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MARATHON COUNTY

Wausau

Event Highlights:

The Wausau and D.C. Everest School Districts joined forces to hold a Town Hall Meeting on underage drinking, drawing nearly 100 local residents.  Following a light meal, the group watched a 10-minute locally prepared video on the impact of underage drinking in Marathon County. 

The Mayor made brief introductory comments, followed by the Chief of Police, Judge Greg Grau, a hospital representative speaking on alcohol related injuries, and a school district representative outlining the results of local youth surveys on alcohol and drug use.  Presentations were very brief to allow the focus of the meeting to be on audience questions and comments.

The questions and comments exposed the wide range of community thinking.  Parents expressed concern about “key parties,” gatherings in private homes where parents allow underage drinking after securing the car keys from all attendees. Attendees were angry and unaware of possible sanctions against adult hosts.

General inquiries about the health effects of underage drinking prompted health care professionals in the audience to discuss the impact of alcohol on the developing brain and the heightened risk of addiction facing younger drinkers. Some attendees raised general questions about the efficacy of keg registration and the impact of Wausau’s numerous alcohol retail outlets on youth.

The attendance was the result of a solid outreach plan which included:

• Promotional meeting information sent home with students in both the Wausau and D.C. Everest School Districts
• Outreach and cooperation from the Wausau Herald, including a three-story run-up to the Town Hall Meeting
• Mailing to local churches, with information for Sunday bulletins and newsletters
• A 30-minute interview on the local talk radio station
• United Way mailing a meeting announcement to their mailing list
• Promotional information sent to local mental health and addiction treatment providers

Two Wausau area groups, Building Responsible Alcohol Values Options (BRAVO) and the Marathon County Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Partnership, have been active for a number of years.  The Partnership is a 501c (3) group, while BRAVO is an unincorporated project free to support public policy initiatives and environmental changes.  The two groups have different memberships and work together on mutual goals.  Meeting organizers were delighted to see new faces, unaffiliated with either group, at the meeting.

Organizers were encouraged by both the number of people attending and the appearance of new individuals, indicating concern by a broader audience.  Parents expressed a wide range of opinion, concern about both state and local alcohol policies, as well as the community implementation of those policies.  Organizers anticipate a second meeting to probe these issues, and the potential for social norms efforts on underage drinking.

 

 

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CRAWFORD COUNTY

Prairie du Chien

Event Highlights:

On March 28, 2006, 70 residents of Prairie du Chien gathered for a spaghetti dinner followed by a Town Hall Meeting on underage drinking.  The faith community is fully engaged in the issue. The Lutheran, Methodist, and Four Square Gospel churches all had representatives at the event. The local SAB Miller Distributor also attended. Organizers were pleased to see a cross section of the community participate in the discussion.

After dinner, Mayor Cheryl Mader began the discussion by pointing out the important role of families in reducing underage drinking.  Also included was a presentation on brain development by the University of Wisconsin Extension Family Living Specialist Jane Shaef.  Information on the effect of alcohol on adolescent brain development was new information to meeting attendees and parents were clearly effected by what they heard.

The District Attorney discussed the legal consequences of underage drinking, and a school prevention specialist reviewed statistical information on youth alcohol use.  A State Farm Insurance representative explained the financial impact of alcohol related youth accidents on everyone’s insurance rates – a new perspective for most attendees.

Following the panel, group discussion centered on the need for the changes in community attitudes and beliefs that would support changes in youth behavior.  Looking to the future, the attendees were able to avoid blaming or shaming any group or individual for past problems and instead consider what future action might be most effective.

 

 

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SHEBOYGAN COUNTY

Plymouth

Event Highlights:

Plymouth, hoping to build on state and national momentum, scheduled its Town Hall Meeting for March 28, 2006, on the University of Wisconsin Sheboygan campus, while local K-12 schools were on spring break.  In retrospect, organizers believe the awkward national scheduling probably suppressed public attendance in their area.

While it was a small group attending, organizers were delighted to see new faces and families interested in learning how to reduce underage alcohol use. Following the panel presentation, both parents and youth spoke about the pressure on young people to consume alcohol, as well as the pressure parents feel during adolescence. Parents agreed they needed supportive informal community networks to provide the safety valve and support they need as parents of adolescents.  Some expressed the hope that this meeting was the first step in creating that supportive network parents could rely on in the future. 

Although the group was small, the people who attended were truly concerned about the problems of underage drinking and willing to work with each other to reverse unsettling tends.

