for attending the meeting. "We do welcome you here," he stated. "We can't take any action on this matter tonight, but believe me, your concerns are not falling on deaf ears," he added.
Mayor Gary Stell also told The Meeker News that, "In the future I hope that the relationship between the biker community and the Meeker community can once again be a viable relationship." Tony Ward also thanked the board for listening to their concerns. During the Meeker Police Department update at the board meeting, Meeker Police Chief Don Conner stated that the Meeker Police Department had not stopped a motorcycle, written any warnings or tickets to a biker during the past weekend.
I have spent the morning trying to figure out exactly what happened. So far I have talked to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Meeker Police Department, Meeker City Manager, and the the Sac & Fox Nation Police Chief. I have tried contacting Tony Ward and Mike Revere to get more details on the event and will update this blog once I find out more. I did uncover an excellent story about the incident by Carol Jenkins that ran in the Meeker News.
Bikers Ascend On Meeker To Attend Town Board Meeting
by Carol Jenkins - Meeker News
Nearly 100 motorcycle enthusiasts along with Sparks America owner, Tony Ward, attended the Meeker Town Board meeting held Monday, June 18. Sparks America Bike Rally is being held this week in Sparks and bikers from across the country attend this week-long annual event. Ward and the other bikers were upset by a Drivers License (DL) Check Point set up be the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) this past week near Sparks at Hwy. 18B and Hwy. 18. The OHP had called for a Meeker Police unit to assist in the DL Check Point. It was also noted that Sac and Fox Police also participated at the DL Check Point. Ward told the board that he has lost thousands of dollars in revenue due to "word of mouth" that bikers are being profiled in Meeker. "I have four phone lines into Sparks America and they have been ringing non stop with people wanting to know if they will be harassed by local law enforcement officers during the rally or if they could get in," Ward stated. "People are coming here on vacation and they shouldn't be hassled on their vacation," Ward told board members during the open public comments portion of the regular town board meeting. A man known as the "Picture Guy" told board members that he was a photo journalist who travels to bike rallies across the nation and has been profiled more times than you can imagine during different bike rallies. "What you are doing can ruin your commerce if the local government allows it," he told board members. "I am a 15-year veteran with the Marine Corps. I am about as squeaky clean as you can get. If you want the commerce in your city don't go out of your way to stop someone who rides a bike and wears leather," he added. Cindy Dillenger, also spoke during the meeting asking board members, "Why would you want to run business out of Meeker. We do a lot of charity work as well. Why would you want to push us away. If we are blatantly breaking the law, then yes, but to just harass us, that's not right," she stated. Mike Revere, a political advocate for bikers, also stated, "These people are a very close knit family. Everyone has a common bond in the aspect that they enjoy riding a motorcycle in America. These people are proud Americans and proud Oklahomans and they take an active roll in all levels of politics and we are concerned with keeping our way of life," Revere stated. Steve Durst of Kansas who is a former police chief and city council member himself told board members that, "If there is a problem I recommend you fix it. Take advantage of Sparks America. It's an excellent opportunity for you." Meeker Mayor Gary Stell thanked the group for attending the meeting. "We do welcome you here," he stated. "We can't take any action on this matter tonight, but believe me, your concerns are not falling on deaf ears," he added.
Mayor Gary Stell also told The Meeker News that, "In the future I hope that the relationship between the biker community and the Meeker community can once again be a viable relationship." Tony Ward also thanked the board for listening to their concerns. During the Meeker Police Department update at the board meeting, Meeker Police Chief Don Conner stated that the Meeker Police Department had not stopped a motorcycle, written any warnings or tickets to a biker during the past weekend.
posted by James Pratt at 1:01 PM
1 Comments:
We were there last weekend. One person was pulled over and ticketed for an illegal U-turn, even though there was no postings. The police stayed to the main road while we were there, ticketing people for very minor and even none existent violations. We had no problems riding through Meeker, nor on our way out.
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