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Mahoning County OVI Task Force funded again this year
By ROBERT CONNELLY
CANFIELD
Mahoning County and state law-enforcement officials continue to get federal money to stop impaired driving.
Scott Weamer, Canfield Police assistant chief, said the Mahoning County Operating a Vehicle While Impaired Task Force has received $224,952 in funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
That grant covers the period from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2015.
The funds will be used to conduct 24 sobriety checkpoints, at least one a month and an increase of three from the previous grant year, and saturated and corridor blitzes.
A saturated blitz is where the task force selects a target area or a main thoroughfare to patrol.
“Our goal is to change the behavior of the motoring public. We want to promote traffic safety,” Weamer said. “We really want to educate the motoring public about making better choices — not to drink and drive.”
In years past, funding has been used for both equipment and paying officers, but Weamer said most of the equipment is already paid for, so this year’s funds will be used primarily for labor costs.
Weamer provided a breakdown of numbers from last year’s grant: 5,371 vehicles drove through 21 sobriety checkpoints and 31 impaired drivers were identified; 3,028 traffic stops were made during saturation patrols and 67 impaired drivers were caught.
That’s only 98 impaired drivers out of more than 8,000 vehicles stopped.
“The fact of the matter is most people choose not to drink and drive. They do what they’re supposed to do. They’re responsible. It’s those few that make those poor decisions that we’re trying to reach,” Weamer said.
“We’re just thankful to have traffic safety partners in Mahoning County,” said Lt. Nakia Hendrix, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Canfield post. “We’re doing some positive things here in the county.”
Susan Viars, coordinator of Mahoning Safe Communities hosted by the New Middletown Police Department, said Safe Communities received about $65,000 in funding from NHTSA as well, the full amount they had requested.
“We use that money for education. We do public-service announcements, awareness, we have items printed out throughout the entire county,” Viars explained.
Its funding was based on fatal crashes in the county over a three-year period. Weamer said task force funding is also based off that period.
“If we’re successful, we’ll lose our funding and that’s our goal,” Weamer said.
Officers from these communities and enforcement agencies participate in the OVI task force — Austintown, Beaver, Boardman, Canfield City, Goshen, Jackson, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, Mill Creek MetroParks, Milton, New Middletown, highway patrol, Springfield, Youngstown, and Youngstown State University.