Vision
Racine County is a place where youth assets are increasing and all youth are healthy, involved and successful members of the community.
Mission
The Racine County Youth Coalition engages agencies, business partners, communities, families and schools, to promote and foster positive change in community practices, public policy, and youth programming in order to build assets and reduce risk behaviors including substance abuse among all Racine County young people.
Interested in joining the RCYC?
Contact Megan Kroes at Focus on Community for more information. (262) 632-6200 rcyc@focusracine.org Have information for the RCYC newsletter? Contact Erin Morey. (262) 632-6200 erin768@yahoo.com |
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City of Racine Passes Social Host OrdinanceNew Hefty Fines For Property Owners 
A new city ordinance is now on the books that would fine adults who knowingly allow underage drinking $1,000 to $5,000.
On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the "social host" ordinance, per the Public Safety and Licensing Committee's recommendation on Oct. 24.
The ordinance, proponents hoped, will make parents and others think twice about allowing underage drinking. It takes effect Monday, City Attorney Rob Weber said.
Alderman Greg Helding, who proposed the ordinance, said it's to address the problem of adults who host underage drinking parties, which he said was prevalent enough in the city that police have talked to city officials about it.
"They wished they had better tools to deal with it," Helding said. "And it makes sense to me."
That means, even if an adult does not buy the alcohol, they can be held responsible if people younger than 21 are drinking on their property, Racine Deputy Police Chief Dave Smetana has said.
Even if the owner of the house is not home, that person can be held responsible, Smetana said. Police will investigate to determine if adults knew about the drinking, according to city officials.
Proponents of the ordinance, including the Racine County Youth Coalition, have said underage drinking has other consequences besides drunken driving like alcohol poisoning and unplanned pregnancies.
This article was taken from the Racine Journal Times. To read more, click here.
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Park 6 To Close
Downtown Racine bar to shut down in December as part of a side agreement between owner, city
It appears the third time was the charm for the city - after three due process hearings, Park 6 will close in December.
Thomas Holmes, owner of the Downtown bar, and the city reached a side agreement that Holmes will turn in all of his licenses on Dec. 15, which the City Council approved Tuesday.
The vote passed 12-1, with Alderman Bob Mozol dissenting, Alderman Keith Fair abstaining and Alderman Mike Shields absent. Mozol said after the meeting he believed Holmes' licenses should have just been revoked.
The agreement allows Holmes to continue operating his bar at 500 Sixth St. as he has been until December. The Council indefinitely postponed action on the Public Safety and Licensing Committee's recommendation from September to revoke all of Holmes' licenses but can choose to revoke them at any time.
Committee Chairman Aron Wisneski said the agreement was the best direction for the city to avoid any future litigation, as Holmes and his attorney have in the past said they planned to seek a court injunction if the city revoked his licenses.
"We want him to close, he's willing to close, so let's be done with this thing," Wisneski said, adding a lot of money has already gone into the case against Park 6 that has been riddled with various technicalities, like the city sending notice of nonrenewal one day late.
Attorney Vince Bobot, representing Holmes, agreed that it's been a lengthy process over Holmes' licenses.
"I think he wants to put it behind him. He's done what he could," Bobot said, mentioning factors like the cost of continuing litigation and Holmes' belief the city doesn't want his club Downtown. "He tried to make it work in Racine."
Bobot maintained that Park 6 was not a nuisance, just as Wisneski reiterated the committee still believes it was "an unruly house" and threat to public safety.
Tuesday was the city's third time taking Holmes to due process, but this time over all of his licenses, including liquor, soda and dance hall, at Interim Police Chief Kurt Wahlen's request to shut down the business.
The committee first voted to take Holmes to due process in May 2010. The two parties ended up reaching an agreement that August, including suspension of Holmes' liquor license for 45 days.
Then, after more police incidents last autumn, including one in which a security guard was struck in the head, the city took Holmes to due process again. The City Council voted in January to revoke Holmes' license. But a judge this June ruled against the city's decision on a technicality, because the chief hadn't raised his right hand when filing the complaint that launched that hearing.
In September, the city filed a notice of appeal on that decision, court records show.
City Attorney Rob Weber said that regardless of the agreement, the appeal will continue at least until Holmes turns in his licenses because the city believes it was right to revoke Holmes' license in January. That way, he added, it will also protect the city in case Holmes tries to seek damages from the city to pay his legal fees.
This article was taken from the Racine Journal Times. To read more, click here.
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Wisconsin Legislature Passes Bill to Allow Alcohol Sales to Begin at 6 a.m.A bill to extend the hours under which Wisconsin liquor stores, convenient stores and gas stations can operate passed in the Legislature this past week, and now awaits the final approval of the governor. AB 63, which will allow liquor stores to open at 6 a.m. instead of 8 a.m., unanimously passed in the Assembly on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Two days later, it was approved in the Senate by a vote of 23-8. Under the bill, these stores are still required to halt sales of intoxicating liquors at 9 p.m., and beer at midnight. AB 63 also allows local municipalities to have the final say in how long liquor stores can be open, meaning they can impose more restrictive hours. Supporters of the legislation have said the bill would provide more convenience for consumers, allowing night-shift employees to buy a case on their way home, or hunters to grab a six-pack before hitting the road. Opponents have argued the legislation sends the wrong message to Wisconsin residents, and does nothing more than encourage alcohol abuse. For more information about this bill, click here.
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Confiscated Pot Fills Dump Truck
Law enforcement confiscated nearly a ton of marijuana Monday in Raymond, filling a county dump truck.
