GARDINER — An underage drinking forum is planned for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20 at the Gardiner Area High School Little Theater.

The goals of forum is to educate the community about the dangers of alcohol, its prevalence in Gardiner and to encourage supports for making healthy choices about alcohol, according to Anthony Anderson, school health coordinator.

Sean McNally, Gardiner high school graduate, will be on the panel of speakers along with Gardiner Police Chief James Toman.

“Gardiner Police has a zero tolerance,” Toman said. “If we find you (underage) and you are drinking, your parents will be forced to pick you up and then you will go to court.”

Toman encourages people to contact police if they know of underage drinking.
Special guest speakers are Anne Jordan, Maine Commissioner of Public Safety, and Tony Viet, a social worker who works with homeless teens in Kennebec County.

Members of school’s drama club will be concluding the evening events with a small skit. According Anderson, 30 percent of Gardiner Area High School students used alcohol more than 10 times in 2006.

The high school forum is being held in partnership with the Maine Office of Substance Abuse and the Gardiner Police Department.