Zero drunk driving arrests made locally over New Year’s

Monday, the 9-1-1 dispatch center reported zero drunk driving arrests for the city of La Grande Police Department and the Union County Sheriff’s Office. A report from the Oregon State Police La Grande command was unavailable by press time Monday (January 2).

“It was busier than heck. We had three drivers on and we all went non-stop,” Hopkins said.

Loveland, owner of Loveland Funeral Chapel of La Grande, started his Safe Ride Home Program in 2001.

He provides rides home for revelers during events in which people consume alcohol.

His program serves La Grande and Island City during the New Year’s holiday. The vans are furnished by Legacy Ford, Frontier Motors and M.J. Goss Motor Company, and the Union County Victim Impact Panel picks up some of the fuel expenses.

This year, the vans started rolling at 9 p.m. and gave safe rides home long after closing time, Hopkins said.

“Between the three of us, we transported 260 people. I didn’t get home till 4:30 in the morning New Year’s Day,” Hopkins said.

Elsewhere in the state, the picture was not so bright. The Oregon State Police reported 47 arrests statewide between Saturday and Sunday. That number is up from 41 the year before. Two years ago, OSP troopers made 34 DUII arrests.

This New Year’s Eve, DUII arrests were most plentiful in the Portland area command, where nine people were taken into custody. Eight people were arrested in the Coos Bay area.

The OSP said five other area commands reported two or more arrests. Two fatal traffic crashes in the state are under investigation. Last year during the holiday reporting period, one person died on Oregon’s roads.

For the OSP, the holiday reporting period began Friday at 6 p.m. and continues through today. Counting Friday, the agency made 53 DUII arrests.