MEDIA RELEASE
CONTACT: Navideh Forghani (520) 866-5208

Pinal County is hosting one of the largest Country Music Festivals in the nation. In April, thousands will be heading to Florence, Arizona, to watch their favorite country music stars perform for four days. Thirty-thousand people will be there each day during peak times. County Thunder estimates 120,000 people will be there during the entire four day event.

During this time, our deputies will conduct extensive traffic enforcement efforts to prevent those who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol from driving on our roadways. Last year we made 298 contacts, arresting 11 people for DUI and 8 for DUI-Drugs.

In addition to our traffic enforcement efforts, we have also seen sexual assaults that occur during the four day event. Many of the victims come forward after they have left the festival. Both are very serious issues that overlap each other in some cases.

In an effort to educate on the dangers of driving under the influence and sexual assaults, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety issued a $3500 grant to produce multiple Public Service Announcements. These PSAs will be posted on various social media platforms. They will also run repeatedly on the jumbotron on the main stage during the four day event.

“We cannot thank Alberto Gutier and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for their continued support,” said Sheriff Mark Lamb. “We hope these videos send a strong message that will ultimately make our community safer and can be applied anywhere, not just Country Thunder.”

We would also like to thank the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, MADD Arizona and Against Abuse for their partnership to help produce these videos.