×
X logo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account.

Troopers Will Be Out in Force for Jamboree In The Hills

Jamboree In The Hills is rolling around again, and while lovers of fun and music will converge on Belmont County Thursday through July 22, the greater traffic also will mean a greater potential for danger.

Lt. James Faunda with the St. Clairsville post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the state patrol officers are expecting a rush. As usual, Belmont County also will be hosting highway patrol officers from the surrounding area.

“For Jamboree, what we’re going to do is look at the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday of that week, and during those days we’re bringing troopers in from other parts of the Cambridge District, which is a district of 12 counties,” said Faunda. “We bring in additional troopers to be working the roads in Belmont County because Jamboree brings 80,000 to 100,000 people to our area.

“Along with that, while it’s a good thing for the county financially, it also brings crime to the area,” he said. “It brings an increase in impaired drivers, it brings an increase in alcohol-related incidents, whether that’s crashes or bar fights or fights in general. Drunk pedestrians on the roadway walking. Traffic crashes go up during Jamboree In The Hills because of the increased traffic and the traffic back ups that it creates.

“We bring in troopers to work that detail, and we also utilize federal funding to have additional units on the road working overtime,” said Faunda who also said intervening in cases of driving under the influence was the focus of their mission.

“Our only goal during Jamboree in the Hills is to remove impaired drivers from the roadways so that others can travel safely through Belmont County,” he said.

Faunda also said the situation at Jamboree In The Hills is different from normal holidays, such as the recent Fourth of July, where the post’s troopers took on overtime.

“When you’re talking about a holiday, we schedule 100 percent of our troopers, we don’t give them days off,” he said. “We schedule everyone to work a holiday. With Jamboree, we don’t change people’s schedules. We bring additional troopers in from other parts of our district. We utilize additional federal funding, and that’s how we increase our presence.

“On a holiday, we’re looking at the entire state of Ohio,” said Faunda. “For Jamboree, we’re looking at just Belmont County.”

He said the areas where the troopers draw from are Zanesville, Marietta, Steubenville, New Philadelphia and Cambridge.

Faunda said the officers’ vigilance has resulted in more arrests.

“Over the last three years of Jamboree in the Hills, our impaired driver arrests have increased every year, because we’re making a concentrated effort to remove impaired drivers from the road,” he said.

He also referred to a fatal traffic crash that occurred during 2012’s Jamboree.

“That’s something we don’t want to happen again,” said Faunda. “We’re going to have high visibility. You won’t be able to go anywhere in Belmont County and not see a state trooper, because there’s going to be that many of us here. There’ll be 15 to 20 troopers in Belmont County (on duty) at any given time Wednesday through Sunday.”

Faunda also said he expects similar patterns of behavior during this event.

“I don’t think this year is going to be any different than last year as far as the Jamboree and how it has operated,” he said. “The people that go to it, they need to feel safe when they travel. … Alcohol has an effect on people’s judgment.”

Last year, troopers arrested 31 impaired driver during the four-day event. He said intoxicated pedestrians walking along the roads is another issue.

“That’s one of our biggest problems, intoxicated people walking along the roadway,” he said.

Faunda advises drivers heading to the event to take precautions.

“If you’re going to attend the Jamboree, before you get there, pick somebody who’s going to be the designated driver and make sure those folks don’t consume alcoholic beverages during the event,” he said. “Somebody needs to take responsibility to make sure they get home safely.”

Meanwhile, motorists driving through the area who observe dangerous or erratic driving should dial #677 to the highway patrol post.

“If you’re not attending the Jamboree, I would avoid (Ohio) 149 in the area of Morristown, and I would avoid U.S. 40 between (Ohio) 331 and (Ohio) 149,” he said.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today