COLUMBUS, Ohio – Central Ohio communities have activities planned to honor fallen veterans this Memorial Day weekend and law enforcement agencies will be keeping a sharp eye out for impaired drivers as more than a million Ohioans hit the highways.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is urging drivers to drive sober. Troopers made 705 OVI arrests during the 2013 Memorial Day holiday, when 18 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes – half of which were OVI related.
“Driving impaired is a reckless and preventable act. Planning ahead to designate a sober driver can help ensure these tragedies do not occur,” said superintendent Col. Paul A. Pride.
Motorists can call #677 to report impaired drivers or drug activity.
The national Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization runs through June 1. Pride says more than 900 law enforcement agencies around Ohio, including the patrol will have a “zero tolerance policy” for those not wearing a safety belt.
Last year in Ohio 59 percent of the people killed in traffic accidents were not wearing a safety restraint and, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, safety belts saved an estimated 12,174 lives nationwide in 2012, he said.
Community events:
DUBLIN: Monday -Events begin at 11:00 a.m. with a procession in Historic Dublin, starting at The Bridge Pointe Center. The procession will stop for a wreath throwing ceremony on the Bridge Street Bridge before continuing on to the Dublin Cemetery for a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. The procession will then move to the Grounds of Remembrance in Dublin Veterans Park for commemoration by Lt. Dennis Tomcik, a recent Inductee of the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor. A complimentary picnic lunch will be held on the Dublin Library grounds. Dublin-Granville Road will be closed from 11:00-Noon between Riverside and Monterey Drives.
WESTERVIILLE: The 6th Annual Field of Heroes (above) opened at 1:00 p.m. Friday and will remain open to the public until 1:00 p.m. Monday. 8,000 American flags are on display in a 100,000-square-foot area at the Westerville Sports Complex at the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and County Line Road. The Field of Heroes is open 24 hours a day.
WORTHINGTON: The Worthington Memorial Day Parade, sponsored each year by the American Legion in Worthington, will begin at 10:00 a.m. on E. Dublin-Granville Rd. and proceed south on High Street to Cemetery Drive.
The following streets will be temporarily closed for the parade:
Rt. 161 between Proprietors Road and High Street closes beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Rt. 161 between Proprietors Road and Evening Street – from 9:00 a.m. until immediately following the parade.
High St. between North Street and Stanton Avenue – from 9:45 a.m. to approximately Noon.
Morning Street from Rt. 161 to North Street will be One Way Only northbound between 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.