News

June 21, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Carl Boes, Prevention Specialist
Seven Counties Services, Inc.
101 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.
Louisville, KY 40202
502-589-8600

Jefferson County Judge-Executive Rebecca Jackson and Louisville Mayor David Armstrong announced joint support of the “PARENT ALERT” project at a press conference Thursday, June 21, at the Liquor Outlet, 1800 South Hurstbourne Parkway, Louisville, KY.

CHAMPIONS of Jefferson County, a group of volunteers committed to promoting a positive, healthy drug-free lifestyle, in collaboration with local law enforcement officials; River City Distributing; Mo Moorman Distributing; and the city of Louisville, is reviving the "PARENT ALERT" program to help curb underage drinking. The program began in 1996 and was discontinued in 1997 when a federal grant ended.

Under the program, clerks at participating liquor retailers record the license-plate numbers of cars used by minors while attempting to purchase alcohol. The plate numbers are forwarded to the local Alcohol Beverage Control offices, which send letters to the vehicles’ registered owners about the incidents. The program begins immediately.

“We have high hopes for the Parent Alert project,” said Carl Boes, a prevention specialist with Seven Counties Services, Inc. and a consultant for CHAMPIONS. “Currently, it is too easy for minors to access alcohol.”

In fact a recent report from the city-county crime commission stated that in Louisville and Jefferson County last year, police made 1,166 arrests for underage possession and 197 drunken-driving arrests of people under the age of 21. “We have a real problem in our region that needs to be taken seriously. We believe this program will help curb this trend,” Boes concluded.