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News Release

July 6, 2006
News Release Contact:
Becky Gettings - (804) 213-4419
E-mail: pubrel@abc.virginia.gov

ABC Awards Grant for First Time to Rural Law Enforcement Communities

Committed to providing underage drinking prevention messages and initiatives to all communities, The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is proud to announce the grant award recipients for the 2006 - 2007 Rural Law Enforcement Communities Grant award in the amount of $5,000. This is the first year that ABC has been able to offer this grant to the Rural Law Enforcement community to address the issues associated with underage drinking.

The award recipients are the Accomack County Sheriff's Office, Henry County Sheriff's Office, Northampton County Sheriff's Office, Wise County Sheriff's Office and the Wythe County Sheriff's Office. The agencies have each decided to use their awards in a number of ways that will better their communities, such as retail compliance checks, focused enforcement initiatives targeting underage drinking events, purchasing education materials for middle and high school students and overtime for their deputies to work special assignments.

"I am excited that we are able to provide these communities with funding opportunities that will help them address the issues associated with underage drinking", said the Director of the ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement Francis J. Monahan.

Special agent in charge of Compliance, Education and Training, Joseph L. Cannon, continued by saying, "This is the first year that we have been able to offer this type of grant in rural communities, and we are looking forward to the new partnerships."

The Northampton County Sheriff's Office will be using the money for the following:

  • Retail compliance checks at convenience and grocery stores
  • Provide overtime for deputy sheriff's to patrol designated areas where underage drinking is taking place
  • Reinforce existing programs in the schools focusing on underage drinking issues
  • Purchase fatal vision goggles, to demonstrate impairment at various stages of BAC
  • Have a speaker to come into the schools to talk about underage drinking
  • Purchase educational materials that will address underage drinking and at risk behaviors

These grants awards are funded through the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention, Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws grant program.

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