Eight out of nine businesses in North Bend and Lakeside passed a check for alcohol sales to minors on Oct. 14. The compliance check was performed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and the North Bend Police Department under the Pire grant for the area of the North Bend School District.

Coos Head Food Store, 1960 Sherman, North Bend, was the only business that failed the compliance check.

The 89 percent passing rate is well above the 2007 state average of 78 percent.

“We’ve been working hard to educate North Bend licensees on how important it is to check I.D.,” said Katie Hilton, OLCC Medford regional manager. “As a result, our last two checks in North Bend have had really good outcomes.”

The commission performs the minor sales checks in an effort to reduce drinking by minors, which is a serious problem throughout the state. The OLCC tests about 1,300 licensed liquor businesses each year. Licensees or their employees can be held liable for alcohol-related damages and injuries if they serve or sell alcohol to a minor.

The following licensees were tested and passed the compliance check: Bar Wench, 635/645 Virginia, North Bend; Glasgow Grocery, 67538 E. Bay Rd., North Bend; Hauser Store, 68964 Wildwood Rd., North Bend; The Mill Casino, 3201 Tremont, North Bend; North Bend Lanes, 1225 Virginia, North Bend; Lakeside Liquor,  Eighth and Park, Lakeside; Osprey Point RV Resort, 1505 North Lake Rd, Lakeside and Village Chevron, 1300 Virginia, North Bend.

Servers, bartenders and licensees whose employees sell alcohol to the minor or do not verify the minor’s age, are subject to OLCC administrative penalties including fines or suspensions. Store clerks who sell can be cited with criminal charges and a minimum $350 fine.

Under Oregon law, businesses in cities with a population of 20,000 or more have an equal chance of being randomly selected for a minor decoy compliance check. A business can also be selected for a compliance check if there is a documented complaint of sales to minors. Businesses in cities with a population under 20,000 and unincorporated areas in counties are not subject to these selection requirements.

The OLCC offers a free training course on how to check IDs. Participants learn how to identify false identification and the laws regarding minors and alcohol. Additional training opportunities are available including classes for store clerks and service permit holders. Interested persons can call the local OLCC office to schedule a training session.

During the sales checks, a minor volunteer attempts to purchase alcohol from a licensed business to see if staff are checking ID’s correctly and refusing to sell alcohol to anyone under 21. Commission inspectors or other law enforcement officers supervise the minor volunteers. The volunteers carry their own legal ID and do not disguise their age or lie to encourage the sale of alcohol.