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<p>PITTSTON &#8212; With local St. Patrick&#8217;s Day celebrations kicking off Saturday, officials gathered this week to launch the &#8220;Kiss Me, I&#8217;m Sober&#8221; campaign.</p><p>&#8220;We thought it would be a good idea to get all of our safety partners around to talk about safe practices during the parades,&#8221; said Rebecca Rybak, of the Northeast Highway Safety Program.</p><p>Pittston&#8217;s parade is this Saturday; Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s steps off Sunday, March 10.</p><p>According to Jackson Township Police Sgt. Charles Rauschkolb, who also serves as the Luzerne County DUI Program coordinator, there will be stepped-up patrols in the Greater Hazleton area, Greater Pittston area and in the Back Mountain region over the next two weekends.</p><p>&#8220;The departments will be out in force to conduct DUI patrols for impaired drivers which includes people taking pharmaceutical medications, narcotics, and of course, alcoholic beverages,&#8221; Rauschkolb said at a press conference at the Pittston Memorial Library.</p><p>When it comes to safety, there&#8217;s more involved than drinking and driving.</p><p>Cathy Connors, Pa. Traffic Injury Prevention Project training coordinator, asks parents or guardians traveling to events with infants to be aware of children in car seats.</p><p>&#8220;Just leave one layer off when transporting a child by vehicle in a car seat until you get to your destination,&#8221; Connors said. &#8220;We have a rule about puffy coats interfering with seat belts and how they work.&#8221;</p><p>Connors advised parents and guardians to keep their child safe by holding their hands at all times while walking, especially crossing the street. &#8220;Sometimes, they see their friends across the street and will dart out,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Eileen Miller, who became a road safety advocate after a distracted driver killed her son, was on hand to give a parent&#8217;s perspective.</p><p>&#8220;My goal is to make sure everybody comes home to their loved ones,&#8221; Miller said. &#8220;They (parents) don&#8217;t want State Police or police knocking on their door telling them their loved one never made it home that night.&#8221;</p><p>Miller urged everyone to have fun but to be responsible at all times.</p><p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re going to go out and you&#8217;re going to have some drinks, designate someone to drive or have a buddy system,&#8221; Pittston Township Police Sgt. Lena Angelella said. &#8220;It&#8217;s all about getting home safely and you don&#8217;t want to hurt anyone else trying to get home.&#8221;</p><p>AAA Mid-Atlantic works with Lyft and Uber to provide free rides for all holidays. Local colleges offer free rides through their drug and alcohol departments.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no reason why anybody should be driving on that holiday; there are so many resources available,&#8221; said Andreea Higdon, of the AAA Mid-Atlantic Safety Foundation.</p><p>&#8220;We are trying to prevent accidents from happening,&#8221; said Sgt. Rauschkolb. &#8220;The bottom line here is safety.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Rebecca Ryback, of the Northeast Highway Safety Program, discusses the Pittston St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade and partying safely for the holiday during a meeting at the Pittston Memorial Library this week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_PennDOT.CMYK_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Rebecca Ryback, of the Northeast Highway Safety Program, discusses the Pittston St. Patrick&#8217;s Parade and partying safely for the holiday during a meeting at the Pittston Memorial Library this week. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Officials launch &#8216;Kiss Me, I&#8217;m Sober&#8217; campaign</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tony Callaio</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Partying safely for St. Patrick’s parades