Teen Drinking Addressed

The fatal car crash a year ago on Indian Valley Road has sparked some new efforts in the ongoing struggle against underage drinking in Novato and Marin.

The pain of the loss of two young men, Alex Hunt Sampolski, 19, and Scott Vanhootegem, 18, is still fresh, but friends and family celebrated their lives last weekend. A private remembrance was held for Vanhootegem, while Hunt Sampolski was remembered at a Sunday ceremony at Novato High School. In the wake of their deaths, which came after they left an underage drinking party, action was taken by a number of groups. The Marin County Board of Supervisors passed a “social host” ordinance on Oct. 17 to target hosts of underage drinking parties. “I've always been really concerned about alcohol and tobacco,” said 5th District County Supervisor Cynthia Murray. “When the accident happened, it really inspired me that it was the time to put it up. It just seemed like this was, ‘If not now, when?'” Novato passed its own ordinance when Murray was a councilmember in the 1990s. That rule, chapter 14-16 of the Novato municipal code, requires party hosts to pay the cost of police services up to $500 to break up parties that are deemed a threat to public welfare. The party attended by the young men last fall was in unincorporated Novato - outside the purview of the city's code. Three people have pled guilty to charges related to serving alcohol at that party and will be sentenced Thursday at the Marin County Superior Court. Vanhootegem, the driver of the vehicle, was found to be intoxicated.

The county ordinance will impose civil, not criminal penalties, and does three main things:

•Prohibits “loud and unruly gatherings” where alcohol is served to minors;

•Imposes a $750 fine for the first offense, a $1,500 fine for the second offense and a $2,500 fine for any more offenses; and

•Holds violators responsible, after a warning, for the cost of emergency services (firefighters, sheriff's officers, ambulances that respond).

But if people at the party call an ambulance, they won't be charged, so partyers will not hesitate in an emergency for fear of triggering a fine. Novato's schools are also in on the efforts.

Marin Oaks High School launched an after school sobriety class last September for students who either want to maintain sobriety or get information about drug and alcohol use. Marin Oaks High School principal Dierdre Shannon said in the year that the class started, the class grew from around 10 students to over 20 students. “It's kids wanting to learn in a way that's not threatening. It's confidential and I do give community service hours if they attend,” she said. At each meeting, speakers from Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous talk about their personal histories with substance abuse. “I think the kids are really interested in their lives and I try to get young people to speak to them,” Shannon said.

And the school board is planning on offering a five-week-long drug diversion class along with three days suspensions as an alternative to five days of suspension for first-time drug or alcohol offenders. The school district diversion program has been kicking around since last spring, NUSD Director of Secondary Programs Vicki Romero said. “It's intervention at the earliest signs of drug use,” she said. Novato police school resource officers will teach the weekly class. “The class will focus on the consequence of illegal actions, as well as on health,” Romero said.

Alex's Free Ride Home, started by Hunt Sampolski's mother, Sue Hunt Lemay, has been successful, providing more than 500 taxi rides to youth who otherwise might have driven intoxicated. The program received a $1,000 check from the San Francisco Police Officers Association, courtesy of Novato resident Mike Puccinelli, a police officer.

Novato Advance