The Coos County Sheriff’s Office wrapped up its Labor Day Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) saturation patrols, marking the unofficial end of the summer season here on the South Coast. These saturation patrols, funded as part of a grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation which is administered by the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association, were out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of this Labor Day Weekend. The focuses for these saturation patrols were the Highway 101 corridor from North Bend to Lakeside and the Cape Arago Highway from the city limits of Coos Bay to Cape Arago State Park. All the saturation patrols combined over the weekend from the Coos County Sheriff’s Office netted 1 DUII arrest, 1 Misuse of 9-1-1 arrest, 18 citations issued and 34 warnings. Below are two arrests made during the saturation patrol. On September 1, 2018, at about 3:50 PM, a deputy stopped a 2005 Toyota Prius near mile post 1 on Libby Lane near Charleston for speeding. The deputy issued the driver, Conrad De Bert a citation for speeding, 45 MPH in a 30 MPH zone. Mr. De Bert became argumentive with the deputy about the citation. The deputy told Mr. De Bert he was free to go and notified him he could contest the issue in court. Mr. De Bert followed the deputy back to his patrol car, still confronting the deputy about the citation. The deputy told Mr. De Bert to return to his vehicle and the traffic stop was over. Mr. De Bert said he was going to call 9-1-1 and complain about the deputy. The deputy told Mr. De Bert if he called 9-1-1 and did not have an emergency, he would be arrested for Misuse of 9-1-1. Mr. De Bert called 9-1-1 and began complaining to the dispatcher about the citation and did not have an emergency. The deputy was informed by dispatchers of Mr. De Bert’s call. Conrad De Bert, 64 years old of Coos Bay, was arrested for Misuse of 9-1-1 and taken to the Coos County Jail. Mr. De Bert was booked and later released from the jail. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Answering Point in Coquille has eight 9-1-1 lines available for emergencies from the majority of the population and visitors in Coos County. This covers the entire county with the exception of the cities of Coos Bay and Coquille. When those lines are tied up other emergencies cannot be received and help dispatched. On September 2, 2018, a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 1990 Isuzu Trooper near the McKay’s parking lot in Lakeside. The reason for the stop was the driver failed to signal two separate turns. As the deputy went to contact the driver, the driver was spraying cologne on himself and put a mint in his mouth. The deputy noted a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the vehicle. The driver was identified as John Balint, 60 years old of Lakeside. Mr. Balint consented to performing standardized field sobriety tests and at the conclusion of the tests was arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. Mr. Balint was taken to the Coos County Jail, where he provided a breath sample. Mr. Balint’s blood alcohol content was .27% which is over 3 times the legal limit in Oregon. Balint was issued citations for Driving Without a License, Driving Uninsured and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. The Labor Day Weekend is a busy time for the Sheriff’s Office. Not only does the Sheriff’s Office operate the county’s correctional facility, it has the 9-1-1 center for the majority of the county, street patrols, marine patrols, duines patrols and timber patrols. Sergeant Will Coleman, the supervisor for the Dunes and Marine sections of the Sheriff’s Office noted that this Labor Day weekend was “The biggest weekend of the summer” for their patrols. While the marine patrols were fairly quiet this weekend, although there were many fishermen and recreational boaters on the water, the dunes section was kept hopping with Saturday and Sunday being the busiest days. All the campgrounds surrounding the dunes seemed to be at overflow. The influx of visitors to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area which stretches in Coos County from Transpacific Parkway on the North spit, north to the county line was large. The dunes patrol issued approximately 20 citations ranging from curfew, to being in an out of bounds areas and driving privilege suspensions. No Driving Under the Influence arrests were made on the sand. Several single vehicle crashes were responded to on the dunes but no fatalities this weekend. Deputies assisted the Coos Forest Protective Association, North Bay Fire and Hauser Fire with a brush fire on the property of the old Weyerhaeuser Pulp Mill. Sergeant Coleman thought it had begun from a transient’s campfire which spread.
