Grant to help curb
minors’ drinking v
f. o
§ ■ Mate to distribute
| money for programs that
help reduce availability of
alcohol to minors.
By Shane Pekny
Staff writer
The Nebraska Office of Highway
Safety recently received a $360,000
federal grant to help curtail underage
drinking.
Grants were given to all 50 states
under the Enforcing the Underage
Drinking Laws Prq'gram, a project
handled by the U.S. Department of
Justice and the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
said Fred Zwonechek, administrator
of the Highway Safety officq.
Each state was allowed to choose
the agency that would handle the
grant money. About one-third of the
states chose a motor vehicle agency,
another one-thifcf chose a law
enforcement agency and the remain
ing states chose various other agen
cies.
Zwonechek said his agency was
, chosen by Gov. Ben Nelson because
it had been involved in underage
drinking prevention in the past.
The Highway Safety office must
now distribute the money across the
state. It is currently taking applica
tions from local government agencies
and private organizations. Most of
the money will go to groups like
Project Extra Mile, Zwonechek said.
Project Extra Mile is a private,
nonprofit coalition in Omaha that
seeks to prevent underage drinking.
Diane Riibe is one of two Project
Extra Mite employees. She said the
project works both to reduce the
availability of alcohol to minors and
Tow company returns car
A car mistakenly towed from a
University of Nebraska-LincOln park
ing lot in August was returned
Wednesday by a Utica towing service,
UNL police Sgt. Mylo Bushing said.
Bushing said a Utica-based towing
service came to Lincoln on Aug. 16 to
pick up a 1991 Geo Prism but, Bushing
said, brought a 1990 Prism back to
Utica instead.
The owner of the 1990 Prism filed
a stolen car report with police the
same day. The Utica-based towing
service called UNL police Monday,
explained the problem and, Bushing
said, offered to return the car to police
Wednesday.
Police contacted the owner of the
1990 Prism, who claimed her automo
bile when it arrived in Lincoln. Bushing
said the owner did not find any new
damage to her car and was reimbursed
$ 150 by the towing service.
Police did not know why the towing
service did not correct the problem ear
lier. The Utica-based towing service
could not be reached for comment.
Store missing money
Two money bags disappeared
from a convenience store’s safe
between Saturday and Tuesday,
police said.
The Gas ‘N Shop at 5500
Superior St. lost $11,050 from the
store’s safe.
The Gas ‘N Shop corporate
office could not be reached for com- -
ment.
Compiled by senior staff writer
Jake Bleed
to miorm tne public about the issue ot
underage drinking.
Among other things, Project
Extra Mile will use the federal grant
money to fund a newsletter and con
duct additional undercover compli
ance checks.
Project Extra Mile has operated
in Omaha for the past four years, and
Riibe said the project has been a suc
cess.
She said 41 percent of the city’s
licensed liquor dealers sold to minors
before the project began, and only 21
percent sell to minors today.
Zwonechek expects Grand Island
and Scottsbluff to apply for and
receive some of the federal grant
money this year. They could use the
money to start their own versions of
Project Extra Mile, he said.
Organizations and agencies in
Lincoln are also eligible for pieces of
future federal grants addressing
underage drinking.
“Lincoln could definitely be one
of the new sites,” Zwonechek said.
In addition to the $360,000 grant,
the Highway Safety office has
applied for $400,000 in discretionary
funding this year from the same
source as the most recent grant.
The original grant will likely be
distributed again sin 2000,
Zwonechek said.
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