First Baptist will be hosting a prayer vigil tomorrow night @ 7pm in response to the tragic events in S.C. The selectman has been invited as well as other community leaders. All are welcome, according to Greenwich Police Chaplain, Thomas Nins, a minister at the First Baptist Church.
HOUSE PARTIES AND UNDERAGE DRINKING
GREENWICH CT: This time of year is busy for family with teens. This is the season for graduation parties. House parties are the primary source by which youth obtain alcohol. National surveys have found that the vast majority of high school teens report obtaining alcohol at their home with or without their parent’s permission.
The Greenwich Police Department is reminding anyone exercising dominion of any property that you have a legal responsibility to stop anyone under the age of 21 to possess alcohol on your property. You may also be criminally and civilly responsible for any crime or injury that happens once that alcohol was consumed by anyone under the age of 21. C.G.S. 30-89a(a)(1)(a) No person having possession of, or exercising DOMINION OR CONTROL over, any dwelling unit or private property shall (1) knowingly permit any minor to possess alcoholic liquor.
The following are some party guidelines which may help you to keep your teens safe and underage parties alcohol-free:
PARENTS
• Prepare your teenager for the possibility that uninvited guests may arrive when you are away. Your teen should know where to reach you, another responsible adult or the police.
• Call the parents who are hosting the party to ask them if they plan on making it an alcohol-free party. Ask the host when the party is going to end.
• Consider saying NO to any sleep over plan.
• Be awake when your child returns home and greet them. Look out for signs of alcohol and drug use.
• Make a plan with your child to call you if they discover alcohol at a party.
• Make sure your child calls you if they plan on leaving the party to go somewhere else.
HOSTS
• Plan the activity with your teen and discuss who is invited.
• Have a responsible adult at the door to enforce the guest list.
• Have sufficient responsible chaperones.
• Be visible and circulate through the party often.
• No one should leave the party and then return.
• Don’t allow water bottles and backpacks into the party.
• Call the parent if a teen brings alcohol.
• Establish areas of the house that are off-limits.
• Lock liquor and medicine cabinets.
TEENS
• Don’t get in a car with someone who has been drinking or doing drugs. Call your parents or Safe Rides at (203)869-8445.
• Don’t drink something if you unsure of it’s origin/contents. There are many drinks that can be spiked with drugs that can render you unconscious.
• Stay in groups; don’t let a friend walk off with someone if they have been drinking.
• If one of your friends makes a mistake, don’t make it worse by leaving someone alone who may pass out. Call a responsible adult and immediately call 911 if you suspect alcohol poisoning. You may be saving a life.
Sources: NIAAA, Connecticut Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking, and Parents Together.
Useful websites: http://www.preventionworksct.org/ and http://www.sadd.org/
On May 23, 2015 Master Patrol Officer JD Smith was dispatched on the report of a subject that had his arm trapped within the compactor of a garbage truck. Sergeant John Slusarz, who was off-duty at the time, heard the call and also responded. Upon arrival, they found that the victim had suffered a severe injury to his arm that was nearly severed just below the elbow. The officers took immediate action giving first aid, applied a tourniquet, and cared for the patient who was rapidly declining. The patient was transported to the hospital where the attending surgeon credited the rapid medical intervention in not only saving the patient’s life but with saving his limb.
The highest calling of a police officer is to preserve life, and the efforts of you and your fellow officers in this incident are a true testament to your dedication to this principle. On behalf of the patient, his family, and the Greenwich Community, thank you for a job well done
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