
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 25, 1994                   TAG: 9408250095
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ALCOHOL PERMIT DENIED

The state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department has denied a Virginia Tech fraternity a permit to sell beer at an open-air music festival, thus apparently ending plans for "Mountain Jam '94."

ABC Hearing Officer Thomas L. Baynham sided with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, which sent two officials to testify against the banquet permit application at an Aug. 12 hearing in Blacksburg. Their main objections involved a lack of sufficient deputies to police the event, and concern about underage drinking.

"The possibility of [ABC] violations occurring is quite strong, particularly in view of the past experiences at similar events," Baynham concluded.

Phi Kappa Psi President Matt Hederstrom said Wednesday he had to talk it over with other fraternity members before deciding whether to appeal. The group has 10 days to appeal to the state ABC Board, which hears such matters weekly in Richmond. On Monday, Hederstrom said the festival would be canceled if the ABC Department denied the permit.

The fraternity had planned to sell 1,500 tickets to Tech students only for the six-band concert from noon to 8 p.m. Sept. 17 at its house just south of Blacksburg. It expected to donate $500 to $1,000 to the Easter Seals Foundation from the $7,500 in expected ticket sales.

But the Sheriff's Office objected to the beer permit because it believes the crowd would be too large for its deputies to monitor effectively, and because it lacks the money to pay the deputies overtime.

Also, the event could tempt students to walk down narrow Ellett and Sweeny roads, which would create a traffic hazard, the Sheriff's Office officials said. And they said the beer sales, which the fraternity intended to control with differently colored wrist bands for students age 21 and above, could result in underage drinking.

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors approved its first-ever music festival permit on Monday, but on the condition that the fraternity obtain approval from the ABC for beer sales. A Blacksburg restaurant was to have run a beer truck at the festival.

by CNB