Fifteen local businesses were in compliance with the law by refusing to sell alcohol to minors during a recent compliance check.

According to the Champaign County Drug Free Youth Coalition, the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office detective division conducted two rounds of alcohol compliance checks last month at 19 businesses where alcohol is sold. The sheriff’s office found that 15 of the 19 businesses checked were in compliance with the law regarding the sale of alcohol.

Coalition director Stacey Logwood stated the coalition appreciates the businesses and employees of businesses in Champaign County who followed alcohol sales protocol, checked for identification, then refused to sell alcohol to the underage, undercover agent.

These businesses include:

•Todd’s Sports Shop, North state Route 235, Conover

•Marathon Gas Station, 222 S. Main St., Urbana

•Steve’s Market and Deli, 324 N. Main St., Urbana

•Speedway, 725 N. Main St., Urbana

•Certified Gas and Oil, 283 W. Main St., Mechanicsburg

•Valero Gas Station, 102 E. Main St., St. Paris

•United Dairy Farmers, 210 Miami St., Urbana

•Zoom Zoom Drive Thru, 168 W. Sandusky St., Urbana

•Sycamore Market, 50 N. Sycamore St., North Lewisburg

•Steve’s Market and Deli, 184 E. Maple St., North Lewisburg

•Speedway (East), 976 Scioto St., Urbana

•Home Town Pizza, 5745 Cable Road, Cable

•J’s Carry Out, 6148 Spain St., Mingo

•Howard’s IGA, 311 W. Main St., St. Paris

•Geena’s Junction, 12013 U.S. Route 36, St. Paris

Four businesses were found in non-compliance and sold to an underage, undercover sheriff’s agent. Those businesses included:

•Rosewood Grocery, 11009 state Route 29, Rosewood

•Pappy’s Pizza (Drive Thru/Carry Out), 832 Miami St., Urbana

•Sunoco Gas Station, 355 W. Main St., St. Paris

•Kroger, 1637 E. U.S. Route 36, Urbana

The Champaign County Drug Free Youth Coalition compiles the compliance check data from the sheriff’s office and Urbana Police Division annually to determine a countywide rate of non-compliance.

As the Daily Citizen reported last month, Urbana police conducted 14 compliance checks within the city and found all vendors to be 100 percent compliant.

For the 2015 countywide compliance checks, 29 of 33 businesses were compliant, resulting in a five-year low of non-compliance of 12 percent. Since the coalition began collecting countywide compliance data in 2011, the highest rate of non-compliance has been 25 percent.

The coalition in partnership with alcohol vendors have been implementing a comprehensive set of strategies for the past two years to improve the rate of non-compliance. Some of these strategies include providing education and training as well as age scanning devices to alcohol vendors.

The coalition in collaboration with the Ohio Investigative Unit offer quarterly Alcohol Server Knowledge training to educate businesses and their employees on the responsibilities and rights of serving alcohol in the community. These trainings are also available upon request by contacting the Family and Children First Council office at 937-652-1218 or [email protected].

The coalition encourages anyone with information regarding illegal alcohol sales to underage persons, as well as underage alcohol parties, to contact law enforcement immediately. The coalition states that underage people and alcohol make for a dangerous combination.

The Urbana Police Division tip line is 937-652-4357 and the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office tip line is 937-484-1905.