Scott Swanson
Sometimes it’s not hard to write an editorial.
This might be one of those times.
We’ve all heard, over and over, year after year, warnings about driving while intoxicated.
We’ve seen the billboards. The bumper stickers. Heard the commercials. We know what MADD and SADD stand for.
We’ve heard the statistics, enough that they probably hover in the backs of our minds, even if we might not be able to cite them exactly. Thirty-some people killed every day in the United States in drunk-driving crashes, we’re told by those who study such things. Wow, that’s bad. Well over 10,000 per year. More people than reside in the City of Sweet Home.
But it gets real even more quickly when it happens just down the road.
On one stretch of a rural route within 10 miles of where we sit, writing this, we’ve seen three people die in as many days because of what, police say, was exactly that cause: DUI.
We will await court proceedings that, hopefully, will deliver truth and justice.
The point here, though, is that these events, involving irresponsible use of alcohol or drugs, affect all of us.
We’re angered, certainly. Two of the victims were in a car that was hit by another, driven, law enforcement officials say, under the influence. One was a young mother whom we’ve chatted with at the local restaurant where she worked. The other was a 5-year-old girl, her daughter.
Dead because someone made a fatally poor decision.
Officials say the victim three days earlier was a driver who, apparently, had had too much. He died and his passenger went to the hospital with “significant” injuries.
Regardless of what comes out in investigations and court proceedings, the principle is clear: Do not drink and drive.
It’s that simple.
But apparently it’s not, because local medics and law enforcement officials keep finding themselves responding to these episodes, usually the result of human foolishness, frailty or both.
The long hours public safety agencies spend dealing with these situations is another cost to all of us.
Incidentally, while medics and police were responding to the second Brush Creek crash, others had to make the long trip to Tamolich Falls for a rescue at Blue Pool. That drive alone takes an hour, not to mention the hike in. It probably goes without mentioning that this is a drain on critical public resources as well, particularly in this instance.
When public safety officials are stretched thin, dealing with incidents often caused by human error, foolishness or irresponsibility, it’s harder for them to respond when Grandma has a significant medical emergency and needs help.
This weekend we will experience a community celebration of a magnitude that will likely equal or exceed most, if not all, of the Oregon Jamboree country music festivals of the past. We’re going to have a lot of visitors.
We greatly appreciate the fans who come to hear top-quality musicians, who enjoy the camping, shopping, sun bathing, getting on the water or whatever other activities they’ve got planned.
We also realize that a lot of liquor will be flowing and, given our recent experience, we’re not in the mood to watch excessive indulgence.
Enjoy the festival. Enjoy the time with family and friends. Enjoy the music. Enjoy the crowds, the people-watching, the vendors.
If you have time, visit the mountains and rivers and lakes.
We’ve got a lot to offer here in Sweet Home.
But don’t let it get out of control. If you’re going to indulge, have a plan that will keep you out of trouble – and stick with it.
Those of us who’ve been to the Jamboree have seen unfortunate individuals, who’ve overdone it, get shown the exit.
That’s a little embarrassing and it’s a costly way to waste a perfectly good ticket to a great show.
But it pales next to the grim reality of what we described earlier, of two white crosses planted in the dry grass next to a country road because somebody apparently thought they had it together enough to drive home.
As our Sheriff says in our story on page 2, “If you have to ask yourself if you are all right to drive, you are not all right to drive. You are placing people at risk by making poor choices.”
Have a great time this weekend. And do it responsibly.
We beg you.