OFF THE WIRE
Even with 400 to 600 Hells Angels arriving Wednesday in Spearfish for their annual USA Run, the town's residents appeared calm and ready to welcome their guests.
On the first day of their five-day stop in town, motorcycles could be seen cruising down Main Street while additional police cruisers toured the town.
But otherwise, the motorcycle club's presence didn't seem to disrupt the rhythm of life in the scenic Lawrence County community of 10,000 people.
"I think they'd stick to themselves and not draw any attention to themselves," said Maureen Landry, a motorcyclist from Green Bay, Wis., as she sipped a glass of wine at Crow Peak Brewery.
But law enforcement is prepared for the Hells Angels' USA Run, which started Wednesday and ends Sunday, according to Lt. Curt Jacobs of the Spearfish Police Department.
The run is a sort of annual business meeting for the club, Jacobs said. He expects about as many as 600 Hells Angels, along with 400 to 600 family members and support groups.
Officers with the Spearfish Police Department and Lawrence County Sheriff's Office are working longer hours, and additional South Dakota Highway Patrol troopers are in the area, Jacobs said Wednesday.
"We're beefing up our hours that we're out on the street to ensure that our community is a safe community and to ensure that Hells Angels don't have any problems while they're here," Jacobs said. "We're going to be fair but firm. We just expect them to follow the same laws and ordinances that people who live here year-round follow."
Jacobs said the Hells Angels are staying at campgrounds and hotels throughout the city.
But they've established a headquarters of sorts across the street from Crow Peak Brewery at Jo's Field of Dreams Camping, a campground they have made their own.
Crow Peak owner Carolyn Ferrell said she didn't really know what to expect from the motorcycle gxxg and that only a few of them looking for food had stopped in so far.
Other tourists at the brewery said they weren't particularly nervous about the motorcycle gxxg across the street.
"I thought, 'Well, that's OK. They need a vacation from their lives, too,'" said Ted Everly of Green Bay. "It's just that they're in a club, an infamous one."
In downtown Spearfish, the Hells Angels largely seemed to congregate at the Back Porch bar. Leland Ruzicka, the bar owner and a friend of several Hells Angels, said gxxg members likely would cruise through the Hills over the next several days and enjoy the sights like other tourists.
But to him, Hells Angels are bar patrons just like anyone else.
"It's definitely going to be a boost. Any time you get a lot of visitors in town, it's a boost to business," he said.
He didn't see the presence of a motorcycle club deterring locals from going out.
"I can't imagine it affecting the local residents," he said.
Tourism group Visit Spearfish has staffed its visitor center to prepare for the influx of visitors and is treating them no differently than any other group, director Mistie Caldwell said.
No one had specifically identified themselves as Hells Angel to the visitor's bureau, Caldwell said Tuesday.
"I really hope that people continue to do business and recreate like they would any other day, even though there's a large group of people coming to town," she said. "If you treat people respectfully, they typically treat you with respect."
Mayor Jerry Krambeck echoed Caldwell's sentiment, saying he hoped the community would treat the Hells Angels with respect, like they would any other group of visitors.
Ideally, the rest of the week will go by without incident, Krambeck said. The city is already acclimated to motorcyclists, he said.
"Spearfish and the surrounding Black Hills is basically a destination point for motorcyclists, whether it's a club event or the (Sturgis) rally. It's somewhat of a way of life in Spearfish," he said.
Krambeck said he has talked to Spearfish residents who are nervous about the presence of the motorcycle gxxg and others who see little to be concerned about.
"I've had people on both sides of the spectrum, but most folks I've talked to feel that it's not a big issue," he said.
Kim Schulte, manager of Stadium Sports Grill, said only a few Hells Angels had stopped by her bar and restaurant Wednesday. She expected traffic to pick up across town later in the week, though she predicted patrons of her establishment would likely be eating rather than drinking heavily.
The police recommended Schulte staff an extra bartender at the Scoreboard Lounge, the other bar she manages. She followed the advice, adding a second bartender there.
"I think the police are more scared than anything," she said.
Schulte said she is used to dealing with the motorcyclists since she has managed the Stadium through four Sturgis rallies. She didn't expect this week to be any different.
"If anything bad's going to happen, I don't think it's going to happen here. They're going to take it somewhere else," she said.
Jason Takacs, operating owner of the Dry Creek Bar and Grill, said he has been dealing with Hells Angels and Bandidos every year during the rally. This week will be no different, he said.
"We just consider it another day. We don't worry about the Hells Angels or what they are. As long as they come in and pay their bill, we don't care what they are," he said.
The general feeling in Spearfish was that despite the leathers, motorcycles and membership to a notorious club, the Hells Angels are people like anyone else and should be treated as such.
"They're just people out going for a ride like anybody else," Everly said while at Crow Peak. "I would only be nervous if they ran into a rival group."
Law enforcement made several traffic stops as of Wednesday evening, but no arrests, according to Jacobs, who said that those stopped cooperated with police.
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/communities/spearfish/spearfish-says-it-s-ready-for-hells-angels/article_a7a6b8a0-bb2e-5ded-81da-caf780bbccac.html
