The Estevan Police Service (EPS) has issued a warning to local citizens to keep off the ice covering the local river system.
Police noted that the Saskatchewan Water Security employees have started to increase the volume of water being released from Rafferty Dam and although the rate is still low, snowmobilers and others who would generally be on the river ice should stay clear of it since the ice cover will become unstable and therefore unsafe.
In other police business, EPS members attended to two motor vehicle accidents on March 13, neither of which resulted in injuries, but in both incidents a vehicle had to be towed from the scene due to damages.
The first accident occurred on the west side of the city when one vehicle attempting to do a U-turn was struck on the back end by another.
The second accident happened on the east side of Estevan when a vehicle emerging from a side street turned in front of another vehicle and was struck on the side.
On the night of March 17 and early morning of March 18, EPS members responded to a call regarding a possible impaired driver. The vehicle in question was spotted by police who performed a spot check and ascertained that the 23-year-old driver showed signs of impairment. He was charged with driving while impaired and driving while his blood-alcohol level was over .08 per cent. He has an April 1 court date.
Police were next called to a local lounge to follow up on a report of a person urinating on the facility's ATM machine. The subject, who apparently mistook the ATM for a urinal, was located and arrested for being intoxicated in public and was held in cells until he regained sobriety.
Police then attended to another lounge in the city in response to a call regarding an intoxicated man who had refused to leave the premises after being asked to do so by staff. When confronted by police, the man refused to give them his name. He also showed strong signs of significant impairment so he was arrested for being intoxicated in public and lodged in cells until sober.
Later that evening while on patrol, police noted a man lying on the road. They said the subject attempted to stand up several times but continued to fall down and continually lost his balance even while police approached him. The man also had a difficult time speaking to police so he was arrested for being intoxicated in public and lodged in cells for the night for his own safety.