 

 

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MARQUETTE COUNTY

Montello

Event Highlights:

When Montello held its Town Hall Meeting in May 2006, the benefits of extra planning time were clear. Event organizers realized the small staff couldn’t drop everything else to meet the Federal time line. So the meeting was scheduled for May to allow the new drug free community coordinator to become oriented, avoid a conflict with spring break, and allow for community-based planning.

When the meeting was held the first week in May, about 35 local residents attended. The local parent coalition provided the food, so the funds that would have been used for food instead purchased an iPod to create an enticing door prize. One ticket for the drawing was given to each person in attendance– encouraging students to bring both parents to the event to increase chances of winning.

Organizers created a program of important and intriguing information people would want to share with their friends and family. The Deputy Sheriff and District Attorney focused on two local enforcement actions and the penalties for adults who provide alcohol to youth. Montello has alcohol age compliance checks at licensed establishments.

Recently Marquette County received funding from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to fund a “party patrol.” Party patrol funding provides officer overtime dedicated to following up on tips or looking for keg parties in fields and remote out-buildings during the summer months. Montello is using their existing Crime Stoppers tip line to gather information about underage keg parties anonymously. The party patrol will roll out for the first time over graduation weekend. This meeting was a timely opportunity to alert parents to the options for reporting keg parties and their legal exposure if they allowed such activity on their property.

The second half of the program was a presentation on brain development by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. The presentation captured the imagination of everyone who saw it.  A brief question and answer period turned into a 40-minute marathon and left the audience ready to share this new information with friends and colleagues.

The outcome of the new party patrol, local compliance checks, and efforts to involve more parents will determine the coalition’s next step, but another meeting is planned in the fall.

 

 

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MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Milwaukee

Event Highlights:

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Milwaukee hosted Milwaukee’s Town Hall Meeting. Reflecting their focus on Milwaukee’s youth, the day-long event was open to parents but created for youth. On March 24, 2006, a teacher planning day when schools were out of session, the Daniels-Mardak branch of the Boys and Girls Club hosted youth, ages 12-18, from all six Milwaukee Boys and Girls Club for a day fun and alcohol-related messages.

In the morning, randomly assigned groups of youth discussed whether youth alcohol use was a problem in their community. Not all youth believed underage drinking was a problem.  Event organizer Jamar Willis believes a combination of community acculturation to underage drinking and the natural hesitancy of youth to discuss problems in an unfamiliar environment contributed to that sentiment, since youth easily acknowledged the problem when speaking to each other during lunch.

After lunch, youth shared their questions and concerns with a panel of Milwaukee Common Council members, State Legislators, and community leaders. Many of the questions focused on gun violence and its relationship to alcohol. Some youth raised the issue of other illegal drug use in combination with or instead of alcohol use. 

 

 

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LA CROSSE COUNTY

La Crosse

Event Highlights:

La Crosse has implemented an ambitious long term plan to change its alcohol environment, making La Crosse’s Town Hall Meeting part of a process that began two years ago. 

In 2004, then Mayor John Medinger convened a community task force on alcohol use after the seventh alcohol-related drowning in La Crosse in seven years.  The Alcohol Oversight Committee, successor to the Task Force, continues to make recommendations to the City Council.  Task Force Co-Chair, Rose Mary Boesen helped plan the Town Hall Meeting and also served on the Task Force, emphasizing the continuity.

When the meeting was called to order at the Southside Community Center on March 30, 2006, 65 people heard presentations from Mayor Mark Johnsrud, Circuit Court Judge Roger Le Grand, as well as representatives of the faith community, all of whom agree that La Crosse still had a serious underage drinking problem. The value of a community-wide commitment to reducing underage drinking became clear when two sophomores from West Salem High asked the community to help them stop their friends from underage drinking. 

“The pressure grows each year,” said one of the students according to the LaCrosse Tribune. “It affects every grade and clique.  It seems no matter who you are, you’ve got accessibility to alcohol.”  At the meeting, they spoke candidly about parents hosting underage drinking, peer pressure, and the overwhelming denial that keeps parents from talking directly to their children about alcohol.

According to panelist Mark Taylor, a therapist at Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center, the West Salem students reflected the needs and hopes of many young people.  Like others, Taylor believes even more emphasis should be placed on preventing underage drinking in La Crosse.  Another Task Force member, Bud Miyamoto described the meeting as a beginning and suggested the creation of another Task Force to focus on prevention concerns.

The meeting attracted a number of community leaders and participants from the Alcohol Oversight Committee, but few new faces.  One attendee described the current situation this way, “Pockets of people are doing good things, but unconnected to each other.” The challenge LaCrosse faces is involving individuals and groups beyond the original core group as it addresses alcohol issues throughout the community.

