by Patti Clark

Drinking, specifically underage drinking, is so prevalent in Owen County that the community was chosen last month to receive a grant to help lessen the problem.

Amy Webber, a North Key representative, informed a group of Owen County residents that while she doesn’t have the specific amount of the five- to seven-year grant, the community was chosen from four counties to which the choice had been narrowed.

“You got the money,” Webber said. “Now the question is how much and how the funding will flow into the community.”

The grant amount for six states was $11.5 million.

The choice of Owen County, according to Webber, was based on a number of surveys that determine the drinking levels in the community. In addition, the community’s readiness to tackle the problem added to the desirability for the selection committee.

“My understanding is that played a big part in Owen getting chosen,” Webber explained.

The first step, after the group finds out how much money it has, is to hire a coordinator to implement the strategies. That should come within the next few months as the state approves its strategic plan to address the issue making it possible for the community to align its goals with the statewide goals.

“Who will employ this person?” asked Owen County Judge-Executive Billy O’Banion. “Will it be county government or the public mental health agency?”

“It will probably be the fiscal agent for the grant,” Webber said, adding that will probably be North Key. There was some discussion of where the office would be located and consideration was given to locating it in the Three Rivers Regional Health Department. No decision was made, however.

Once the administrative decisions are made, Webber said the next step will be to put in place strategies that are considered effective.

“And we want to make sure the strategies are effective,” Weber said at an earlier meeting. “That means more than just a bunch of T-shirts with a slogan on them.”

Those strategies could include, for example, a keg registration program and partnership with adjoining counties where local residents purchase their alcohol. The keg registration would make it possible to prosecute the person who purchased the keg if underage drinkers are discovered at a party where it’s located.

Other strategies could include lobbying the legislature to make the purchase of alcohol for a minor a felony, as opposed to a misdemeanor, as it currently is.

Webber said a similar program, “Parents Who Host Lose the Most,” is in place in Northern Kentucky.

Additional strategies include community service work for teenagers arrested the first time for alcohol abuse.

“They may not need treatment, but they need more than just a slap on the wrist,” Webber said. “A program like that would help.”

“Our work needs to start in the elementary school,” said Tony Watkins, another member of the group. “Seventy percent of children who have mental disorders also have problems with substance abuse.”

The group also discussed the idea of incorporating the “Owen County Alcohol Team” into the Golden Triangle group since many of those participating in the alcohol team are also involved in the Golden Triangle, which was formed to promote health initiatives in the community.

Doing so would also create a ready-made board of directors through which strategies and hiring can be handled.

The group will meet at 11 a.m. Feb. 14 in the community room at Three Rivers to discuss the hiring of a coordinator, to consider an an official name and to outline the direction the group will move. The community is invited to attend.

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