Reporting only one DUI incident each, the Hinesville Police Department and Fort Stewart’s Military Police said that local residents started 2009 on a safe note.
“There weren’t any serious incidents to report,” said Lt. Thomas Ovitt of the Hinesville Police Department.

During preparation for what is commonly the biggest party night of the year, Hinesville Police Department Chief Stagmeier also voiced concern about commuters and partygoers increasing the traffic flow, but according to Ovitt, that didn’t seem to be a major problem, either.
“Speaking to the night shift, they said they were busy but not excessively so,” Ovitt said.
 HPD officers weren’t the only ones watching for drunk drivers.
As part of an effort to observe December as DUI prevention month, Lt. James Gillis, a Fort Stewart MP, said he was part of a 14-hour rotating DUI checkpoint on New Year’s Eve.
Gillis and a few others controlled the checkpoint that targeted outbound drivers about 7:30 p.m. and switch-ed to monitoring inbound
traffic about 11:30 p.m.
At the checkpoints, Gillis said the officers engaged in conversation with the driver, asking questions to discern for slurred speech or lack of eye contact.
“Hopefully we’ve set a precedent,” Gillis said.