Pulaski had serene holiday

By CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer
Commonwealth Journal

Somerset May 27, 2008 06:49 pm

— A warm and sunny — mostly sunny, that is — Memorial Day weekend was made all the more pleasant for Pulaski County by virtue of the fact crime and other emergencies weren’t a huge problem, according to local law enforcement agencies.
In the city, Somerset Police units kept busy, responding to 205 calls for service between 6 p.m. Friday and midnight Monday.
“It was about normal for a holiday weekend,” said SPD detective Shannon Smith. “Comparing the number of calls we had with last year, we actually had an increase of one call.
Smith said that’s an indication that patrol officers kept “a good handle” on situations around town.
“I know the times I was on U.S. 27, I saw a high visibility of units out there,” said Smith. “Increased visibility usually translates into keeping a good, tight hand on things.”
Four arrests were made for driving under the influence, and there were four arrests for alcohol intoxication. Three arrests were made for drug-related charges, and four people were lodged for having outstanding warrants.
There were eight non-injury accidents — the one injury accident occurred at 10:04 p.m. on Monday night on North U.S. 27 near the Somerset Plaza.
Fredrick Freels, 41, of Dayton, Ohio was driving a 2006 Chevrolet pickup northbound on 27. He was attempting to make a left turn when he pulled into the path of a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier operated by Teresa Wesley, 42, of Eubank. Wesley's vehicle struck a 1983 Wellcraft boat being towed by Freels.
Wesley was treated at the scene by the Somerset Fire/EMS and transported to the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital. Freels and his passenger, Laura Freels, also of Dayton, Ohio were uninjured. Seat belts were in use at the time of the accident.
The accident was investigated by Lt. Randy Goff.
The police department added that there no major incidents occurred in the city, despite a busy day and evening Saturday with Somernites Cruise.
In the county, you wouldn’t have even known it was the Memorial Day holiday, according to Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood. The sheriff said that activity was “fairly normal for any other weekend.”
From noon on Friday until midnight Monday, the Sheriff’s office answered 269 calls for service. 86 citations were issued and 28 individuals were lodged in the Pulaski County — 13 of those for drug-related offenses, seven for DUIs, and the rest for theft, alcohol intoxication, and other offenses.
Five injury accidents were worked by the Sheriff’s Department, along with 16 other on-road collisions. Wood said that none of the wrecks were life-threatening in any way.
Wood said that the influx of visitor for holiday tourism didn’t make much of a ripple in the 9-1-1 log.
“Calls for service might be up a little bit, but (Memorial Day traffic) certainly wasn’t felt all that much from the road units,” said Wood. “They reported that activity was normal.”