Dear Amy: If adults have knowledge of other idiot adults serving alcohol to minors in their home, what should the responsible adults do? We are in a real dilemma, because a mutual friend has direct knowledge of such events, and her minor son has attended several of these underage drunkfests.
Her son has already gotten drunk and wrecked the car while leaving one of these parties. He has been caught drinking on other occasions.
Some of us believe that it is the duty of the mother whose son is invited to these parties to bring it to the attention of the police.
She does not believe she should do that because she is afraid they would find out who reported them, and she doesn’t want her son to be ostracized from his friends.
Our position is that we are all at risk on our neighborhood streets because of this boy’s parents, who have not only purchased kegs and hard liquor for their minor son and his friends, but at their after-prom party this past Friday, vacated their home so the teenagers, none older than 18, could party unsupervised! We believe this is unconscionably irresponsible. We already know it is illegal in Virginia, where we live.
– Appalled in Virginia
Dear Appalled: If you know about illegal activity in your community, then what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for these criminally negligent parents to turn themselves in? Are you waiting for other irresponsible parents to turn them in? Don’t hold your breath. Make the call yourself.
I shared your letter with Lt. James Bartlett of the Alexandria (Va.) Police Department. He says that this call needs to be made while the party is going on (not before), and can be made anonymously.
Bartlett says, “We do get calls like that, and we do take legal action involving the kids and their negligent parents. The parents will be charged with a crime, and they could expect to face up to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.”
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Dear Amy: I have to take issue with your answer to the letter-writer who complained about her neighbors mowing their lawn at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. I mow our lawn weekly, but as dual-working parents with three teenage kids, time is precious.
Summer days get hot in the afternoon, and in between grocery shopping, housework and running kids to various events, sometimes an early weekend morning is the optimal time to do the lawn. We don’t make a practice of an 8 a.m. mow, but it happens.
– Not Enough Hours in Atlanta
Dear Atlanta: I guarantee that if your teenage kids were taking care of the lawn, it wouldn’t get mowed at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. Just a suggestion.
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