Henry County sheriff spotlights traffic safety and opioid prevention

MT. PLEASANT — Nearly 900 vehicles passed through a Henry County traffic safety checkpoint last week, part of a series of enforcement and outreach efforts Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee says are aimed at curbing violations and educating the public.

“At this checkpoint, we collectively checked 888 vehicles in four hours. Most of them were right on target, no problems,” McNamee told the Henry County Board of Supervisors on Thursday, Sept. 4.

The checkpoint, conducted with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at the weigh station near West Point, resulted in one open container violation, one seat belt violation, 1,231 registration violations, 58 insurance violations, 48 equipment violations, two OWI tests, two drug possession cases and one citation for paraphernalia.

McNamee described the event as a success.

“It was mild weather. Everybody was pretty cooperative, only a couple rowdy Shakedowns on the backside,” he said.

The sheriff also reported continued collaboration with the Iowa State Patrol and agencies from Minnesota to Missouri on enforcement along the U.S. 218/27 corridor.

“Every other month, we link with the Iowa State Patrol and agencies from Minnesota to Missouri along the 218-27 corridor,” McNamee said. “We had pretty good success with that, especially in the construction zone in the south part of our county.”

In addition to enforcement, McNamee highlighted prevention work. He said his office joined the Henry County Opioid Prevention Alliance and several partners — including the Mt. Pleasant Police Department and Henry County Health Services — for the “What Every Parent Should Know” forum at Mt. Pleasant City Hall on Sept. 3.

“We did participate with several partners from the Henry County Opioid Prevention Alliance … and it went pretty well,” McNamee said.

He added that the group is planning more informational meetings around the county in the coming months.

The event aimed to educate parents on signs of substance use, types of paraphernalia, and available local resources. Organizers say the meetings support county-wide efforts.

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