Monday, October 20, 2008

VEHICLE STOP LEADS TO IMPAIRED DRIVING CHARGE

(Sault Ste. Marie, ON) Saturday evening at approximately 8:50 p.m. OPP received an erratic driving complaint of a vehicle traveling west on Highway 17 in Garden River.

OPP officers located the vehicle, a yellow Jeep, on Trunk Road and pulled the driver over.

The Officer noted during his investigation that the driver was unsteady on his feet, had an odor of alcohol on his breath, and allegedly admitted to consuming a few beers.

The driver, 31 year old Michael Dennis MCPHEE of 15 Royal Henley Road, St. Catherines, ON was arrested and charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle with over 80 mgs. of Alcohol.

He is to appear in court on November 5th.

RACING AGSINST DRUGS – A PROGRAM FOR YOUTH IS HERE TOMORROW

(Sault Ste. Marie, ON) It is with a great deal of excitement that the City of Sault Ste. Marie welcomes the Racing Against

Drugs youth program to our area.

The event is scheduled to take place on October 21, 22, and 23, 2008 at the Sault Ste. Marie Armouries.

Racing Against Drugs is a nationally acclaimed road show that has been traveling across Ontario teaching the importance of being drug and alcohol free since 1994. It is a community-based initiative dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles to children in Grades 4-6. The goal of the program is to use the sport of racing to capture the attention of young people and communicate with them through an exciting and high profile sport – one with no tolerance for substance abuse.

The Racing Against Drugs program is a two part, cooperative effort between the Drug Awareness Branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, various Ontario Police Services (Ontario Provincial Police, Sault Ste. Marie City Police Service, Anishnabek Police Service, Rankin Police Service) and participating community partners. The first part of the program is a series of interactive “Pit Stop” presentations providing different opportunities for local police, community health care professionals and other safety driven agencies to deliver their message.

Daily sessions will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Each ½ day session will have groups of students (approx. 10-20 students per group) visit each Pit Stop for 8 minutes. They will then move on to the next Pit Stop for 8 minutes until all Pit Stops have been completed. The last 20 minutes of the session will be used for the Big Race and conclusion. The Big Race allows the students to experience the excitement of racing by competing on a professionally built 1:24 scale slot car tracks. The race is fun and demonstrates to them that the faster they go, the more out of control they may become. Once this 2 hour session is completed, each group travels back to their respective schools.

Experience shows that the racing environment captures and holds the attention of the young people. This enables the youth to listen and absorb the anti-drug and healthy lifestyle messages more efficiently. Racing Against Drugs is a beneficial initiative for all who are involved. It is a great opportunity for local community safety partners to come together and deliver their messages. For the kids, it is a fun, informative day. It is a great venue for them to obtain pertinent information
that will enable them to make healthier decisions in their lives.

There will be approximately 1,600 local youth from area schools who will be participating in the program this year.