FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. — A decision from the Bridge Day Commission could come later this month on the security requirements vendors, BASE jumpers and rappellers will have to adhere to during this year’s Bridge Day on the New River Gorge in Fayette County.
Members of the Bridge Day Security Committee are currently revisiting a proposal to require fingerprint scans for security reasons from all of those participants.
If approved, the electronic scans, as suggested by State Police, would replace the paper-based background checks that have been mandated since after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“At this time, we’re just waiting to see what they recommend to do and to implement for this year’s Bridge Day,” said Sharon Cruikshank, chairperson for the Bridge Day Commission.
“It seems easier,” she said of the scans Tuesday. “But I know there’s several people upset with this and we’re trying to understand where they’re coming from.”
The pushback has largely come from representatives of the BASE jumpers. More than 400 usually participate in Bridge Day.
One of their main objections to the proposal has been the added steps that will have to be coordinated with State Police for scans that will be required of jumpers during an already busy registration time on the day before Bridge Day.
They’ve suggested a number of alternatives to the proposed fingerprint scans starting with keeping the current background check system in place or removing the requirement altogether, according to a posting from Vertical Horizons — the contractor that coordinates the Bridge Day BASE jumps.
Another suggestion is for bomb-sniffing dogs or bag checks to be used at the bridge entrances on Bridge Day and the bus stop at the center of the New River Gorge Bridge.
“Jumpers are willing to compromise, but they’re also ready to jump elsewhere if required,” Jason Bell, a BASE jumping co-organizer, wrote in an online posting.
“We respect everybody’s privacy. We’re trying to have a safe event,” Cruikshank said. “We will have a Bridge Day and, hopefully, it will be with everybody that we’ve had in the past.”
The Bridge Day Commission will take up possible revised recommendations from the Bridge Day Security Committee during a Jan. 21 meeting at the Fayette County Courthouse.
This year’s Bridge Day is scheduled for Oct. 17.