RCMP Check Stop produces results

Integrated traffic services, with the assistance of CP Rail police, conducted Check Stops in Ponoka on the evening of Jan. 7. Nine 24-hour suspensions, three drug seizures, 26 violations, four liquor charges, two impaired drivers, 30 tickets and one suspended driver caught during the 10-hour operation.

One suspected drunk driver, a 62-year-old man from Grande Cache, provided two breath samples with a blood alcohol level of .12 per cent. A 36-year old man from Hobbema tested at .16 the first time and .15 a second time with the Intoxilyzer. Both had their vehicles seized for 24 hours.

The second man was released and found later in the evening. Police realized the man had given them a wrong identity from the earlier incident and determined he was under conditions not to drink. He was charged with obstruction, failing to comply with conditions not to drink and the one day seizure of his vehicle became 30 days.

Distracted driver narrow miss

Ponoka Sheriffs responded to a 911 call from a concerned motorist of a red Grand Prix operating at erratic speeds southbound on Highway 2. The driver almost clipped the tires of a semi-tractor and over corrected, almost going off the road into the median.

Sheriffs stopped a Medicine Hat driver near the Highway 53 overpass and laid a charge of driving while using a cellphone.

Graffiti at Centennial Park

Police are looking for any information on damage and graffiti done to the stage at Centennial Park. Reported on Jan. 6, RCMP are not sure when the vandalism took place but the stage door was broken and there was graffiti inside the building.

Drunk men do strange things

A 69-year old man from Red Deer spent the night with RCMP Jan. 4 after failing to comply with a probation order. The man caused a disturbance at a bar and police had to take him into custody for the evening.

Another drunk, a 36-year old man from Hobbema was found passed out in a washroom at a convenience store after drinking in the bathroom for over an hour. He was in breach of conditions to abstain from alcohol, and he as well had to spend the night at the detachment.

Report the accident

On Jan. 8 at 10 a.m. police responded to a single vehicle in the ditch with more than $2,000 in damage. They were unable to contact the owner at the time and had the vehicle towed. The 25-year old driver from Grande Prairie was spoken to eventually and admitted he had hit a deer the night before and did not see the need to report the accident. He was charged with failure to report an accident. Any damage over $2,000 must be reported to RCMP.

Stop signs mean stop

RCMP stopped a driver at the intersection of Township Road 242 and Range Road 255 after a driver failed to stop. The 21-year old woman from Hobbema was driving at a speed of 64 km/h. The vehicle was uninsured, unregistered, with the wrong plates on it and the driver did not have a license. The vehicle was towed and the driver faces several charges.