TAPS warns on providing alcohol

A team of high school student volunteers got up early on the first day of spring break to place hundreds of stickers on cases and six-packs of alcohol products in local outlets, warning buyers of the dangers of providing alcohol to minors, as part of the Think Again ParentS (TAPS) Sticker Shock campaign.

The stop-sign shaped sticker says, "Stop - Buying alcohol for a minor? It is illegal for any person 21 or older to purchase or provide alcohol to an underage person. Convictions could result in fines up to $1,000 and not less than 30 days of imprisonment."

Store managers were very supportive of the idea and welcomed the teams into the store's coolers and toward the floor displays to place stickers. Participating stores included Space Age, Sisters Market, Bi-Mart, Ray's Food Place, Sisters Mainline Station and the Gallimaufry. In addition, the Pumphouse agreed to post some signs in their store.

Assistant manager Rick Cate at Ray's expressed gratitude that the TAPS group came to the store.

"Anything we can do to prevent access to minors is worth doing," he said.

The primary goal of TAPS is to prevent alcohol and other substance use and abuse by young people through education.

Sisters, like other communities in the area, faces this issue year in and year out, with underage parties taking place primarily out on Forest Service land and in private homes, according to Deschutes County deputy and school resource officer Don Pray, who helped lead the sticker effort Saturday.

Among other things, TAPS focuses on access points for alcohol, which the sticker shock campaign addresses. Underage people who want to access alcohol will sometimes approach someone over 21 and offer them a little extra cash to go into a store and purchase alcohol for them. Another problem reported in Sisters is parents providing safe parties for underage drinkers in their homes. Both are illegal under Oregon law.

TAPS recommends that adults secure any alcohol in the home to prevent access to underage members of the home.

"It might not be your own child that accesses the alcohol, it could be a visitor," said Pray. "The same goes for any and all prescription medication in the house."

According to the Oregon Healthy Teens survey results, Deschutes County tends to run a little higher than the state average on alcohol use among 8th and 11th graders, and Sisters is included in that trend.

No community is free of this problem, and Sisters is no exception, said Pray.

Volunteer students from the High School leadership class and Sparrow Club included Seth Flanders, Hayley Palmer, Amity Calvin, Sydney Stoneback, Lauren Cantwell, Savannah Spear, Jake McAllister, Zoe McAllister, Brittany Wilhelm, Conor Greaney, Nikki Haken, Kristina Sparling and Shannon Fouts. Adult helpers included Samra Spear, Allison Cantwell, Karen Stoneback and Corrine Pray.