City officials assembled at Mayor Paul Wiehl’s weekly news conference Tuesday to address the city’s upcoming Halloween Block Party this weekend.
Addressing the tens of thousands of revelers who will convene on Athens this weekend, officials urged partygoers to be vigilant and respectful — especially in light of the alleged rape on Court Street during Homecoming Weekend.
Wiehl added that he’s not worried about anything similar happening while Court Street is under the watchful eye of more than 200 law enforcement officers Saturday night.
“Ninety percent of the time, people are trying to have fun,” he said.
Similarly, city officials said they aren’t concerned about Saturday’s Ohio vs. Miami University football game at Peden Stadium taking away from police presence Uptown.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said the game will probably keep Uptown relatively clear during the afternoon.
“I think it might make our jobs easier at the time,” he said. “Now, if we were to have a football game at 8 p.m., I think that could be problematic.”
As OU officials are educating students to party safely, city service-safety director Paula Horan-Moseley said city code officers have been warning residents near Uptown of the parking chaos to come.
“We work very closely with the university in these campaigns,” she said.
And despite international media attention surrounding the alleged rape in front of Chase bank, 2 S. Court St., in the early morning of Oct. 12, Wiehl said he doesn’t anticipate that the incident will deter any would-be partygoers from making the trip to Athens this weekend.
“This is a whole different event,” Wiehl said. “There will always be the potential for craziness on any given weekend.”
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