As we’ve reported, Guthrie County Deputy Kent Gries was recently presented a Criminal Justice award at the 26th Annual Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau conference, in Okoboji.

Gries tells Raccoon Valley Radio that part of the award recognized his ability to determine what drugs impaired drivers had taken. He adds that people used to just drive drunk, now they are taking many drugs before getting behind the wheel. “About four or five years ago, the pendulum started to swing and we were coming into contact with more drug-impaired drivers. We’ve done a really good job as a law enforcement community of enforcing alcohol-related OWI’s, and now we’re finally catching up to illicit and prescription drug-related OWI’s. I’ll say those OWI’s are just as dangerous as alcohol-related OWI’s, and sometimes the people impaired by illicit and prescription drugs are in much worse shape.”

We’ll wrap up our conversation with Gries and Sheriff Marty Arganbright today on Let’s Talk Guthrie County. It airs during the 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. hours on K107.9 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.