Keg proposal raises eyebrows

At least one local politician wants state legislators to give consideration to an idea he says will help combat underage drinking.

Chapel Hill Town Council member Jim Ward wants legislation requiring merchants to record information about people who buy beer kegs added to the council’s legislative requests to the N.C. General Assembly.

The proposal would require vendors to tag kegs with the buyer’s name, address and driver’s license number, in hopes of making it harder for underage drinkers to gain access to alcohol.

Dale Pratt-Wilson, a local parent who has led a charge to reduce teen drinking, said kegs are a popular source of alcohol for local teens.

“Because it’s a low-price, high-volume product, (kegs) are popular with young people,” she said.

But others disagree.

“It’s my understanding that’s not how teenagers get their beer,” said council member Mark Kleinschmidt. “It’s usually … getting a six-pack at a time or who can steal a bottle of liquor out of their parents’ liquor cabinet.”

Michael Finegan, student body vice president at East Chapel Hill High School, echoed Kleinschmidt's opinion.

“They are not very prevalent at all,” he said of kegs. “About a tenth of the alcohol consumed in high school is from kegs.”

Council member Dorothy Verkerk added that she thinks keg registration is an invasion of privacy.

“If you start registering kegs, you start tracking people’s personal choices,” she said.

Both Verkerk and Kleinschmidt said that in order to support the registration proposal, they need to see evidence proving that such invasion of privacy is warranted.

But Ward said the benefits outweigh the costs.

“It’s a very important piece of legislation,” he said, citing 23 states and the District of Columbia that have similar laws.

Chapel Hill police Chief Gregg Jarvies said the benefits of keg registration would do more than just curb underage drinking.

“I think it relieves the concerns of the merchants who sell or lease kegs,” he said.

Larry Trollinger, owner of Ken’s Quickee Mart, at 133 W. Franklin St., said he thinks the proposal would make people think twice before buying a keg for minors.

While Trollinger declined to comment on his average weekend keg sales, Saleem Saleh, a supervisor at Key Food Mart, at 325 W. Rosemary St., said his store sells about 10 kegs on a typical weekend.

Saleh said he records customers’ names, along with their driver’s license and telephone numbers, when they purchase kegs.

University seniors Jeff Eisenberg and Matt Gers said that in other states, kegs are tagged with a label that can be easily removed.

“The idea is good, but the actual way of going about it isn’t,” Eisenberg said.

At their Feb. 28 meeting, council members will discuss which legislative proposals — including Ward’s keg registration idea — will be forwarded to state legislators at their legislative breakfast March 4.

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, said she thinks Ward’s proposal would be well-received in the legislature.

“There are people out there who are very concerned about the tragedies resulting from the misuse of alcoholic beverages,” she said.

Kinnaird said parents and community leaders most likely would catch the ears of legislators.

“When you have two groups coming together, (the legislation) might get a good shot.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.