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"A Family Tradition for 131 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 30, 1997 - 3 Fewer drunks caught by 3 RIDE in Scugog: police By Chris Hall Port Perry Star While the number of impaired drivers seems to be on the rise everywhere, Durham Regional Police report that the northern part of the region has not seen many impaired charges laid this holiday season. "Overall, I would have to say that I am very disturbed at what we are uncov- ering this year," said Sgt. Rick Bates of the Traffic Management Unit. "Police are very concerned right now, but there is not a sudden increase of drunks on the road; we are just catching more," But in the northern townships of Scugog, Brock and Uxbridge, there have been just a few impaired charges laid by RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) units, said Sgt. Bates. Check points have been set up nine times at different locations over the past five weeks, and police have issued five 12- hour suspensions and charged three peo- ple with driving over the limit. "Of course that's three too many, but given the size of the area and the amount of traffic that goes through there, these are not numbers that concern me," he said, adding that the majority of charges laid by police have come in the urban areas of the southern end of Durham. As of Dec. 28, Durham Police have arrested a total of 101 motorists -- includ- ing 16 in the past week -- for driving impaired. "According to the latest results we can see that there has been close to 30 per cent more people caught drinking and driving by RIDE programs," said Sgt.Bates. "Thanks to this initiative and bait [S| +: m------ ) GD ES Wl HE AHHH HHH ld 31 al al 3 & police vigilance we are getting those drivers that have always been there. "Most of them are 25, 35 or 40: They should all know better." The numbers don't lie though, says Sgt. Bates. "Sure, we've got a problem. After five weeks of running RIDE we have found that there are still plenty of people out there drinking and driving. There's still a lot for us to do, and we've got our work cut out for us. There are plenty of penal- ties out there -- lots of deterrents -- but these people aren't deterred by anything," he said yesterday. As enlightening as the numbers may be, the officer also adds that there are no plans to continue the RIDE program past the end of this week. "We don't have the resources to run it the rest of the year. We've already taken nine officers off the road (regular shifts) for this. The money from the government we get to do this is almost token; it barely covers the overtime these officers put in." Reflecting on the northern region's numbers once more, Sgt. Bates adds that he knows there are more people drinking and driving there. "We don't get up there as often as we like and we know that if we spent more time there then we would lay more charges. "It's hard to get an accurate reading on a place unless you spend five weeks there -- a month -- so you can see what's happening. We have no extra money to do any of that so it's up to each division to set up its own individual RIDE pro- gram." Doing Week Serle 9 EE EET CREST CERES EER SR A ru ER CAE AH . ym AH RH LAAT I HH UPTO Mens, Womens, Kids Fashions & Footwear o a HHOH] -~ J -- 'a CH | BE2KS BR@C KS BEST WISHES IN THF yrock family and staff AN HALUPORT PERRY FEEDING TIME: A nine-week old lion cub was the centre of attention at the Port Perry branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on Dec. 18 when Janet Howsam, of Seagrave's Northwood Ranch, brought him by. The little guy was there to help raise funds for Operation Scugog. This was the second year a cub has visited the local branch. CHRIS f i ry | ------ AHH 4. HHH AHH 2 0 o CONMINUGS HOLIDAY HOURS: Tuesday, Dec. 30 9:30 am to 5:30 pm Wednesday, Dec. 31 9:30 am to 4:00 pm NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS RESUME ON JANUARY 2 Monday - Thursday 9:30 am to 5:30 pm Friday 9:30 am to 8:30 pm Saturday 9:30 am to 5:30 pm Sunday [2:00 noon to 5:00 pm o -- » AH BHENH =i 3s) av NEW YEAR! HE