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The Ol' Driver's Ed Felony Drug Bust
WissNow's weekly newsletter
James Kratch
October 23, 2024
Welcome back! We will start this week’s WissNow newsletter with permission to NOT rake your leaves this fall. No, seriously — Whitpain Township’s Environmental Advisory Council says it is good for the local ecosystem.
Comments or suggestions? Just respond to this email. Let’s get to it!
📆 Upcoming Nearby Events
Friday, Oct. 25
🚜 Autumn Hayrides | Prophecy Creek Park in Whitpain | Starts at 6 p.m., more details here, also on Saturday
Saturday, Oct. 26
🐶 Home At Last Dog Rescue 5K Run, Dog Walk and Fall Fair | Parkside Place Park in Upper Gwynedd | 9 a.m. start, more details here
🍓Ambler Farmers’ Market | 29 West Butler Pike | 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 27
🎃 Halloween Extravaganza | Ambler Theater | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., more details here
🚨 Quite The Series Of Events
Photo by James Short
A recent traffic stop in Ambler Township ended with a Philadelphia man being arrested on felony drug charges. But that was only part of it.
Police noticed a vehicle headed northbound on Bethlehem Pike without headlights around 10:15 p.m. on Sept. 20. Cops then started following the car and eventually pulled it over near North Street.
The passenger told police the headlights were off because one was out, informing them it was his grandfather’s vehicle and the purpose of their travel was to teach the driver how to drive.
Police then smelled marijuana. The passenger gave them permission to search the vehicle and told them there was no more than a personal amount of weed in the car on two occasions. But they found over 3.5 ounces, plus other drug paraphernalia.
The driver was released, but the passenger was booked on a felony count of manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, plus a misdemeanor counts of delivery or intent to deliver drug paraphernalia. Oh, and driving without lighted lamps.
🚧 Operation Yellow Jacket
PennDOT and the State Police are cracking down on speeding in highway work zones.
The agencies have launched Operation Yellow Jacket to enhance safety for motorists and workers and reduce work zone fatalities.
Troopers will monitor traffic near active construction zones from within PennDOT maintenance vehicles while wearing hard hats and vests. They will also enforce traffic laws regarding speeding, tailgating and driving while distracted and, when appropriate, communicate with troopers in marked State Police vehicles to initiate a traffic stop.
Aggressive and distracted driving are the main factors in work zone crashes. Officials say it is imperative to adhere to signage, reduced speed limits and alternating traffic patterns when traveling through work sites.
"Our goal is not to write citations. Our goal is to deter the violations that would warrant a citation being issued in the first place," PSP Captain Gerard B. McShea said. "Those violations are what can cost people their lives. That is why we want the public to know that the Pennsylvania State Police have a presence in work zones, which gives them an extra incentive to slow down and use caution. It could save a life."
There were 1,216 work zone crashes in the state last year with 22 related deaths; about a quarter of those incidents were in the Philadelphia region. PennDOT said close to 100 workers have been killed in the line of duty dating back to 1970.
ALSO: Road work to assist Aqua Pennsylvania Utility improvements in the area has begun and will run through the end of the month. Route 63/Moreland Road will be closed and detoured at all hours between Easton Road and Route 611/York Road in Abington and Upper Moreland. Drivers in the area will be detoured to Easton Road, Old Welsh Road, and Route 611/York Road.
🗞️ News Links
🙋♂️ Duty Calls?
Interested in pursuing public service? Upper Dublin residents have an upcoming opportunity. The township’s Board of Commissioners is seeking to fill several vacancies in the coming weeks. Here is a look at what positions are open and how to apply.
🍺 Strange Brew
Call it the worst beer run ever.
Upper Dublin Police were called to the Fireside Bar and Grille in Ambler and told ny Ambler cops that a car had been involved in an accident — hitting a parked vehicle — and then fled the establishment’s parking lot, failing to acknowledge the owner of the other vehicle.
The car was then spotted across the road at Giuseppe’s; police said there was reason to believe the driver was intoxicated.
UDPD made contact with the driver, a Fort Washington man, and noted “fresh damage” to his car. The driver said he had one drink (a double) at dinner with his girlfriend in roughly two hours at Fireside, claimed the damage to his car happened when he was inside the restaurant and was now at the second establishment to buy beer to take home.
But cops said his speech was “slurred and deliberate,” and he was having trouble keeping his eyes, which they describe as bloodshot and glassy, open. Police also smelled the odor of alcohol and said the man became “very argumentative” and gave them a wrong address for his residence. He then refused field sobriety tests and was arrested; a subsequent blood test determined his BAC was 0.304, or almost four times the legal limit. The man was charged with DUI, generally incapable of driving safely, first offense, driving under the influence at the highest rate of BAC and causing an accident to a parked vehicle.
💊 Safely Dispose Your Drugs
This fall’s local Drug Take-Back Day will be Saturday, Oct. 26 at locations throughout Montgomery County from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All county residents are encouraged to clear their homes of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications that cannot be safely thrown away and should not be put down drains or flushed in toilets. Officials say the program has safely taken in and disposed over 63,000 tons of drugs since 2010. You can find more details here.
🏘️ In Other Nearby News
🏈 Play Ball
For more on local sports, subscribe to our Philly sports newsletter, On Pattison (sent 5x per week):
📊 Poll
Have you participated in a drug take-back event before?Let us know! |
Thanks for reading. See you next week. Be sure to follow Wiss Now on Facebook.