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‘White Out’ garners more than 50 actions for troopers Friday’s “White Out” in the Indian Lake area didn’t produce big numbers in terms of drunk driving arrests, but Sgt. John T. Payer of the Marysville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the effort was a success. “There were no crashes reported in the area during the eight-hour period we were out there,” he said, adding U.S. Route 33 and state routes 235 and 117 can be some of the more dangerous roads in the post’s Logan, Union and Champaign county area. Sgt. Payer and seven other troopers flooded the area from 2 to 10 p.m. and had more than 50 enforcement contacts. Those included 11 aggressive driving violations, such as driving 20 mph over the posted speed limit, improper passing, following too closely and driving left of center, the sergeant said. Troopers issued 13 citations for safety belt violations; 11 for vehicle defects and 20 warnings. Troopers had 25 contacts with motorists that did not require enforcement action, Sgt. Payer said. Two motorists were charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs: • Jackie Haynes, 40, of Lakeview, after an 8:45 p.m. stop on S.R. 235; and • Harrison Van Hoose, 64, of Lakeview, after a 7:30 p.m. stop on S.R. 235. Sgt. Payer said numbers from an enforcement action do not tell the entire story of concentrated enforcement efforts, particularly when compared to drug enforcement actions. “When you seized 345 pounds of marijuana in a traffic stop, you know you’ve had an immediate impact on the community where the drugs were going,” the sergeant said. “It’s harder to measure the impact of enforcement, but our presence made it one of the safest areas in the county.” |