Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504240040
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
A state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department hearing officer refused to issue a permit Friday to Beta Theta Pi to allow public drinking at the festival that begins at noon and ends at 6 p.m. near Prices Fork.
Citing the state's current emphasis on enforcing the underage drinking law, the officer agreed with ABC Special Agent J.C. Swope that alcohol violations would be likely to occur.
"I'm not at all sure that this particular kind of event can move forward in a manner that I would consider safe," said Thomas L. Baynham, the hearing officer.
Montgomery County Sheriff's Lt. J.T. Whitt testified that the three day-shift deputies on duty would be hard pressed to provide enforcement for the event if necessary, given that one will be directing traffic at Coal Miner's Day in Longshop-McCoy.
Fraternity officers said they would change the five-band concert from a public event to a private party restricted to invited Tech fraternity members only.
Because the now-closed party will take place on private land, apparently alcohol can be consumed by fraternity members who are 21 or older even without the permit. But the fraternity expects ABC agents to be watching closely today, and as previously planned, it intends to keep hired security guards on hand to check students' IDs and give them wristbands to show if they're of age or not.
The fraternity had sought the ABC permit because it planned to open the concert - designed to raise funds for a charity - to all Tech students and the public in hopes of attracting as many as 1,000 people at $5 each. The fraternity had no plans to sell beer; it only wanted to allow people to bring and drink their own beer to James Hoge's farm at 3587 Glade Road.
Baynham's ruling - after nearly three hours of testimony Friday - left Aaron Kilinski, the fraternity president, and Russell Phillips, the philanthropy chairman, frustrated.
"We're making all this effort to try to do things the right way," Phillips said. The ruling "seems it's just encouraging other people to go behind the scenes" and attempt to evade the law.
Kilinski said the fraternity held a concert last year in Blacksburg and experienced few problems. "The whole idea of the event is we are trying to change the concepts and ideas people have about greek organizations," he said. "There's a lot of negative examples out there. We're trying to provide a positive example for the people out there."
by CNB