White County DUI taskforce ends Monday

MONTICELLO, Ind. (WLFI) - A federal grant is helping police in White County to have extra patrolmen on the roads to look out for impaired driving.  Monticello Police patrolman Jeremy Kyburz is spending this Labor Day weekend keeping drunk drivers off the road as part of the White County DUI taskforce.

"The taskforce, the whole purpose is to crack down on impaired drivers and cut down on alcohol related accidents," said Kyburz.

Kyburz is one of five from the Monticello police department on the task force. He said the crowds from the lakes seem to be enjoying alcohol on the weekends.

"Our numbers this year have been up pretty drastically compared to last year that could be due to a number of factors, the economy the way it is. We do have more issues with people consuming alcohol," said Kyburz.

Monticello Police Chief Curtis Blount said the task force is federally funded through a grant. The task force began Memorial day and ends on monday.

"Since memorial Day weekend the Monticello Police department has made 19 DUI misdemeanor arrests, six felony DUI arrests, three meth-related arrests and two marijuana-related arrests," said Blount. 

Blount added, in the past there have been high numbers of alcohol-related accidents but this year they have only had one in town. Patrolman Kyburz said he knows people come to party but there is always a cost to drunk driving.

"You can go out and have a good time but make sure you have a sober driver. It's not worth the trip to jail or even worse a trip to the hospital," said Kyburz.