Be safe this holiday season

REGION- Just in time for the holiday festivities, River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition is again working with local pubs/restaurants to ensure their servers and sellers are aware of their responsibilities to their communities. Brian's Bistro recently hosted 21 employees from area pubs/restaurants to take part in a State of Maine Serve Safe certification training.

“We need to be looking out for one another,” noted Jessica Nichols of Brian's Bistro. “We want everyone to come out and have a good time, but we don't want to see anyone stumbling in or out of here.”

Especially during the Christmas and New Year celebratory evenings, area restaurants, pubs, cab companies and police will be watching out for you, but want you to be responsible, too.

Always be sure to have your identification handy. Did you know that if a server thinks you look younger than 27 years old, they will card you and have the right to refuse you if you don't provide ID?

Have an alternate plan. Get a designated driver or another responsible person you can call if your group has too much to drink.

Dana Richardson of Tommy Guns in Mexico, was not a part of the Serve Safe training, but advised, “We'll do what we can and not serve people if they've already had too much. We want everyone to be safe and abide by the laws. We hope to have cab companies waiting for people when we close.”

Through the Serve Safe program, servers and sellers get a five-year-certification with the State of Maine saying that they have completed training in order to follow proper protocol and know the laws.

Providing these trainings is a part of the work that RVHCC does with money provided by OSA and is provided free to the businesses that attended.

Other businesses in the River Valley who have taken advantage of the Serve Safe training are Blue Moose, Ellis', Towle's Corner Market and police of Dixfield, Mountain Valley Variety, Black Mountain of Maine, 49 Franklin, Elk's Club, the American Legion all of Rumford and the Oxford County Sheriff's Department.

For more information contact Sandy Witas at RVHCC by calling 364-7408.

Be safe this holiday season Photo:

Libby Parr is seen here checking Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant's identification at Brian's Bistro. Anyone that looks to be under the age of 27 is required to be carded by Maine State Law. (Times photo by Cherri Crockett)