UNDERAGE DRINKING ENFORCEMENT BEGINS

Minors thinking of indulging in alcoholic beverages at the upcoming Wappapello Lake Power Boat Races should think again.

The event May 20 and 21 will feature the kickoff of a new round of Alcohol Safety Awareness and Prevention programs to prevent underage drinking, said Kenny Pincksten, supervisor of District 5 of the Division of Liquor Control in Cape Girardeau.

ASAP was so successful last year that it received additional funding to continue this year, the Missouri Division of Liquor Control said Thursday. The program, which began in December 1998, was set up to conduct 12 saturations, but in 1999, 15 were held and 296 minors were arrested for attempting to purchase alcohol or for possession of alcohol, said ASAP coordinator Steve Shimmens.

The program, a partnership of the Missouri Division of Liquor Control and Missouri Division of Highway Safety, provides three phases of expertise to businesses with liquor licenses and the community, Shimmens said from his Jefferson City office.

Those phases -- server training, badges in business and party patrol -- will all be carried out at the Wappapello boat races and at four other events in the area, Pincksten said. He said the Sikeston Rodeo will be one. The others have not yet been set, but he said one would be held in Cape Girardeau.

"Last year the boat races drew 50,000 people," Pincksten said. "We try to focus on events that draw a lot of people."

The two-hour server-training seminar for liquor licensees from Butler, Wayne and Stoddard counties will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday at the Rockwood Fraternal Order of Eagles at Wappapello Lake.

"At the seminar we teach general liquor-control laws, but the focus is on ID checking," Pincksten said.

Pincksten said there are many good fake identification cards around that can fool a clerk who isn't paying attention. The seminar offers tips to servers on how to spot fake IDs and on getting comfortable asking for identification

"It's really to their benefit to know the tips we've come across," said Pincksten, who pointed out that licensees can face administrative action from selling alcohol to those under 21, and employees who do so face criminal charges and fines of up to $1,000.

In the badges-in-business phase, which will be implemented in the Wappapello Lake area next week, liquor-control agents pose as employees at licensed establishments that voluntarily participate in the program. Agents arrest those under 21 who attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages.

"It's a violation of state statute for someone underage to even attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages," Pincksten said. "If you are under age 21 and pull into a drive-through and request a six pack of beer, you are in violation whether I sell it to you or not. And if you produce a fake ID, that's another charge."

The third phase, party patrol, involves uniformed liquor-control agents and local law enforcement saturating the area, checking identifications and dealing with liquor violations as they occur, Pincksten said.

"But this also serves as prevention," Pincksten said. "We try to establish a visible presence to discourage consumption of alcohol by minors."