DWI forum set for Saturday

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The New Mexico Department of Transportation and the McKinley County Sheriff's Department will host a public DWI forum on Saturday night to discuss ways to change the area's status as one of the worst places statewide for alcohol-related crashes.

The forum is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Amtrak station on Highway 66 and Woodrow Street. Food and beverages will be served.

Linda Atkinson, of the DWI Resource Center in Albuquerque, said the public is invited to hear public officials, such a local judges and prosecutors, speak about statistics regarding alcohol-related crashes, deaths and conviction rates for the last year in McKinley County.

Officials will also discuss their ideas on ways to improve the statistics for upcoming years.

In 2005, the state DOT began hosting similar demonstrations in the five counties with the highest number of DWI. The counties are Bernallilo, Rio Arriba, Dona Ana, McKinley and San Juan counties. The DOT also received funding from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to hire two full-time police officers for each county to combat drunken driving.

In conjunction with the forum, the Gallup Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint to locate drivers who are under the influence. The forum's attendees will be able to watch the checkpoint from a "safe vantage point," Atkinson said.

"I think it's important for the community to see how officers are working to reduce the number of DWI crashes and deaths," Atkinson said of the forum and the sobriety checkpoint.

According to a news release, McKinley County received an invoice last week for $1,304, representing the per capita cost of the estimated $94 million that DWI crashes cost the county in 2004.

Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital officials will also speak at the forum about their efforts to treat those who suffer from substance abuse issues.