• Smokey came to the zoo as a 6-month-old cub 18 years ago. •
Assistant SD attorney general sentenced for DUI
• YANKTON, S.D. (AP) -- An assistant South Dakota attorney general has been sentenced for drunken driving. • Forty-year-old Douglas Barnett of Sioux Falls was arrested near Yankton on May 20 for suspicion of driving under the influence and for allegedly having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. He was suspended from his job without pay for 30 days. • Barnett pleaded guilty to DUI on Wednesday and prosecutors dropped the open container charge. Magistrate Judge Tami Bern gave Barnett a five-day suspended jail sentence and fined him $350. Barnett also will lose his driver's license for 30 days and will have to participate in the state's 24/7 Sobriety Program for 60 days. • Defense attorney Eric Schulte says Barnett accepts responsibility for his actions. •
Ignition locks being added to SD sobriety program
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakotans with a history of driving drunk could soon find it tougher to start their engines if they've been drinking thanks to the addition of ignition-locking devices to the state's sobriety program. • The breath-testing devices are connected to a vehicle's ignition and prevent the engine from starting if alcohol is detected. The devices were successful when tested for six months in winter conditions with 10 offenders in South Dakota's Lincoln County, Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a Wednesday news release.
(Continued on page 18)
|