'Unstung Heroes' cash in

Employees at the Town Pump in Plains

cashed in on a job well done on Tuesday, Nov. 16, when they were

awarded $1,700 as a part of the company’s “Unstung Heroes”

program.

The program is intended as a training

program that rewards employees for successfully passing compliance

checks for refusing to sell alcohol or tobacco to those who are

underage. The program started in April of 2006 as a way for the

company to stop underage sales and to encourage carding.

When a cashier passes a compliance

check or a sting, they are rewarded with $150 and the manager

receives $75. An additional $100 is entered into a company-wide

cash pot, which is started at the beginning of every quarter with

$1,000 in it, and then a drawing is heldbetween all 86 stores in

the Town Pump company. This $100 is added to the prize every time

an employee passes a compliance check.

According to Pete Barthelmess, director

of food and beverage with Town Pump, the Plains store’s last

successful compliance check was in August. For Barthelmess, the

numbers have been very impressive.

“We will be giving away $1,700 today.

So far, we’ve given away $91,000 in prizes for the Unstung Hero

Program,” Barthelmess said. “I think it has been going for about

four years now. The program started in 2006. We’ve gotten tougher

and really worked on this. We’ve had over 106, with an over 90%

pass or compliance rate.”

Barthelmess also said that the program

has made a significant difference in the company’s fight against

underage sales.

Local law enforcement organizes

compliance checks of businesses through federal and state grant

money as part of a crackdown on underage sales. The frequency of

compliance checks really depends on local law enforcement, and can

fluctuate a great deal.

“In Miles City, we had one particular

clerk who had passed five checks in a quarter,” Barthelmess said,

“so they just kept coming back, and coming back.”

Typically, a sting is organized by a

police officer, who enlists the help of an underage person. The

police officer will either sit outside or sit in the back of the

store and the young person will come up and try to buy, and if they

are in fact able to buy, the office will usually issue a ticket

right there.

Of the $1,700 cash prize, each of the

Plains employees received approximately $150.

According to Barthelmess, the company

is glad to shell out the prize money, as the program has been

integral in stopping underage sales.

“It’s made a big difference,”

Barthelmess said.