Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - Lance Grubbs was welcomed as the latest Winona Lake employee today, when the town council approved administration of a Law Enforcement Liaison Grant and the establishment of an office for the position.
Grubbs, who served on the Warsaw Police Department for 21 years, retiring as a lieutenant, is one of three consultants assigned by the state to monitor a given police department's use of state and federal grant monies. Grubbs' coverage area is the northern third of the state.
He has held this position for three years. He had office space in South Bend. While most of his time will be spent in travel to various police departments, having an office nearer his Warsaw residence will be a plus.
"The move to Winona Lake means I'll have Craig (Allebach, town coordinator) as my boss again," Grubbs said. "That, and because Winona Lake is a more central location for my region, makes this a great move."
Allebach served as chief of Warsaw's Police Department and retired last year.
In cooperation with Grace College, facilities for Grubbs have been established in the former Danek building.
The town is the designated administrator of the $65,536 grant and will receive a 10 percent commission.
Operation Pull Over, a program police departments conduct to check on drivers' use of seat belts and child restraints in a vehicle, is funded through the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving. Taxpayer dollars funnelled through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration is the original source of the funds.
The three-month grace period observing a reduction of .10 to .08 blood alcohol levels to be considered driving under the influence has ended.
To both educate and enforce the new law the state has ear-marked $2.9 million for establishment of a DUI Task Force.
Kosciusko County is one of 25 counties eligible for the funding.
One mandate of the task force is to arrest one drunk driver per each eight hour shift, a task Grubbs said won't be difficult to perform.
"The Fort Wayne police department identifies one drunk driver every two hours," he said.
A press conference to introduce the DUI Task Force will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 26 in the Warsaw council chambers in city hall.
