Avoid the 9 secures future funding

Another round of grant funding is helping local law enforcement's ongoing effort against drunken drivers in Colusa, Yuba and Sutter counties.

Approved last week, the Marysville Police Department received separate grants of $80,000 for Avoid the 9 DUI enforcment and $49,000 STEP fundingfor more general traffic safety and crash prevention from the state Department of Traffic Safety.

The department is the lead administrative agency in the Avoid the 9 collaboration, which includes the Colusa and Williams police departments and the CHP.

Motorists can expect to see DUI patrols during winter and summer holiday seasons, as well as on Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo, Sgt. Chris Sachs said in a press release.

A significant portion of the Avoid the Nine funding is planned for DUI checkpoints. Additionally, police plan to target "the worst of the worst" repeat offenders with probation sweeps and court stings.