Monday's front-page story about the city getting help from a new community service initiative tied to drunken driving sentences included statistics that should concern all law-abiding county residents.

Of the county's 2,661 criminal cases in 2005, 1,032 — nearly 39 percent — were DUI cases. Meanwhile, this year, for which only four months of statistics were available, the county had prosecuted 516 DUI cases, an average of 129 a month.

What is so troubling is that so many people are putting county residents at risk, operating a vehicle while in an impaired condition. The new DUI initiative — county and city officials call it PRIDE, or Probation Restoration Initiative for a Desirable Environment — despite its positive benefits, is mild punishment when stacked up against the seriousness of the offense.

That is not to imply anything negative about the new program. However, county residents need to be more aware of the scope of the problem — and understand the need to be fully alert to the possibility of encountering a drunken driver every time they are on the streets and highways of this county.

One point that must be emphasized in regard to PRIDE is that the eight hours of work truly are eight hours of work, and not merely meandering about and just "putting in the time." Those performing this special community service, involving such work as picking up litter, pulling weeds and painting curbs and fire hydrants, must be required to show that their time was well spent.

City department heads have compiled a list of priority projects for the PRIDE crew to tackle; as currently set up, the program apparently will be limited to the city.

But county officials should not rule out ever expanding the program to other communities in the county, as needs dictate.

Beginning later this month, the city will gain the benefits of approximately 1,000 free man-hours of labor every month. And, if the county's DUI prosecution total continues its upward trend, like it has for nearly the past dozen years, there might be a time when the monthly man-hours total might be significantly greater than what currently is projected.

The city will benefit from this program but there should be no joy in having to implement it. Hundreds, if not thousands, of county residents have been tragically impacted by intoxicated motorists — either directly or by what has happened to family members or friends.

PRIDE is merely a means for extracting some good from a very bad situation.

It is to be hoped that those who perform those service hours reflect upon the danger to themselves and others that their drunken driving has entailed.