Picayune Police urge safety with the start of school

Students in the Picayune School district will return to classes on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, and Picayune Police Department Assistant Chief Dusty Moeller wants to send a strong message to the people of Picayune about school traffic safety.

“The biggest concern we have is speeding in school zones. This year we are going to be cracking down on drivers who do not obey the speed limits. Safety of the students is a must, it’s priority number one, and we need the public to help us to ensure a safe year,” Moeller stated.

Moeller said the public needs to be aware and alert, particularly when around school buses. He said the penalties pertaining to someone passing a school bus while it is unloading or loading have changed.

“If you come upon a school bus that is stopped and has its flashers on, it’s common sense and it’s the law that you have to stop, keep your distance at no closer than 10 feet from the bus, and do not pass the school bus. If you do it, you are not going to get a ticket, you are going to jail,” Moeller said.

Moeller reminds everyone there will be a large number of students who walk to school because of their proximity to their school and drivers who are speeding in these areas, increase the chance for accidents dramatically.

“Distracted drivers for whatever reasons, drivers who don’t pay attention to where they are, what and who is around them, they cause accidents. If a student is walking to school, the situation worsens. I cannot stress enough the importance of obeying the speed limit in our school zones,” Moeller emphasized.

All seven schools in the Picayune School district will have a School Law Enforcement officer this year. Lt. Chris Wagner will be over this group and Wagner says there are two intersections that will be manned during commute times for students.

“The intersections of Sixth Avenue at Kirkwood and Goodyear Blvd at Kirkwood, will have law enforcement officers in place from 7:30 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. and again from 3:00 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. to assist students to safely navigate those areas,“ Wagner stated.

“Be assured, we are going to be committed to safety like always, even more during school hours, especially mornings and afternoons,” Moeller said.

On Goodyear Blvd for those vehicles traveling in a westbound direction, Moeller said they will have the speed display trailer in place for the first weeks of school to show drivers their speed limit in hopes they will be more diligent to obey the speed limit.