 

 

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ROCK COUNTY

Janesville

Event Highlights:

Janesville’s Town Hall Meeting drew over 40 residents, including some new faces from surrounding communities. Rock County’s Partners in Prevention Program organized the event, which began with a video, followed by a panel of youth and adult speakers. Moderator Steve Fernan’s belief that underage drinking is the result of a variety of factors, including loose alcohol ordinances, low beer taxes, and parental acceptance, was supported by the panelists. 

Student speakers left no doubt that alcohol is used by area middle and high school students. Peer pressure and the search for acceptance leave youth feeling pressured to drink. Other panelists offered statistical information on underage alcohol use and the effect of alcohol on adolescent brain development.

Janesville’s Police Chief stressed that alcohol abuse is common among those arrested for serious crime.  Rock County District Attorney David O’Leary noted the difficulty of documenting success in preventing underage alcohol use, emphasizing the need for prevention efforts and alternatives to jail for some alcohol offenses. The panel presentation and comments that followed created a portfolio of ideas for Partners in Prevention to review and consider how to implement in Rock County.

 

 

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LANGLADE COUNTY

Elcho

Event Highlights:

Leadership changes in the Elcho school system (a single-school K-12 system) led county organizers to hold the Langlade County Town Hall Meeting was at the Elcho Town Hall on March 28, 2006.

Nearly 50 people, mostly adults including local elected officials, gathered for a light meal and structured discussion. Three brief presentations reviewed the national information on underage drinking, the results of the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and local concerns. 

Table discussion addressed two questions.  

• How is alcohol a problem for area youth?
• How can the community encourage youth to make better decisions about alcohol use?

The first question “How is alcohol using a problem for area youth?” was deliberately left very open-ended. Surprisingly, few parents were concerned about the effects of alcohol on developing bodies. Parental fears focused on injury or death as a result of accidents, most frequently drunk driving, boating, and snowmobiling. 

People expressed the belief that parents should have the right to provide alcohol to their own children at home. There was also a general expectation that youth 18 -21years old would drink alcohol, but genuine shock that children as young as 8 were experimenting with alcohol. The group immediately identified noncommercial sources such as siblings or the family refrigerator as the source for most of the alcohol consumed by youth.

The second question, “How can the community encourage youth to make better decisions about alcohol use?” was more difficult.  Information on the dropping age of alcohol initiation and the amount of binge drinking among youth left area residents in shock. Residents were defensive on first hearing this information, and it became clear the community needed more time to discuss the new information before taking definitive action. Organizers are planning to focus on local approaches to reduce underage drinking at the next meeting.

 

 

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EAU CLAIRE COUNTY

Eau Claire

Event Highlights:

Eau Claire Town Hall Meeting organizers wanted the widest possible public exposure to attract participants and assure media coverage of the event.  Popular TV 13 (WEAU) reporter Sarah Stokes moderated the panel and promoted the event on her broadcast.  Display ads were purchased in the Eau Claire Leader Telegram and panelists were booked for interviews on local talk radio to promote the event. The discussion was titled “Fake IDs: How Real Are We? ” and promoted as the first in a series of community discussions on underage drinking. 

Their efforts were rewarded when over 80 people pre-registered for the meeting. Organizers were committed to a meeting on the designated national date which conflicted with both the city council and county board.  As a result, local elected officials were unable to attend. Participants enjoyed a light supper at Eau Claire’s Plaza Hotel, viewed exhibits on substance abuse and then participated in community discussion about underage drinking. Organizers structured the discussion to provide information and stimulate community thinking.

The program started with a series of presentations:

• UW- Eau Claire students discussed how easy it was to obtain a fake ID.          
• The Police Department reviewed arrest/incident data on underage drinking.
• A local physician spoke about the effect of underage drinking on the community.
• A coalition member reviewed locally collected data on underage drinking.
• A tavern owner talked about youth attempting to use fake identification to purchase alcohol.

Following the presentations panelists and attendees were asked three questions that were shared with the panel in advance:

• How do you think underage youth in Eau Claire access alcohol?
• Has underage drinking become more widespread over the past five years?
• What should be the community response to underage drinking?

Predictably, a significant portion of the group placed full responsibility for underage drinking on parents.  One treatment provider expressed hope that community members would support families with children in treatment for alcohol dependence.   Other individuals expressed the belief that local government had a role in solving the problem. 

Attendees were asked to suggest topics for future sessions.  The four most popular suggestions were:

1. Bringing parents into the discussion
2. Youth access to alcohol
3. Alcohol related traffic accidents
4. Alcohol advertising and promotion

The discussion shows that Eau Claire is ready to move past blaming just poor parenting skills for underage drinking and to begin examining community responses to a community problem.

