Not a day off for everyone

Labor Day, a holiday in honor of workers, means many local businesses and local schools will be closed, and picnickers will have one last chance before fall weather sets in.\nIU students, on the other hand, will be heading to their first day of classes. Traditionally a holiday for parties and relaxation, students will be hitting the books instead of the beach.\nLocal businesses and law enforcement agencies are also getting ready for Labor Day, although some businesses attribute any increase in business to the students' return to Bloomington rather than the holiday weekend.\n"Our business increases because of students being back and because of the Fourth Street Art Fair," said Rick Barnes, general manager of Nick's English Hut. "Because classes are starting, it'll be a typical Monday for us. Lunches will be later because people don't have to rush back to work, but I don't look for a big increase."\nIsaac Gerstenzang, manager of Bloomington's Oliver Winery, is hoping that nice weather will bring in business.\n"For Labor Day, we're keeping normal hours," Gerstenzang said. "It'll definitely be busy, regardless of the weather, and if it's nice out we'll have lots of picnickers, people enjoying themselves. We get a good mix of locals and people from out of town."\nBoth the Bloomington Kroger and Marsh Grocery sent out additional advertising, hoping to lure in extra customers over the Labor Day weekend. \nWith all of the revelry comes the possibility of trouble. State trooper Stacy Brown, who works with the Bloomington post of the Indiana State Police, reported that there will be an increased police presence on major highways in the area.\n"It depends on manpower for each district, but they normally increase patrol on the major arteries," Brown said. "We want to have more of a police presence on the roadways." \nDue to court rulings regarding sobriety checkpoints, the state police will rather be doing "saturation patrol," which is when several officers patrol a small area, rather than staying in a fixed checkpoint and waiting for traffic.\n"Checkpoints are a touchy area, and saturation patrols seem to work really well," Brown said. \nBrown also said that while there will be parties, the number of events IU holds on the last weekend before classes start keeps students from traveling the major highways.\nSophomore Ryan Brummet said he has made no special plans for Labor day because classes will be starting.\n"Every other school starts on Tuesday," Brummet said. "I think that's a good idea. It would be nice to have a long weekend to start out with. We're the only Big Ten school that doesn't have Labor Day off."\n-- Contact staff writer Kehla West at krwest@indiana.edu.