Salem writing ticket to race-free future?

By JEFF MARTIN Journal Staff Writer

SALEM — Are four traffic tickets for burnouts excessive?

Is it excessive considering the tickets were written during festivities for the Steel Valley Super Nationals, the famous three-day event meant to show off some of the fastest, loudest, coolest, oldest and hippest cars around?

Lt. Donald Beeson of the Salem Police Department doesn’t think the tickets were excessive.

Only practical.

“It was unsafe for it to happen,” said Beeson. “With as many people as there were, sitting on curbs or standing in the road, it was simply unsafe for it to go on.”

Beeson took a pro-active stance on the department’s decision to write up those who burned rubber throughout the city Saturday night, specifically in heavily populated areas. In most cases, the squealing of tires and smell of burning rubber was done in areas with a large number of people crowding close to the road to get a glimpse. Later in the night, the tires spun repeatedly on State Street.

“It got ridiculous as the night went on,” said Beeson.

Beeson, who was on foot patrol on Pershing Street near Timberlanes Restaurant, said the crowds were so thick at key times during the evening that the city put up barricades between Ellsworth and Lincoln avenues 15 minutes earlier than expected.

That was one image he used to justify the enforcement.

For another example, Beeson told of one hot rod vehicle at an unrelated event that spun its tires so severely that the axle splintered and shot into the crowd.

Could it have happened in Salem?

“It could’ve, and if it had, it would have been catastrophic.”

Beeson defended the department against reports from onlookers that police were patrolling freely and recklessly, passing out tickets not only for squealing tires but for gunning engines and illegal parking.

In most cases, drivers were politely warned, and cars that were parked illegally — yes, they were ticketed in extreme cases, Beeson said.

“My routine was to go up to them and ask the driver if he wanted to make a contribution to the city,” said Beeson. “In most cases, they saw their error and stopped.”

Such a contribution probably cost the driver about $80 — give or take a buck or two.

In one instance, Beeson said a Mustang pulled off to the side of the road and let a gunning Corvette pull ahead of him.

“He didn’t want to get rear-ended.”

For those who were ticketed, one thing seemed common: all the drivers appeared to taunt police, oftentimes doing it near them. On Sunday afternoon, Beeson witnessed one driver burn rubber in front of him.

Count that as another contribution to the city.

“He knew what he was doing.”

But for Marilyn Chonsky of Poland, who has been going to Steel Valley Super Nationals for years with her sister, the ticket writing — even only for one overenthused driver — was a way Salem contributed to its own future — one without the Super Nats.

“That’s what this whole thing is about,” Chonsky said. “That the police are writing a ticket for something like this is ridiculous. They should be ashamed. You can hear people upset in the way they’re booing.

“Salem finally gets something like this, and they probably chased it away.”

Beeson doesn’t believe the ticket writing will spoil the future. He said the support for what the department did Saturday night was displayed by many members of the audience.

“I had one guy come up to me and tell me the one guy who spun out deserved it,” said Beeson, adding that both Boardman and Canfield — who hosted the event in the past — never tolerated such activity.

Overall, the event was a success, Beeson said. The majority of drivers behaved, and people had a good time, despite those pesky rumors.

“We didn’t do anything different on Saturday night than we would’ve done on any other night.”

Any other night?

This was Super Nats.

“You still have to be safe.”

jmartin@mojonews.com