Festival-goers quiet passing through county to Bonnaroo

A group from Connecticut takes a break at Korner Market on their way to Bonnaroo. Pictured are, front row, from left, Chris Aldrich and Aaron Preble. Back row, Patrick Blacker, Evan Blacker and Fielding Pagel.

?It?s been very peaceful,? said Sheriff Jackie Matheny. ?Everything is going good so far. Nobody has been caught running naked or anything like that.?

Traffic volume has increased, however, in the access routes to the music festival, annually held in Coffee County. Bonnaroo generally sells around 80,000 tickets with thousands of other fans attending the festival without tickets. Many motorists travel through Warren County.

The Bonnaroo festival caused a stir locally a couple years ago when several out-of-state motorists were cited for various violations on their way to Bonnaroo. The citations were later thrown out by General Sessions Judge Larry Ross due to what was termed profiling by officers.

The stepped-up enforcement by lawmen during Bonnaroo prompted complaints by some business owners, saying such actions by lawmen would discourage potential customers from stopping in Warren County during their annual migration to the music festival. Recent studies estimate about $14 million is spent in Coffee County each year during Bonnaroo, with an additional $7 million spent in surrounding counties.

?We?re just trying to keep the peace because there have been incidents in the past, break-ins and things such as that, growing out of Bonnaroo,? said Matheny. ?We?re out there patrolling and staying visible seeing there is an increased amount of traffic passing through on the way to Manchester.?

Matheny said he knew of no Bonnaroo-related arrests as of press time Thursday.