Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 3, 1994 TAG: 9409060019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Phi Kappa Psi President Matt Hederstrom said Thursday the fraternity will instead do more planning this winter and try again for the necessary permits in the spring.
An Alcoholic Beverage Control Department hearing officer vetoed the fraternity's banquet permit request on Aug. 22, citing testimony by members of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. Phi Psi had until Thursday to file an appeal.
The Sheriff's Office contended it had concerns about underage drinking and it lacked enough deputies to police such an event - expected to draw 1,500 Tech students to the isolated fraternity off Ellett Road just south of Blacksburg.
"We'll have to work with them and try to get them to help us," Hederstrom said. "We'll try to work with them instead of against them."
The fraternity didn't lose any money by canceling "Mountain Jam '94," which it had scheduled for Sept. 17. That's because unlike last spring, when it first canceled the event because of insufficient planning, Hederstrom refused to sign any contracts for printing tickets or other logistics until he had the permits in hand. Last spring, the organization lost between $300 and $400 by taking such steps too early.
Phi Psi had planned to donate whatever profit it made from the admission fee to the Easter Seals Foundation, an amount it expected to total $500 to $1,000.
Though it failed to obtain the ABC permit, on Aug. 22 the fraternity did win preliminary approval from the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors for a first-of-its-kind music-festival permit. That approval was contingent on Phi Psi obtaining the ABC permit, however.
by CNB