Csts. Andrew Begin and Victoria Nicholls were acknowledged for their role in eliminating impaired driving in the community. (Elliott Knopp/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Elliott Knopp

Van de Vorst Award

Meadow Lake officers receive Van de Vorst Family Award

Dec 2, 2021 | 5:41 PM

Meadow Lake police officers have been recognized for their efforts in removing intoxicated drivers from the road.

On Thursday, members of the Meadow Lake RCMP Detachment gathered at the Royal Canadian Legion to honour their colleague’s achievements.

Constables Victoria Nicholls and Andrew Begin were among several officers acknowledged for their service to the community with the Van de Vorst Family Award.

At the event, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) president Steve Pollock explained the medal is named after a family of four who were killed in an incident involving an impaired driver operating a vehicle at more than three times the legal limit.

The Van de Vorst Family Award is bestowed upon constables in Saskatchewan who made an impact eliminating impaired driving. (Elliott Knopp/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

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He added the medal is exclusive to constables in Saskatchewan, and each recipient of the award has made potentially life-saving decisions while on duty.

“People have told me the number of deaths from drinking and driving are going down significantly over the last few years,” he said.

“The number of impaired driving charges laid has been going up 10 to 30 per cent per month. That’s because of folks like you. You’re catching them before they’re causing tragedies.”

Cst. Nicholls was specifically highlighted for her impact on this front having laid 42 impaired driving charges last year.

In Meadow Lake, officials continue to make efforts to eliminate impaired driving in the community through initiatives brought forward by the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) and MADD awareness campaigns.

Currently, there are signs posted around Meadow Lake at sites where impaired drivers were pulled over and charged by police. Earlier this year, a heavily damaged vehicle was on display in the downtown sector of the city as a visual demonstration of the potential aftermath of these incidents.

Pollack said these campaigns play an important role in the fight against impaired driving, more so the sign campaign run by the YAC.

“We’re very proud to at least have our name on it,” he said.

“We do appreciate all the work you do and just how tough it is. You’ve been given the tools to stop these people, and you are using them. You are stopping them.”

meadowlakeNOW reached out to the RCMP for a comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp