NEWBERRY — The Newberry County Drug Free Communities Coalition on Underage Drinking, in partnership with the Prevention Department of Westview Behavioral Health Services, invites merchants and their employees who sell alcohol and tobacco to attend a Palmetto Retailers Education Program (PREP) course.

The free course will be held in the conference center at Westview Behavioral Health Services, 800 Main St. in Newberry. The course will be offered from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Aug. 1 and again on Sept. 5.

The PREP course helps reduce underage access to alcohol and tobacco in South Carolina communities, while also lowering liability risks for businesses and employees who sell the products.

PREP is the only merchant education program available in South Carolina that covers off-premise sales practices, on-premise alcohol sales practices, tobacco sales practices, and development of manager/supervisor sales policies. The program is approved by the S.C. Department of Revenue and the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.

“The goal of PREP is to provide managers and servers/sellers with the knowledge and skills to comply with state, community, and establishment-level alcohol and tobacco policies, and to avoid the potential consequences of failing to comply with those policies,” said Hugh Gray, executive director of Westview Behavioral Health Service. “Also, with PREP training, an establishment may be eligible for lowered rates for alcohol liability insurance, and a recognized reason to ask for lower alcohol license administrative fines.”

The course will be taught by Westview Prevention Specialist Heather Williams with assistance from Newberry County’s Drug Free Communities Coalition coordinator Terecia Wilson.

“By the end of the training, participants will understand the ins and outs of their legal responsibility not to sell alcohol or tobacco products to underage youth, correct procedures for checking an ID, how to refuse service to underage youth and intoxicated customers, key state laws pertaining to the sale of alcohol and tobacco in South Carolina and much more,” Williams said.

By the end of the course, participants will learn they have a legal responsibility not to sell alcohol or tobacco products to underage youth, and that avoiding the sale of alcohol or tobacco to underage youth is more important than making a sale, Wilson said.

“The current fine for selling alcohol to an underage person is $677.50, and law enforcement officers in Newberry County are continuing to conduct compliance checks at area bars, restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores, and other outlets that sell alcohol and tobacco products to ensure that they are complying with state laws,” Wilson said. “Our Coalition is determined to use evidence-based approaches to prevent the harm that comes from underage drinking.”

Advantages of successfully completing PREP training include:

· The knowledge and skills needed to prevent a costly charge for an underage sale of alcohol or tobacco;

· The comfort of knowing how to do your job of selling tobacco and alcohol responsibly;

· A PREP certification card, good for two years;

· A PREP participant manual.

Merchants that have their entire sales and server staff trained, along with their managers, will receive a Certificate of Recognition to display in their business.

Michelle Long, co-chair of Newberry County DFC Coalition on Underage Drinking, said the goal is to help the community.

“Our ultimate goal is to prevent underage drinking in our community and provide a safe and healthy environment for our young people that will help them achieve their full potential. Your employees are on the ‘front lines’ of prevention efforts in Newberry County,” said Long, who is also executive director of the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce. “I strongly encourage the merchants in our community to take advantage of this free training opportunity and to join with us in our mission.”

Go to https://newberryprep.eventbrite.com to register or contact Heather Williams at hwilliams@westviewbehavioral.org or at 803-276-5690.

The registration deadline for the Aug. 1 course is July 25. The registration deadline for the Sept. 5 course is Aug. 28.

Staff Report