Task Force cracks down on illegal consumption

THOMPSON FALLS – The Sanders County DUI Task Force, a non-profit organization devoted to addressing alcohol issues, had much to discuss at their monthly meeting Thursday morning. The members had several ideas on how to make the county safer.

According to Coordinator Krista Standeford, the task force is only targeting underage consumption and over-consumption because that is when drinking alcohol becomes illegal. One of the chief contributors to illegal alcohol use is over-service.

“All of the aggravated DUI charges came from being over twice the legal limit which goes back to over-service,” Standeford said.

The plan to address this issue is to encourage responsible alcohol sales and service training to all those with liquor licenses in the county.

“These classes are a large part of what I will be doing under the National Traffic Highway Safety Grant. One [class] will be here at the courthouse on the 31st and the public is invited,” Standeford said.

Standeford knows it is very important those in the alcohol service industry fully understand the laws and their own liability.

The issue of over-consumption was also discussed in relation to this year’s county fair. The idea was to make the switch from beer cans or bottles to party cups. This should not only save money but help reduce infractions. It will limit consumption because an individual can only carry two maybe three cups as opposed to six cans.

“We are not against people drinking at the fair,” Standeford said. “It just becomes a problem when someone is passed out at the rodeo or derby. We had a guy going into seizures because of consumption. The red cups will help reduce some of that and in turn reduce liability for the fair.”

DUI Task Force member John Marshall suggested during the meeting that they utilize the media in order to release information to help further their cause.

The group considered releasing the BAC (blood-alcohol content) levels listed on citations to make the community aware of how dangerous the streets are. They also discussed the release of statistics, which would demonstrate the loss of mental and physical faculties when too much alcohol has been consumed.

The task force wants to reach out to the youth of Sanders County to discourage underage drinking. To do this, they planned on utilizing popular social media such as Facebook and Instagram in order to spread the word.

One troubling statistic shared by the task force was the average alcohol consumption start age is 11 in the state of Montana.

In Montana, it is illegal for an individual to operate a vehicle if their BAC is .08 or higher. In most European countries, however, the limit is .02 and Canada is .05. Although the plan is to crack down on illegal consumption, the rules and regulations are more liberal here than in most places.

The task force was proud to announce that Thompson Falls had 100 percent conviction rates of those charged with DUIs this past year.

Currently plans are in the works to put awareness billboards up around the county. The goal is to have them on display by spring break. The task force is also eager to continue working with the Elevate Youth Coalition to discourage underage drinking and help protect the children of Sanders County.

“When it comes to alcohol we are only concerned with two people, those that are underage and those that are already intoxicated. Those are the only people it is illegal for and other than that it does not matter,” Standeford said. “This is still Montana and we want people to enjoy their Montana life.”