Keep community safe
Corsicana Daily Sun
Letter to Editor: February 13, 2005
Steven L. Jessup

The article entitled "Super Bowl parties a haven for alcohol" in the Jan. 30 issue Corsicana Daily Sun demonstrates the growing awareness of the underage drinking problem in our community and national culture.

The Super Bowl television advertisements are just as entertaining as the game itself. Beer companies use the Super Bowl logo and former NFL football players to promote their business, equating football and beer as one in the same. We have raised a generation of young people receiving a message: To become their role model football player or to become an accepted football fan, one must drink alcohol. The dangers of underage drinking become less impressionable when they see adults drink alcohol.

Public service television ads released this Super Bowl week countered that 65 percent of underage drinkers obtain alcohol from friends and family. If convicted, underage drinkers face a $500 fine, lose their driver's license, or go to jail.

The cost of alcoholism has been felt recently in Corsicana. Last Thursday night, when I was leaving work at Guardian Industries, heading north on Highway 287 towards town, my travel was suddenly impeded by a traffic accident of an SUV and a Toyota in front of Williamhouse. When the news report was published in the Daily Sun, I was saddened to learn the responsible driver admitted to have been drinking and speeding. The victim could have easily been me.

In today's Daily Sun, there was a report of a hit and run incident in my neighborhood near Navarro College. The driver arrested was intoxicated and underaged.

We must keep our community safe from alcoholism, particularly underage drinking, this Super Bowl Sunday. Parents and adults hosting parties must monitor the children. Alcohol retailers must serve it responsibly. When the game is over, everyone wins.

Sincerely,

Steven L. Jessup