WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WEAR) <\/p>\n
In the past, the beach by Whale's Tail restaurant was the epicenter for underage drinking in Walton County. Today, you'll find fewer students and more law enforcement on the sand. <\/p>\n
It's a slow morning on the beach for attendants like Ross Higginbotham. He and his coworkers play bocce ball while they wait for the beaches to fill up. He's noticed a change on the beach from when he started six years ago. <\/p>\n
\"A lot less young drunk kids making a ruckus and tearing things up out here, not as much trash as we normally have seen and having to pick up during the day,\" Higginbotham said. <\/p>\n
It hasn't stopped some students like Middle Tennessee State's Michael Glass from coming to south Walton County for spring break. <\/p>\n
\"We don't really drink, we are a more relaxed group, so it didn't really bother us,\" Glass said. <\/p>\n
Others from his school have taken flight to other hotspots. <\/p>\n
\"We have a pretty big group of fraternity and sorority life, so it's kind of like a lifestyle, so I know it has shied some of the people we have talked to,\" Glass said. <\/p>\n
Good news for him. <\/p>\n
\"Yeah, cause it's a lot less crowded,\" Glass laughed. <\/p>\n
The sheriff's office has always had a zero-tolerance policy. You could say it's a sign of the times. <\/p>\n
\"We really do send a pretty clear message every year,\" said Walton County Sheriff's Office public information officer Corey Dobridnia. \"It's the same, don't drink underage, or you will go to jail.\" <\/p>\n
On the beaches, they say the problem has gotten smaller in one area, only to grow among a new group, high schoolers. <\/p>\n
\"Our college arrests have reduced while our juvenile arrests have gone up,\" Dobridnia said. <\/p>\n
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department had nine arrests Monday for underage drinking and a total of 24 arrests since the spring break season began two weeks ago. <\/p>\n
Last year, deputies averaged about 8 1\/2 arrests per day for underage drinking. <\/p>\n
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Lawbreaking spring breakers not welcome on Walton County beaches - WEAR<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WEAR) In the past, the beach by Whale's Tail restaurant was the epicenter for underage drinking in Walton County Continue reading