Bryan Police Department
       103 North Beech Street Bryan, Ohio 43506
      419-636-4233    Fax: 419-636-1125  Emergency 9-1-1    

  Roll Call

The latest roll call information from the Bryan Police Department.

Amber Alert Ticker

 Local Events

The Tragedy of Drunk Driving  

  Imagine the public outrage if 29 jumbo jets — each carrying about 400 people — crashed every year in America , killing all on board. That’s the equivalent of the toll our country suffers annually due to impaired driving. But where’s the indignation over this catastrophe?
  The fact is that impaired-driving deaths did decline dramatically during the 1980s through the early 1990s. Social activism, including the rise of organizations such as MADD, led to tighter laws that helped bring the death toll down. During that period, every State — plus the District of Columbia — made it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter or above. In addition to that, the legal drinking age was raised from 18 to 21.
  Although data show that impaired driving fatalities across the country have declined by almost 10 percent in the last year, the numbers are still too high. In 2008 alone, the latest year for which we have data, nearly 12,000 people died in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was at or over the legal limit (BAC of .08 g/dL or higher), according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
  Because we’re committed to ending this tragedy, Bryan Police Department will join with others throughout the Nation during the coming Labor Day holiday for an intensive crackdown on impaired driving. This nationwide enforcement campaign is aimed at the most likely offenders, 21- to 34-year-old males. It runs from August 20 through September 6.
  As police officers, our message during this crackdown and all year long is clear and unwavering: Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. With stepped-up law enforcement throughout the Nation — including sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols — if we catch you driving drunk, you will face serious consequences.

  COLUMBUS – Effective June 7, 2010, all purpose vehicles (APVs) will be required to have a license plate and registration sticker. The license plate and registration sticker are permanent and must remain with the vehicle, displayed in plain sight. A $34.75 registration fee will be collected for the issuance of a three year registration. All registrations are for three years and expire on Dec. 31, in the third year after the date of issuance. Application for renewal of a registration may be made no earlier than 90 days prior to expiration. An Ohio Certificate of Title must be presented to register an off highway motorcycle or APV.
  APV license plates are embossed with a “bright orange,” five character combination with APV vertically on the left side of a typical motorcycle size “Beautiful Ohio,” plate design.
  APV owners will be required to replace their APV decal with an APV license plate with any transaction until all decals have been replaced. Any current decals remain valid until their expiration, when they must be replaced with an APV license plate. Registration certificates for snowmobiles, off highway motorcycles, minibikes, and trail bikes will continue to be accompanied by an alphanumeric decal that is applied to the vehicle. No registration is required for APV’s that are used primarily for agricultural purposes when the owner qualifies for the current agricultural use valuation tax credit, unless it is to be used on any public land, trail, or right of way.
  APV License Plates do not entitle the rider to operate the APV on public roadways. Laws regarding operation of APV’s have not changed.
For more information, log onto www.bmv.ohio.gov

Guidelines:
   The Severe Weather Warning Sirens shall be activated when either of the following has been met:
   1.  Notification received over the NOAA Weather Alert Radio, located in the dispatch office, that includes in the message issued by the National Weather Service that  either Bryan is in the path of a Severe Storm and/or Tornado Warning or that the Severe Storm and or Tornado Warning is issued for all of Williams County.
    a. A severe storm is that which includes winds in excess of 50 miles per hour and or hail in excess of 1/2 inch (as defined by the National Weather Service, North Webster Indiana)
  2. A reported confirmed sighting by a Public Safety Officer, (police officer/firefighter) of a severe storm with property damage, injuries, rapid rotation, wall cloud, funnel cloud or tornado. 
Posted  June 21, 2010

Slow for the Cone Zone
  Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is continuing to building off of the efforts of April's National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week, a coast-to-coast effort to reduce accidents in highway construction zones, by further emphasizing this important theme. 
  Aimed at reducing the 5,000 accidents in construction zones last year, ODOT is urging drivers to look up, hang up cell phones, and go “slow for the cone zone” during this summer’s historic construction season.  
  With more than 1,600 transportation construction projects underway this summer in Ohio – including projects in every county – safety experts say it’s even more critical that drivers be alert and follow posted speed limits when traveling through construction zones.
  “There are a lot of variables in work zones - the cones, signs, equipment and workers. With reduced speed limits and traffic lane shifts,  it’s important to slow down and be aware of your surroundings in a work zone at all times of the day - for everyone’s safety,” said ODOT Director Jolene M. Molitoris.
  In 2009, there were 5,012 crashes in work zones along Ohio ’s roadways. 13 people lost their lives. While the numbers are down from the year before, it still represents one work zone crash every two hours in Ohio .
  An ODOT analysis shows that the causes of most work zone related crashes are speeding, vehicles following too close together, and drivers making improper lane changes. Safety experts are taking special aim this year at motorists who are using cell phones while driving through work zones.
  To help drivers safely navigate Ohio ’s historic construction season, ODOT is offering the latest information on all of the construction projects in Ohio that might impact travel on www.BuckeyeTraffic.org. ODOT’s premier website offers up-to-the-minute road conditions and details on highway construction projects in every area of the state.
  So please do your part for safety – for yourself, your family, other motorists and the hardworking folks in construction areas throughout the state – by remembering to take it Slow for the Cone Zone.  
Posted June 13, 2010

Public Service Announcements 

Criminal Acts. Strange News and  Trivia

Homeless man calls 911 from hot tub, seeks cocoa
  BEAVERTON , Ore. (AP) - A homeless man who called 911 from the hot tub of a suburban Portland home and asked for towels, hot chocolate and a hug got arrested for trespassing instead. 
  Beaverton police say Mark Eskelsen called 911 from his cell phone, identified himself as "the sheriff of Washington County ," and asked for medical help. He later admitted he wasn't the sheriff but informed the dispatcher he'd been "yelling for about an hour and a half." 
  The man said in his Sunday morning call that he'd been in the water about 10 hours and his towels had gotten wet. As he put it, "I just need a hug and a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it."     
  The Oregonian newspaper says arriving officers arrested Eskelsen for investigation of second-degree criminal trespass and improper use of 911. 
Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
MyWay Strange News September 2, 2010

Police: Sneezing fit caused NY woman to crash car
  NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) - Police in New York say a woman had a sneezing fit that caused her to drive off a road, crash into several trees and plow through a fence. 
  Authorities say 62-year-old Mary Jane Amelio (uh-MEEL'-ee-oh), of Clinton , was driving Thursday morning in New Hartford, near Utica , when she began to sneeze. 
  New Hartford police say her car left the road, hit several small trees and crashed through a fence before coming to a stop. 
  Amelio was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in fair condition after suffering injuries to her head, neck, back and leg. 
  Police say she was ticketed for failure to keep right.
MyWay Strange News August 27, 2010