GGPD OFFICER Tom Capps, who was friends with Costa Mesa Fire Captain Mike Kreza, participates in a DUI checkpoint on Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove. Capt. Kreza was killed recently by a DUI driver. (Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge)

Don’t let your Merry Little Christmas turn into a sorry trip to jail.

The Garden Grove Police Department’s traffic unit will be conducting a DUI/driver’s license checkpoint from 9 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday (Dec. 21-22) in the area of Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue.

It’s part of a campaign of enforcement against impaired driving, which includes driving drunk, drugged or distracted.

“We want everyone to enjoy the holidays and being responsible plays a major part in that,” Police Chief Tom DaRe said. ‘The danger is clear so before you head out for a party, make sure you have a safe way to get home.”

High visibility enforcement – checkpoints and saturation patrols have reduced the number of persons killed or injured in alcohol- or drug-impaired crashes, according to the GGPD.

In the course of the last four years, GGPD officers have investigated over 650 DUI collisions, which claimed the lives of 15 people and resulted in over 300 injuries.

Interim fire chief will stay on in HB

The extension of the appointment of David Segura as interim fire chief was approved Monday night by the Huntington Beach City Council. The city leaders voted 6-0 (with Councilmember Mike Posey absent) to extend his tenure to May 20, 2020 while the city continues its recruitment process for the post.

Segura was hired as fire chief in March 2016 and retired in July 2019. He was hired back as interim chief in August. He will work a maximum of 960 hours and will be paid an hourly rate of $106.31.

Also on Monday night, consideration of a development agreement and other related reports and amendments on proposed construction on the former Magnolia Tank Farm property at Magnolia Street and Banning Avenue were continued to “a date uncertain.”

The next regular session of the council is set for Monday, Jan. 21.