...to fight OWI
Bartender training may have best possibility of becoming law

By Joe Gerrety
Journal and Courier - 10/10/99

Two Lafayette legislators said they are receptive to a list of legal reforms proposed by the parents of Sarah Towery, who was killed along with her boyfriend in an automobile crash caused by a drunken driver.

In fact, state Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, and state Sen. Ronnie J. Alting, R-Lafayette, said there's a good chance at least one of the 11 proposals - mandated training for bartenders - will get a serious look during the short legislative session that convenes in January.

During the past seven months, Sarah's parents, Dan and Margie Towery of Lafayette, have been sharing with police, government officials and anyone else who will listen, a list of proposed policy and law changes they think would prevent tragedies such as the one that took the life of their 24-year-old daughter March 21 on County Road 350 South.

Sally McIntire, chairwoman of the Coalition for a Drug-Free Tippecanoe County, said the Towerys' list of proposals will be considered when that group meets later this fall to decide which legislative initiatives to support for the coming session.

Alting said last week he had the Legislative Services Agency begin work on the bartender training bill, plus two others - one that would require revocation of the license of a bartender convicted of serving an intoxicated customer, and another that would make a habitual substance offender ineligible to receive a bartender's license.

"Talk about putting a fox in a chicken coop - they're absolutely right. It doesn't make sense," Alting said of the latter proposal from Dan and Margie Towery.

James W. Irwin, 54, the bartender accused of serving Jeff Trout 10 drinks the day he caused a crash that killed himself, Sarah Towery and Chip Smith, was designated a habitual substance offender in 1995 but was allowed to obtain a bartender's license, nonetheless.

Alting also agrees with the Towerys that anyone found guilty of serving alcohol to an intoxicated person should lose their bartender's or server's license permanently. Currently, such an offense can lead to a fine, suspension or revocation, depending on the discretion of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Unanswered questions

Bartender training already has been discussed by legislators and organizations concerned with fighting substance abuse and underage drinking, Klinker said.

"That certainly would have worked that day," Klinker said of Jeff Trout's crash.

Details of the proposed bartender and waiter/waitress training bill still need to be worked out, Alting said. Many questions have yet to be answered. Among them: Who will pay for the training? What agency will provide the training? How will employers in the high-turnover entertainment and hospitality industry be assured of having a trained pool of workers?

Success of such a law would require cooperation from police agencies, who need to be willing to respond quickly to calls for help from bartenders in a pinch, Klinker said.

"I will also run this by some of my buddies on the police force," she said. "There are a lot of ramifications of this."

Klinker said members of the Indiana House may sponsor only five bills apiece during the coming short legislative session. And most of her five slots are spoken for. If she's unable to sponsor legislation herself, though, she'll ask other members of the House to sponsor anti-drunken driving proposals.

"We work for bills in many, many different ways," she said.

Increasing enforcement

Another proposal Alting said he'll be pushing hard for during the upcoming session and the 2001 budget session is beefing up manpower in the Indiana State Excise Police. That police force, which constitutes the enforcement arm of the Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission, has only 55 officers statewide, down from a high of 77 officers about 25 years ago.

District 3, which consists of Tippecanoe and 21 other counties, is assigned seven officers, which means only two to four officers are in the field on any given night, Capt. Robin Poindexter of the excise police said.

That's not nearly enough, Alting said.

"How can we monitor package liquor stores, groceries, restaurants, bars, six universities and colleges with two to three people in the field in 22 counties?" he said. "I think that we have some pretty good laws in place, but if we're ever going to get a firm grip ... we've got to beef up the staff that is responsible for this.

"That's one that I'm going to really be fighting for."