Troopers log 455 local traffic stops during holiday travel period

From Staff Reports Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Maryland state troopers in Allegany and Garrett counties logged 455 traffic stops during the Thanksgiving holiday traffic enforcement period.

In Allegany County, troopers of the Cumberland barrack logged 243 traffic stops throughout the county during the five-day enforcement period.

Those troopers issued 128 traffic citations and 178 warnings. They also arrested two people for driving under the influence and made six criminal arrests. Troopers responded to five motor vehicle accidents, according to Lt. Todd May, commander of the Cumberland barrack.

In Garrett County, troopers of the McHenry barrack logged 212 traffic stops, issued 123 citations and 128 warnings.

Those troopers handled one traffic accident investigation, one drug arrest and one warrant arrest from Nov. 23 through 27, according to a barrack official.

Statewide, troopers issued more than 10,000 traffic citations and warnings as part of a variety of increased enforcement efforts that ranged from DUI patrols to cargo theft prevention.

Maryland State Police increased patrols throughout the holiday period and focused enforcement efforts on drunken driving, aggressive driving and speeding. Troopers issued 5,231 citations and 5,009 warnings for traffic violations from Wednesday through Sunday.

Troopers also made 156 criminal arrests during that period.

The officers worked special drunken driving saturation patrols throughout Maryland and arrested 113 suspected drunken drivers.

Troopers responded to 284 traffic crashes statewide. Maryland State Police investigated five fatal crashes in which six people were killed. Two of those crashes occurred in Frederick County and the others occurred in Washington, Harford and Queen Anne’s counties.

The Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division was busy in the days leading up to the holiday. Those troopers conducted “Operation Night Owl,” an extra enforcement initiative aimed at preventing cargo theft and reducing the number of unsafe commercial vehicle operating during the period of increased travel.

From Nov. 18 through 23, enforcement division troopers conducted 1,260 commercial vehicle inspections. Troopers placed 133 commercial vehicles out of service for serious equipment violations and placed 137 commercial drivers out of service for being unqualified, exceeding drive hours or other safety regulation violations.

Working in weigh stations and using portable scales, troopers found 205 of the trucks they checked to be overweight. The enforcement division troopers issued 746 citations and 644 warnings.

Maryland State Police traffic safety efforts will be continuing through the New Year’s holiday. Initiatives will be worked in cooperation with local law enforcement, the Maryland Highway Safety Office and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

More here.

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Deep Creek Lake Fireworks - July 5th 2008

For those of you who couldn't be here, as requested, here is a photo gallery of the fireworks. After getting rained out on a miserable July 4th, the fireworks at Wisp were re-scheduled for the 5th. We had been invited to watch with some friends at Ski Harbor, where I owned a place a few years back. There is really no better seat in the house than sitting in your boat by the shore in McHenry cove. After teaching my daughter how to cast her fishing pole without hitting anyone else on the boat (3 tries and a few close calls later...), darkness had set in and it was time for the show.


As you can see from the photos, they were really quite impressive. I believe that this was by far the best local fireworks display in recent memory. The lake water was really calm, not nearly as choppy as you might think with all of the boats gathered to watch. I have a cool video of the grand finale that I will post later on, but it gave me chills to see it and then hear EVERYONE in the McHenry area on land and water cheering and sounding horns, etc. Quite an experience! My 10 month old, Noah, was trying to reach out and grab the lights as the fireworks exploded - he had a great time on his first 4th (5th, really) of July!

Honi Honi Bar at Deep Creek Lake

The Honi Honi bar is likely to be a hot spot this coming holiday week/weekend. It looks like it will be raining a good deal, but I am hopeful that we can get a few sunny days in for boating or fishing. It if is sunny, you can expect some great live bands during the day, and plenty of boating activity around.