LEWISTON – Healthy Androscoggin partnered with the Auburn, Lewiston and Lisbon police departments, as well as the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, to offer local businesses alcohol server/seller training.

This training helps reduce sales to underage youth and intoxicated adults by promoting responsible and legal server practices through teaching state laws relating to the sale and distribution of alcohol, the legal responsibilities of sellers and servers, the effects of alcohol on the brain and body and the responsible sale of tobacco products.

The following businesses participated: 7-Eleven of Lewiston, Florian’s Market of Auburn, Food City of Turner, Gendron’s U-Save of Lewiston, J&S Oil, Nino Petro Mobil on the Way and Mobil on the Run.

Free alcohol server trainings will take place on Tuesdays, Dec. 4 and 11. Healthy Androscoggin will offer the training to all servers. The training will cover identification of minors, interventions to prevent a visibly intoxicated patron from driving, detection of false IDs and the importance of good written policies.

Those who successfully complete the program will be certified by the Maine Department of Public Safety, Liquor Licensing for three years.

The training will take place from 4 to 8:30 p.m. at Central Maine Medical Center, 12 High St., Conference Room A&B on the lower level. A driver’s license or picture ID must be shown at the time of registration. The program is free but preregistration is required.

The instructor, Frank Lyons, a 29-year law enforcement veteran, spent the majority of his career serving as a liquor enforcement officer and trainer for the Department of Public Safety.

To register, contact Christine Letcher at 795-5990 or e-mail [email protected]. For more information about Healthy Androscoggin projects, visit www.healthyandroscoggin.org.

The trainings are offered as part of the responsible retailing program spearheaded by Healthy Androscoggin in collaboration with the Lewiston, Auburn and Lisbon police departments and the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office. Responsible retailing is an effort to prevent harmful sales to underage and high risk drinkers, as well as to promote a healthier and safer community and business environment.