Beginning of dialogue between public, cityThe City Council and the Powell Coalition Against Substance Abuse hosted a day-long gathering of community members last week. A true cross-section of Powell — educators, bar owners, parents, doctors, policemen and many others — came together with a single purpose: To develop guidelines for public policy on alcohol use.During the course of the day, several key beliefs came to light. Not surprisingly, participants were vocal about the need to prevent and discourage underage drinking. They voiced the need to encourage responsible drinking by those of drinking age and to minimize young children's exposure to alcohol. They want to see laws and policies enforced across the board for both underage and legal drinkers. And most participants overwhelmingly support the statement that the choice, by adults, to drink is a personal one. Recommendations by the group call for existing laws to be enforced fairly and consistently and for school policies, both at the college and public school levels, to be followed without fail. The group also supports stronger penalties for those who provide or sell alcohol to minors and for continued evaluation of the purpose of events prior to issuing alcohol permits. It was a productive day of discussion and consensus building, and let's hope that the dialogue continues. It can only serve to strengthen and increase the health and well-being of our community.

Beginning of dialogue between public, city

The City Council and the Powell Coalition Against Substance Abuse hosted a day-long gathering of community members last week.

A true cross-section of Powell — educators, bar owners, parents, doctors, policemen and many others — came together with a single purpose: To develop guidelines for public policy on alcohol use.

During the course of the day, several key beliefs came to light. Not surprisingly, participants were vocal about the need to prevent and discourage underage drinking. They voiced the need to encourage responsible drinking by those of drinking age and to minimize young children's exposure to alcohol. They want to see laws and policies enforced across the board for both underage and legal drinkers. And most participants overwhelmingly support the statement that the choice, by adults, to drink is a personal one.

Recommendations by the group call for existing laws to be enforced fairly and consistently and for school policies, both at the college and public school levels, to be followed without fail. The group also supports stronger penalties for those who provide or sell alcohol to minors and for continued evaluation of the purpose of events prior to issuing alcohol permits.

It was a productive day of discussion and consensus building, and let's hope that the dialogue continues. It can only serve to strengthen and increase the health and well-being of our community.