ALCOHOL SAFETY AWARENESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS TAKE AIM AT CURBIN UNDERAGE DRINKING

A new round of Alcohol Safety Awareness and Prevention programs aimed at preventing underage drinking kicked off over the weekend at the Wappapello Lake Power Boat Races.

ASAP, as it is called, began in December 1998 and is primarily aimed at educating bars and minors on underage drinking. Another feature of the program involves saturation of events such as the boat races, the Sikeston Bootheel Rodeo and others, which attract large crowds and a lot of minors, in an effort to prevent underage liquor consumption. During 15 such sweeps last year, 296 minors were arrested for attempting to purchase alcohol or for possession of alcohol.

The program, run by the Missouri Division of Liquor Control and Missouri Division of Highway Safety, was deemed so successful last year that it received additional state funding this year.

While underage drinking remains a problem in the area, it is unfortunate that the state must throw more and more taxpayer money into a program designed to catch minors in possession of alcohol and businesses that sell it to them. Whatever happened to parental responsibility?