Politics & Government

Sales to Minors Prompt Canton to Evaluate Alcohol Ordinance

"Now what we're wanting to do is hold these managers that are on the scene responsible," police chief says.

Last year, the conducted a sting of 32 retail stores and 40 restaurants that sold alcohol.

When Chief Jeff Lance stood before the Canton City Council in May 2010 to announce the findings of the undercover operation, the mayor responded with disbelief.

"Holy cow," the Cherokee Tribune quoted Mayor Gene Hobgood as saying at the time. "That is some percentage."

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Police found that more than one-third of the stores and two-thirds of the restaurants sold alcohol to minors.

"We need to concentrate on getting that number down," he said.

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Monday, city leaders pored over the latest draft of a document that they hope will help them do just that.

During a nearly three-hour work session at , officials discussed proposed amendments to the city's alcohol ordinance.

Among the changes:

  • Permitted managers – essentially shift supervisors – would have to be onsite at all times and would be held accountable for "anything that happens," city attorney Robert Dyer said. (Permits will not be issued to applicants who have a felony violation or have violated any federal, state or local law relating to the use or sale of drugs or alcohol within two years of the application file date.)
  • Training would be mandated for servers and managers at establishments that offer alcohol. Lance would conduct the training. It would include a minimum of 1 hour of instruction on alcohol service laws and ordinances.
  • Punishments would include a fine for a first violation, a fine and a 10-day alcohol license suspension for a second violation, a fine and a 30-day suspension for a third violation and mandatory termination of the license for four or more violations.

The ordinance is not ready for a council vote just yet. Hobgood asked Dyer to incorporate the council's comments into the document and to bring it back to the group for further discussion.

More on this story

  • Watch talk about the proposed amendments.
  • A PDF of the proposed ordinance is available on this page.


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