You might be planning tonight to join friends and family to celebrate the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.

Meanwhile, Corvallis police officers, Benton County sheriff’s officers and Oregon State Patrol officers are planning to keep an eye out for those of us who have celebrated unwisely — and, of course, that translates to keeping an eye out for drivers operating vehicles under the influence.

Lt. Dave Henslee of the Corvallis Police Department says the department is planning patrols as usual on New Year’s Eve. But he noted that officers will have a “heightened awareness” of impaired driving as they patrol the roadways of Corvallis and the county. You can bet the same will be true of law officers everywhere in the nation tonight.

In Corvallis, Henslee noted, officers will treat tonight in much the same way as they treat any local celebration — a Beavers’ home football game, for example, or St. Patrick’s Day or Halloween.

It would be a shame to have the celebration end with an arrest for DUII — or, worse, in an accident that leaves someone injured or dead.

So Henslee recommends some pretty straightforward precautions: “People just need to drink responsibly,” he says. “Protect each other.“

That translates into not allowing friends or family to drive drunk — and, by extension, don’t get ticked off if a loved one takes the keys away from you. Pick someone to be the designated driver; it’s a time-honored technique because it works.

“Just be reasonable,” Henslee says. “It’s just important that we all just recognize good advice” when it’s given to us, whether it’s a family member or friend or a bartender telling you that it’s time to stop.

“We just really need to watch out for each other,” Henslee says. As we look forward to starting 2009, that would seem to be good advice that we can try to live up to all through the new year.