In the coming weeks, a number of area stores are going to be visited by representatives from the Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement board. They will be sending people who look under the age of 21 to try and buy alcoholic beverages.
Prior to those checks, the Okmulgee County Consortium will be working with store owners to make sure they comply with the laws.
The training is free and is designed to educate sellers and servers about alcohol laws, the importance of not selling alcohol to minors, how to recognize fake IDs, and how to read IDs.
“Providing alcohol to youth not only has legal consequences for the merchant, but there are also harmful effects for the child. Youth who drink are more likely to do poorly in school, engage in risky sexual behavior, get in accidents, become violent, and do poorly in social situations,” said Consortium Secretary, Margaret Black.
Responsible Beverage Service and Sales Trainings are important to increase the compliance of state alcohol laws at local vendors. Black also expressed that Okmulgee County is fortunate to have so many agencies committed to protecting local youth from the harmful and addictive problems associated with underage access to alcohol. “We have merchants wanting to learn new ways to not sell products that are harmful to kids,” said Black. “We also have dedicated local, county and state law enforcement officers that work hard to protect our youth.”
Okmulgee County’s Community Based Prevention Services are funded by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Prevention Division and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. For more information about getting merchant training contact Stacy Potter at (918)256-7518 or go to www.rocmnd.org/rbss-training to sign up for training.
The Okmulgee County Consortium meets every third Wednesday of the month at 12pm in the conference room of the Moore Detention Center, 111 S Alabama Ave, Okmulgee.