RUMFORD — The River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition is inviting Oxford County area businesses to attend a free retail beverage service training session Tuesday, April 9.

The Maine-approved program will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mexico Police Department at 3 Recreation Drive. The program will begin promptly at 8 a.m. Registration is required and lunch will be provided, according to a River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition news release late Wednesday afternoon.

The session is titled Seller Server Training for Off-premise Licensees and is designed to better equip management, store clerks and licensees on identifying and preventing violations of specific liquor laws with an emphasis on underage and high-risk drinkers, the release said.

Along with learning about these laws, training is provided on some ways to identify minors and visibly intoxicated persons and the importance of having good policy to refer to when dealing with them.

The training often leads to reduced insurance rates, the release said. More importantly however, it will help reduce the risk of making costly and/or tragic unlawful sales. The key points in the training include:

* Identifying minors and intoxicated patrons

* Intervention to prevent a patron from drinking and driving under the influence.

* How alcohol is ingested and metabolized by the body.

* What alcoholism is and how alcohol affects the body.

* False ID detection and carding policy.

* The importance of good written policies.

* The Liquor Liability Act.

Training program certificates good for five years will be provided to all who qualify.

For more information, contact Sandra Witas at River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition at 364.7408 or rvhccwitas@gwi.net.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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