The final holiday weekend of the summer means an increase of traffic on Roanoke-Chowan area roadways.

And to keep the motoring public safe in their travels, two local law enforcement agencies have stepped up their presence on roadways in the area.

Gates County Sheriff Edward Webb and Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh are working together to keep the highways in their respective counties safer for motorists.  Deputy Melanie White, Gates County Coordinator for Governor’s Highway Safety Program, and Ahoskie Police Sgt. Jeffrey Woodard, the Hertford County Coordinator, have joined forces for the Labor Day holiday.

This dual effort has conducted numerous checkpoints and saturation patrols in Ahoskie and Gates County over the past few days, to include:

Aug. 23 – The Ahoskie Police Department and Gates County Sheriff’s Office conducted a checking station on NC 561 East, at the intersection of Holloman Lane, resulting in eight citations. Following the checking station, there was a saturation patrol performed throughout the Ahoskie area, which resulted in the felony arrest of local man, Michael Peterson of 500 West Hayes Street, Ahoskie, for possession of drugs with intent to sell and deliver and maintaining a vehicle to keep those illegal drugs.

Aug. 24 – The agencies conducted a checking station and saturation patrols on NC 32 North in Sunbury, which led to eight charges ranging from minor vehicle violations to DWI and one felony arrest.

Aug. 26 – A checkpoint was conducted by the two agencies on NC 561 West, at the intersection of Oriole Drive in Ahoskie, which resulted in 11 citations, ranging from driving without a license to possession of narcotics.

Aug. 27 – The agencies performed two checking stations in Ahoskie, which resulted in 12 citations. In the early evening hours, a checking station was established on US 13, just north of the Chowan River bridge at the Shoups Landing Road intersection. That effort, along with saturation patrols throughout Gates County on the same evening, resulted in 27 citations ranging from driver’s licenses offenses to possession of drugs.

Deputy White and Sgt. Woodard told Roanoke-Chowan Publications that they thanked NC Highway Patrol First Sgt. Mike Warren and the troopers in the counties, the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office, Murfreesboro Police Department, and Aulander Police Department for all of the cooperation and assistance with this campaign.

“There are so many families traveling throughout the Labor Day holiday to celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, during this holiday there are numerous high speed and alcohol related accidents that result in injury and even death. These are preventable,” they said in a joint statement.

Both officers reminded the motoring public not to drink and drive. If you make an adult decision to consume alcohol, do the right thing by making prior arrangements to choose a designated driver who has not consumed alcohol.

Since its inception in 1994, the “Booze It & Lose It” initiative, part of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, has noted the arrest of nearly 1.5 million drivers for driving while intoxicated. Despite increased enforcement efforts, 8,469 individuals lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes from 1994 to 2013.

During the Labor Day “Booze It & Lose It” campaign, law enforcement officers will step up patrols statewide day and night, and cite those who make the decision to drive drunk.