EDITORIAL: A united effort: Locals working together to prevent underage drinking

Posted 8/4/16

Powell bars recently started using ID scanners to check drivers’ licenses. With a simple scan or swipe of an ID, the person’s birthdate appears on a screen. The new scanners will help bartenders identify minors as well as fake IDs.

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EDITORIAL: A united effort: Locals working together to prevent underage drinking

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It just got easier for local bartenders to check IDs, and more difficult for minors to drink alcohol in Powell.

We say cheers to that.

Powell bars recently started using ID scanners to check drivers’ licenses. With a simple scan or swipe of an ID, the person’s birthdate appears on a screen. The new scanners will help bartenders identify minors as well as fake IDs.

It’s understandable that a bartender could misread an ID on a busy night, especially with an out-of-state driver’s license or a fake ID that looks like the real thing. We’re glad local liquor establishments have a new tool to quickly verify someone’s age before serving them alcohol.

The community effort behind the new scanners also is worth recognizing.

The idea for the scanners first came about last spring during a meeting with local stakeholders, including liquor license holders, the Powell Economic Partnership, the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming and the Park County Coalition Against Substance Abuse. 

While the need for ID scanners was apparent, so was the need for funding.

The Prevention Management Organization, funded by the Wyoming Department of Health, generously provided new scanners for eight local bars.

While a lot of prevention work goes on behind the scenes, this is a tangible way local efforts are making a difference in our community.

The Powell Police Department takes a zero-tolerance approach to underage drinking, and rightfully so.

Underage drinking can have dangerous consequences — serious injuries, impaired judgment, brain development issues and an increased risk for physical and sexual assault, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

All too often, underage drinking ends with a parent’s worst nightmare. Each year, more than 4,300 Americans under the age of 21 die in alcohol-related incidents, according to the NIAAA.

Especially in a college community like ours, it’s important to take underage drinking seriously. That’s why we’re glad liquor license holders, police officers, prevention specialists and others are working to curb underage drinking.

As Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt said, it takes a unified front to combat underage drinking. And now, thanks to community members working together, sometimes all it takes is a simple scan of an ID.

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