Prior to this year’s Fourth of July weekend, local law enforcement reminded residents of the dangers of not obeying traffic laws, including not drinking and driving. By Monday, it seemed most heeded their warning as it was relatively quiet in Covington County when it came to crime and traffic accidents. “It was pretty much just quiet and peaceful here,” said Florala Chief of Police Sonny Bedsole. “That’s how we like it.”

Despite the mostly quiet holiday, Florala Police Department was responsible for the only arrests of the weekend in the county involving a controlled substance, including one Bedsole said could have been a bad situation, had it not been for the keen eye of officers.

Bedsole said FPD officer Randy Givens arrested 54-year-old Joyce A. Fillingame after he found her “passed out behind the wheel” of a vehicle on Woods Avenue. Bedsole said Fillingame confessed to being under the influence of Lortab and Xanax without a prescription and was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Throughout the rest of the county, five others were arrested for driving under the influence, including: Wayne Lavelle, 57; Karen Langford, 44; Daryl S. Florence, 37; and Ronnie E. Abshire, 59.

Additionally, seven more were arrested on alcohol-related charges, including: Savona Langford, 26, Hunter L. Langford, 26, Bryan Z. Langford, 25, and Tyler K. Barbaree, 22, all for public intoxication; Elizabeth Cauazos, 20, for minor in possession of alcohol; Cheryl Marie Youmans, 48, for pedestrian under the influence; and Benjamin F. Cobb, 22, for contributing alcohol to a minor.