With funding from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), The Coalition, Inc. recently partnered with the Angelina County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) to conduct minor alcohol stings in an effort to decrease the consequences of alcohol purchased by minors. Under the direct supervision of law enforcement officers, juveniles under the legal age to drink/purchase alcohol were used as decoys to enter businesses that are licensed to sell alcohol and then attempt to purchase alcohol.
“Businesses in our community have a responsibility to ensure that minors under the age of 21 are not able to purchase alcohol in their stores. We know that youth who drink alcohol are more likely to suffer tragic consequences, such as alcohol poisoning and alcohol-related traffic crashes, and we expect our business owners to properly train their employees on the law,” says Sharon Kruk, Executive Director of The Coalition, Inc. “Our ultimate goal is to keep the youth in our community safe from the harmful effects of underage alcohol use; we are proud to partner with the Angelina County Sheriff’s Department, TABC and TxDOT to work towards that goal.”
During the November and January minor sting operations, there were five stores that sold to minors and 15 who did not. We commend those stores who did not sell alcohol to minors in our community and recognize them for helping to combat underage drinking:
- Timberland Chevron, 804 N. Timberland Drive;
- Gas N Go #1, 401 N. Timberland Drive;
- HEB Food Store #617, 111 N. Timberland Drive;
- Walgreens #05792, 102 N. Timberland Drive;
- Kwik Korner Food Mart, 203 S. Timberland Drive;
- Zak’s Food Mart #5, 612 S. Timberland Drive;
- Family Dollar Stores #1899, 730 S. Timberland Drive;
- On the Road #103, 4110 S. First Street;
- Charge Up #66, 605 N. Temple Drive;
- Dollar General Store #1695, 225 N. Temple Drive;
- Charge Up #65, 701 S. Temple Drive;
- Diboll Food Mart, 500 N. Temple Drive;
- Snappy Food Mart Diboll, 1580 N. Temple Drive;
- Snappy Food Mart Crown Colony, 101 Champions Drive; and
- Loves Travel Stop #290, 1003 S. Medford Drive.
Five business did sell to minors, and administrative action was taken against the individual who sold the alcohol:
- Zak’s Food Mart #1, 1910 N. Timberland Drive;
- Family Dollar Store #6064, 419 N. Timberland Drive;
- Zak’s Food Mart #4, 1203 S. Chestnut Drive;
- Diboll Depot, 1605 N. Temple Drive; and
- Brookshire Brothers #35, 221 N. Temple Drive.
Sale of alcohol to a minor is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $4,000, confinement up to a year in jail, or both. Persons 21 or older can be held liable for damages caused by the intoxication of a minor under 18 if the adult knowingly provided alcoholic beverages to a minor or knowingly allowed the minor to be served or provided alcoholic beverages on the premises owned by or leased by the adult.
The Coalition, Inc. is funded in part by a grant from TxDOT to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes in Texas. Since 1988, The Coalition has focused on eliminating the use of harmful substances by affecting public policy, laws, attitudes, and behaviors, all to foster healthy life-long choices for the local community. For more information on how to prevent underage drinking, contact The Coalition at 936-634-9308.
