Quarry promises to heigten security

The owners of Rooftop Quarry have a very simple message for IU students: Stay out.\nOff-duty police officers will begin patrols of the area, also known as "Sanders Quarry" and "Longhole Quarry" Friday.\nTrespassers will be arrested and prosecuted. Their cars will be towed and impounded, the owners said.\n"It's a beautiful place, and if we could, we would love to open it up to the public," said Indiana Limestone director of materials Brett Skillred. "But the liability from injuries is something the company can't live with."\nRooftop Quarry has been a hot spot for students even before it was made famous in the 1979 movie "Breaking Away."\nBut many students who go there are not aware it's also private property. Often students injure themselves jumping from the rocks of the quarry, which has been a headache for Indiana Limestone.\n"We've been to court numerous times over injuries, none of which have been successful (for the injured)," Skillred said. "I don't think people realize that if we lost a lawsuit like that it could cause us to close and hurt a lot of families."\nAlong with the patrols the quarry is also putting up more signs warning people they are trespassing. Many older signs had been torn down over the years, according to a June 8 Indiana Daily Student article.\nIn the past the quarry had been very easy to access by students because of the sheer number of keys and passes the former owners had handed out.\n"It escalated until it was just out of control," Skillred said.\nOn an average day he says he has to tell between 30 and 40 people, almost always IU students, to leave the quarry. That's usually enough.\n"It's different people every time," he said.\nEntering the quarry without authorization is considered criminal trespassing, a class A misdemeanor with a penalty of no more than year in jail and a fine of $5,000 or less, said Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann.\nDepending on someone's past record though, they can often go through a pre-trial diversion program which carries a fine of about $400 and probation or community service.\n"The quarries aren't as pristine as they used to be," Salzmann said. "They have to do this. There are too many kids getting hurt"