During prom and graduation season, teenage parties are common. In fact, counties and state agencies party patrols are often enlisted to help break up underage drinking parties.
In Yelm this past week, 35 people were arrested at a graduation/birthday party, including a 45-year old mom and 23 underage attendees.
Parents be warned. If your teen tries to convince you to host a party where there could be underage drinking, it’s against the law – and can land the homeowner in jail and/or slapped with a hefty fine.
It almost happened to one Snoqualmie Valley man this past weekend.
Sunday, June 8, 2014, around 1:30AM, Snoqualmie Police responded to noise disturbance/suspicious circumstance call from a 
homeowner in the 35000 block of Rhododendron Drive on Snoqualmie Ridge.
The caller reported hearing teenagers in the woods behind his/her home. Police checked the woods adjacent the home and determined the teens were from a nearby residence.
According to a Snoqualmie Police Department log report, officers contacted the homeowner/father of one of the teens. The man was sleeping in his vehicle in front of the home, along with his dog who was “keeping watch” for the police, while the underage son hosted a party where friends drank inside the home.
The homeowner was warned about the city’s noise ordinance and advised if officers had to return to the residence he could be arrested for “providing a location to allow underage drinking.”
According to Washington State law, it’s a gross misdemeanor to “sell, give or otherwise supply liquor” to anyone under 21 or “permit any persons under that age to consume liquor on his or her premises or on any premises under his or her control.”
Providing alcohol and/or a place to consume alcohol to teenagers (or anyone under 21) carries a penalty fine of up to $5,000 and a year in jail.
In an effort to provide a safe graduation celebration, Mount Si High School parents organize an annual alcohol and drug free “Grad Night” event where seniors are taken to an undisclosed location immediately following their graduation ceremony. Grad Night lasts until early the following morning when buses return students to campus.
Comments
If he lived in Sammamish they would have arrested the dad and all the kids at the party. Shame on that dad. He needs to get some control over his own life and be a dad He sat outside while his kid partied in the home that he pays for? That is not being a good parent or doing hij kids any favors. I couldn’t much control what my teens did out of my house, but I sure as beck raised them better than that!