 

 

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CHIPPEWA COUNTY

Chippewa Falls

Event Highlights:

The Chippewa County Partnership for Healthy Choices (the Partnership) held their Town Hall Meeting at the Chippewa Middle School.  About 30 people including several teens enjoyed a community meal followed by presentations from local leaders including; the Chippewa Falls Police, school alcohol and drug abuse prevention staff and family communications experts.  Information on adolescent brain development presented by the University of Wisconsin- Extension left audience members shocked and concerned.

Throughout the discussion panelists interacted with the audience.  Some parents requested follow up sessions limited to brain development while other parents wanted to high school sports’ coaches to attend future sessions.  The Chippewa County Partnership for Healthy Choices provides information on underage alcohol use to parents and students at “Code of Conduct” parent/student athlete meetings each semester but doesn’t provide training or information directly to the athletic staff. 

Participants questioned community attitudes towards underage drinking, concluding that community expectations and attitudes are the important factors in underage alcohol use. Parents discussed the changes they believe could change community attitudes about underage drinking, including restrictions on alcohol advertising and cracking down on youth access to alcohol.

 

 

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GRANT COUNTY

Cassville

Event Highlights:

Cassville’s Town Hall Meeting on underage drinking was held on Sunday March 26 in the Sand Bar Lounge and Bowling Alley. [The Sand Bar was smoke free for the evening.]  The Sand Bar is a well known local business which hosts community groups and events as well as individual patrons.  Following a spaghetti dinner, children enjoyed bowling while parents participated in the Town Hall Meeting. 

After watching a video created by the federal government for these meetings, a school counselor presented the 2005 Southwest Wisconsin Youth Survey results to the group. The face of underage drinking has changed substantially since most parents were youth. Parents also heard about alcohol’s impact on adolescent brain development and the legal consequences of underage drinking.

Organizers believe Cassville’s Town Hall Meetings helped reframe the issue for a core group of parents who recognized the problem and are willing to be catalysts for change in Cassville. 

 

 

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WASHBURN COUNTY

Birchwood

Event Highlights:

When Birchwood held its Town Hall Meeting, the town showed up! Birchwood, population 300, hosted a chili supper for school district residents before sitting down to talk about underage drinking. When 125 adults and teens showed up, organizers knew they had hit a nerve. Sherry Timmermann-Goodpaster called it a “powerful evening” that left area residents somber but not discouraged.

Birchwood created its own agenda inviting panelists from local law enforcement and public health agencies to talk about underage drinking in their community. Recent community attention has focused on methamphetamine production and use although underage drinkers have always exceeded the number of people using or producing methamphetamine in the area. As the discussion moved between the two substance abuse issues, alcohol and methamphetamines, it became clear the community is ready to learn more about its underage drinking problem.

Presentations were kept brief to allow time for discussion at each table. Local organizers believe changing passive parental acceptance of teenage drinking is the first step to solving the underage drinking problem. Parental silence on underage drinking and its dangers is perceived as acceptance by both young people and other community residents. Organizers are already planning another town hall meeting on underage drinking for this fall.

 

 

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DODGE COUNTY

Beaver Dam

Event Highlights:

In Dodge County, Higher Expectations, a nonprofit group, coordinates youth substance use prevention efforts.   Using federal grants including Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities, Beaver Dam has developed an impressive amount of information on scope and depth of underage drinking in the area.  Organizers know that breaking through the wall of community apathy is the next challenge.

Beaver Dam’s Town Hall Meeting drew a very small group of citizens working separately to reduce underage alcohol use.  Local organizer Ruth Lindergarde was disappointed by the size of the group but pleased the discussion resulted in a new collaboration between Higher Expectations and the school district, plus a stronger relationship with Mayor Jack Hankes. In the past, High Expectations has focused on local awareness activities coordinated with activity at the Fairgrounds racetrack.  Making the transition from awareness to community action is a difficult challenge they plan to approach over time.

 

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OUTAGAMIE COUNTY

Appleton

Event Highlights:

Town Hall Meeting planners suspected Appleton’s April 4th work place smoking referendum would complicate their efforts to highlight underage drinking, another health related issue. Their tenacity paid off when 25 people attended a meeting held at the Paper Valley Hotel in late March. Concerned citizens, local law enforcement, health care providers and the local Anheuser Busch distributor had a candid and productive discussion on local efforts to curb underage alcohol use.

The meeting received local newspaper and television coverage which stressed the severity of Wisconsin’s underage and binge drinking problem.