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Police deliver sober message

Drive sober or get pulled over.

That's the message the Schuylkill County Chiefs of Police Association is driving home this holiday season.The group met last week at the Schuylkill County courthouse to fine-tune plans to keep impaired drivers off the roads."We are aware that 'tis the season to be jolly, and there will be many holiday parties and a lot of temptation," said District Attorney Christine Holman. "We are putting on a full-court press, with police officers scouring Schuylkill County on the lookout for impaired drivers. We've already started. From Dec. 12 through Jan. 1, there will be additional police officers out patrolling the streets."In December 2012, she said, there were 830 fatal crashes in Pennsylvania, most involving a driver who was impaired.On Christmas Day of that year, there were 26 fatalities.Schuylkill police won't be the only ones watching to see if drivers are naughty or nice.The state Department of Transportation, with the Lehigh Valley DUI/Highway Safety Taskforce, local police departments, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania DUI Association will highlight the "Operation Safe Holiday" to encourage safe driving through the holiday season. Police will be watching for people who are driving without headlights, or weaving, tailgating, driving too fast or too slow, who are swerving or fail to obey traffic lights and stop signs.Aside from the danger of killing oneself or others, the penalties for impaired driving are steep.In Pennsylvania, first-time impaired drivers get six months probation and a $300 fine if their blood alcohol content is between 0.08 (the threshold for impaired driving) and 0.99, according to the group DUI Driving Laws.If their blood alcohol content is between 0.10 and 0.159, the penalty increases to two days to six months in jail, a $500-$5,000 fine and a 12-month driver's license suspension.A grim reminder will be available in the area today and Tuesday.The Pennsylvania DUI Association's DUI Victims' Moving Memorial will be on display to honor and remember those who lost their lives because of impaired drivers.The memorial will be at the K-Mart at 400 N. Best Ave., Walnutport, at 10 a.m. Monday; at the Bethlehem Township Municipal Building, 4225 Easton Ave., Bethlehem at 2 p.m. Monday; and at the Weis Market, 7801 Glenlivet Drive West, Fogelsville, at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

CHRIS PARKER/TIMES NEWS Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman, second from left, holds anti-impaired driving posters at a recent Schuylkill County Chiefs of Police Association meeting. At left is Minersville Police Chief Michael Combs, who is also the association president. Chief Schuylkill County Detective Dolly Dronick Malec is second from right. At right is Port Carbon Officer Joseph Ferraro.