THP to "Saturate" McMinn County

Last year McMinn County experienced a sharp increase in traffic related fatalities rising from 13 in 2006 to 20 in 2007. This problem has not gone unnoticed and local law enforcement agencies are prepared to do what they can to reduce that number in 2008. Beginning on January 25 the McMinn County Sheriff’s Department along with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Governor’s Highway Safety Office has teamed up with each municipality in the county to take a proactive approach to highway safety.

Agencies will be conducting sobriety checkpoints and doing saturation patrols beginning at noon on Friday, January 25. These checkpoints will be held in each jurisdiction beginning in Calhoun at 3:00 pm and ending in Athens around midnight.

Clint Shrum of the Governor’s Highway Safety Office said, “We are no trying to see how many tickets we can write or how many people we can take to jail but we are wanting drivers to buckle their seatbelt, think before they drink and pay attention to the speed limit.” Fromm 2002 - 2006 at least 61 percent of all the fatalities in McMinn County were alcohol or speed related and 75 percent of all the occupants killed in those fatalities were not restrained.

But these partnerships will not just be about enforcement. Educating young drivers will also be a priority. Lt. Bill Farmer is working to bring the TSSAA DUI Highway Safety Education Team to McMinn County High School and McMinn Central High School in February. Englewood Police Chief Daniel Blake explained, " All of the officers of the Englewood Police Department are 100% committed to help reduce McMinn County's fatality rate and are more than happy to assist the GHSO in their efforts toward making this happen."

“This is a comprehensive plan that is being instituted by these agencies in McMinn County” stated Clint Shrum from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office. “Each agency plays a crucial role in the success of this program.” Chief June Parham of the Etowah Police Department and Calhoun Chief of Police Julie Tanksley explained, “They were happy to be able to assist in the program and to prevent a needless death.”