Even though there has been a smoking ban at Newport Beach for over 7 years, park employees were too intimidated to tell the AA/NA Groups to not smoke. Commissioners said that the AA/NA groups were just too confrontational for park employees, and need police to enforce the ban. First citizens asked the 12 steppers not to smoke and obey the law, but was brushed off. Typical behavior of 12 steppers acting like they are unique and special, and that they do not have to follow the law. The citizens of Holly Hill Florida certainly can relate towards this attitude of ‘Recovery Groups’. We have been dealing with The Sunrise Group, which is part of the Volusia County Intergroup Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as the Daytona Narcotics Anonymous meetings in Holly Land Park, Centennial Park and Sunrise Park. We have to deal with parking issues, litter , vulgarity, cigarette butts, assaults, death threats and the list goes on.
Maybe the Holly Hill City Commission will listen to the all the complaints from our locals and take action!
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups can’t smoke at Newport beaches
By JON CASSIDY / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
NEWPORT BEACH – Recovery groups that smoke during meetings on the beach are facing a crackdown, after the City Council rejected a plan to give them smoking permits for their weekly meetings.Smoking on the beach has been banned in Newport Beach for more than seven years, but the City Council took up the issue Tuesday as part of a revision to its rules on parks and beach use.
Those new rules included a ban on smoking in parks, as well as broader language covering permits for park use.
Two groups, one from Alcoholics Anonymous and another from Narcotics Anonymous, have been gathering at the beach near 15th Street for years, City Manager Dave Kiff said.Many of the group members smoke, he said.
“A law is only as good as our ability to enforce it,” Kiff said, adding that parks employees were too intimidated to give tickets to the large recovery groups. His proposal was to allow the groups to apply for smoking permits that cover just their meeting time, but the idea was rejected.”There’s other people that (would) see them smoking there and think now it’s OK to smoke here,” Councilman Steve Rosansky said. Councilman Mike Henn said police would be needed to enforce the law.
“Clearly what we are left with is increased enforcement and we need to figure out a way to make that happen,” he said. “I don’t think it can realistically happen with park patrol people because the people that are smoking, I know, are just too confrontational when they’re asked to stop. So we’re going to have to figure out a way to get the proper police enforcement there.”
Two residents spoke against Kiff’s exception. Resident Denys Oberman said that she had been asking group members not to smoke for years, but that they usually ignored her or told her, “Get off of it” or “Go about your life.”
Two others came to ask that the basketball court at 38th Street Park on Balboa be closed at 7 p.m. rather than sunset; the council agreed. Those were the only two changes to a package of revised regulations approved on a 5-1 vote, with Councilman Ed Selich opposing and Rosansky not voting. The new regulations for parks include a smoking ban, a permit requirement for commercial use by coaches or trainers, and a permit requirement for “any games” played in the city’s 73 parks.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/smoking-340405-beach-smoke.html
We still have AA Daytona and NA Daytona meetings allowing their members to smoke in Holly Hill’s No Smoking Parks. They cussed out a citizen just last weekend for complaining about their smoking. Hopefully our Park Ranger and Holly Hill PD will not be intimidated by these groups.
What is it about the total disconnect with these Daytona NA/AA groups who consistently use EXCESSIVE FOUL LANGUAGE and tell their drug and alcohol” horror stories” right in front of small children?
Today, after the LARGE, weekly advertised, nontraditional Daytona Narcotics Anonymous group” JUST FOR TODAY,” concluded their business in the unreserved, un rented pavilion at Holly land Park, many of the members continued to hang around after business, as they typically do.
Once again LOUD FOUL LANGUAGE could clearly be heard, ringing out literally across the field after the Park Ranger left.
What was notable about today was that EXCESSIVE swearing rang out from one of the last remaining 2 or 3 NA members still sitting in the pavilion…. one of which was apparently the group’s “CHAIRPERSON!”
The nonprofessional Daytona NA “CHAIRPERSON” is involved with signing off on the probationary/drug court papers for all the court mandated/ newly released prisoners. This large percentage of their group HAVE to show up to meetings to get their court papers signed or be considered non compliant with the terms of the release.
The group’s “CHAIRPERSON” is easy to spot as they typically bring the organization’s “suitcase.” The suitcase, among other things contains the literature that the organization sells at the meetings.”The Suitcase” may also contain the donations collected weekly from people at the Park!
I like many other citizens really do not appreciate having to constantly hear foul language used regularly in public, especially around children in a park!
Please forgive me for even referencing the foul comment as we try to avoid the language on this site.
HONESTLY, The “CHAIRPERSON,” who is supposed to be an example to the newly released prisoners attending, was among the 2 or 3 still in the pavilion, one of which LOUDLY yelled the profanity, “Mother F*@&^n Piece Of S#!t …”
I apologize for repeating it but feel that it is important that the truth be told!
As many children played in the playground next to the pavilion, a citizen who was on the OTHER SIDE OF THE FIELD, clearly and loudly heard this typical Daytona NA/ AA profanity ringing out!
Letting the Park Ranger’s presence be known is a comfort to the many citizens of Holly Hill who have long been “intimidated and threatened out” by Daytona NA/AA members when they regularly show up taking over the unreserved pavilions.
Anyone who has ever simply tried to enjoy the park, sitting in one of these pavilions when these groups show up and take over know what it’s like!
It’s the only way to begin to truly turn things around in Holly Hill Parks.
After decades of the,” OPEN ALL NIGHT, ANYTHING GOES REPUTATION” of the Holly Hill Parks of the past, bringing some order where there has long been chaos, will take a lot of follow through with consistent law enforcement.
Now if we can just get law-enforcement to honestly observe the out-of-control disrespect for Park policy that goes on by Daytona Beach NA members at the HUGE, “THIRD TRADITION” group which begins to arrive and smoke in Centennial Park around 7 PM for their weekly unreserved 7:30 PM Park takeover!
That is terrible how the NADaytona members continue to smoke and use bad language in the park. It seems like it goes with smoking, drinking coffee and cussing. It is like second nature for many. To do it in ear shot of families and children is so immature and disrespectful. Complaints about cussing is common about 12 step members cussing at meetings. They know it- but continue to do it driving even some of their own members away. I am not a kid, but I can’t stand hearing the bad language.
What is so sad about this is that they aren’t following their own teachings. I go to meetings and if I were there I would raise a stink to the group about this and point out the blatant contradiction from the Big Book. I have seen this type of attitude in some meetings and I have no use for it. They make 12 step groups look like a crack pot religion when they don’t follow the teachings. I feel I should follow laws such as no smoking MORE carefully being that I have a way to become the best person I can become. This is just people who refuse to do the right thing, the arrogance. I almost wish that reasonable people like myself would start a new type of recovery group that actually followed the teachings and stressed respecting those around us instead of self righteously believing we are always right and shitting all over the community. People keep doing things like that, the rest of us in AA may well have to step up to the plate to make a new type of organization that doesn’t tolerate this type of behavior out of its members. Maybe some day I will.
THat is messed up. I forgot how the story ended. More AA and NA bullies. Getting special treatment caused they f ….up their lives, did drugs, drank too much and now think they are above the rest of us.
City Hall voted NO to the request to give SPECIAL treatment to Newport Beach AA and NA Members to smoke in the no smoking area!
When are the city commissioners ever going to listen to all the complaints and concerns from Holly Hill residents? It has been over a year since we had city hall meetings on this. I heard an NA Member tried to attack another member with a baseball bat! Dangerous folks people.