In total, approximately 1,850 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $7.4 million was confiscated from a residence, and a Raymond man was taken into custody, according to law enforcement.
It was the result of what Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said is the largest drug bust in Racine County he can remember and possibly in the county's history. It was conducted in collaboration with the Greenfield Police Department and Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a multijurisdictional drug investigation unit.
"This is a great example of law enforcement collaborating," Schmaling said.
After learning from a confidential informant about possible drugs in Raymond and determining there was probable cause, law enforcement were issued a search warrant, officials said. Then at about 7 a.m. Monday a law enforcement team searched the residence at 2743 76th St. in Raymond, just south of Raymond Elementary School.
It was so close to the school, Schmaling said that when he was collecting evidence, "I could hear children playing on the playground."
There, law enforcement arrested John Gay, 44, of Raymond, for keeping a drug house, manufacturing drugs and possession with the intent to deliver, Schmaling said.
Along with nearly a ton of marijuana, they found approximately $100,000 in cash and several guns, Schmaling said. Some of the marijuana was in a pole barn on the property. Other marijuana was growing on the property away from the road, with some plants up to 10 feet tall, Schmaling said.
It was all put into large black garbage bags, which filled a county public works dump truck that was called in to transport the marijuana. To make it all fit in one truck, Investigators even had to stomp it down to fit, said Sgt. Dennis Basley, the Racine County Metro Drug Unit supervisor.
Two more dump trucks were brought out to collect equipment allegedly used for marijuana processing, such as dehumidifiers and humidifiers, according to law enforcement.
The dump truck packed full of marijuana was delivered Monday to the Racine County Sheriff's Office substation, 14116 Washington Ave., and in the next few weeks, law enforcement said they will be destroying it by burning it.
Although they have arrested one person, Schmaling said, the investigation is still ongoing.
This article was taken from the Racine Journal Times. To read more, click here.
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2011 Alcohol Compliance Checks Completed in City of Racine
During the summer of 2011, volunteers between the ages of 18-20 participated in the Racine County Alcohol Compliance Check Program. Volunteers were trained by Focus on Community and the Racine County Youth Coalition. City of Racine Law enforcement officers accompanied volunteers on all Compliance Checks. Out of the 61 establishments that were checked by volunteers in the summer of 2011, 13 failed by selling to an underage volunteer. This number is almost double the amount that sold in spring of 2011. The establishments that failed the compliance checks are as follows: Jalisco and Michoacan, 1950 Racine St., Racine Dan's Liquor, 1856 Taylor Ave., Racine One Stop Food and Liquor, 1711 N. Main St., Racine Akash Food and Liquor, 3945 Erie St., Racine Pantry Foods, 3711 Douglas Ave., Racine Santa Fe Liquors, 516 High St., Racine Super Mercado Gran Morelos, 1105 N. Memorial Dr., Racine Odd Fellows, 817 N. Main St., Racine US Pantry, 1627 Washington Ave., Racine Citgo, 5302 Washington Ave., Racine Andy's, 3818 Durand Ave., Racine Arbee's Liquor, 2062 Lathrop Ave., Racine Lieungh's on Lathrop, 1933 Lathrop Ave., Racine The Racine County Youth Coalition would like to thank those stores that passed the Compliance Checks. Racine County is a safer and healthier community when alcohol is kept out of the hands of young people. |
Program Urges Smokers Switch To Smokeless Tobacco
In the smoker-heavy state of Kentucky, a cancer center is suggesting something that most health experts won't and the tobacco industry can't: If you really want to quit, switch to smoke-free tobacco.
The James Graham Brown Cancer Center and the University of Louisville are aiming their "Switch and Quit" campaign at the city of Owensboro. It uses print, radio, billboard and other advertising to urge smokers to swap their cigarettes for smokeless tobacco and other products that do not deliver nicotine by smoke.
Supporters say smokers who switch are more likely to give up cigarettes than those who use other methods such as nicotine patches, and that smokeless tobacco carries less risk of disease than cigarettes do.
"We need something that works better than what we have," said Dr. Donald Miller, an oncologist and director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, which supports the effort along with the University of Louisville. "This is as reasonable a scientific hypothesis as anybody has come up with and it needs to be tried."
The campaign runs counter to the prevailing opinion of the public health community, which holds that there is no safe way to use tobacco. Federal researchers, however, have begun to at least consider the idea that smokers might be better off going smokeless.
The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health says on its website that the use of all tobacco products "should be strongly discouraged," and that there is "no scientific evidence that using smokeless tobacco can help a person quit smoking." But this year it approved funding for a study that might provide some of that very evidence.
This article was taken from the Racine Journal Times. To read more, click here.
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Study Finds Many Songs Popular With Teens Promote Alcohol
In a study published online today in the international journal Addiction, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reported that the average US adolescent is heavily exposed to alcohol brand references in popular music. Branded alcohol references are most common in rap, R&B, and hip hop songs, and they are commonly associated with a luxury lifestyle characterized by degrading sexual activity, wealth, partying, violence and the use of drugs.
This analysis of 793 of the most popular songs in the youth market between 2005 and 2007 found that about 25% of the songs that mention alcohol also mention a brand name. This represents about 3.4 alcohol brand appearances per song-hour. Given that the average adolescent is exposed to about 2.5 hours of popular music per day, young people's annual exposure to alcohol brand references in popular music is substantial. The consequences that these songs associated with alcohol were more often positive than negative (41.5% vs. 17.1%). Alcohol brand appearances were commonly associated with wealth (63.4%), sex (58.5%), luxury objects (51.2%), partying (48.8%), other drugs (43.9%), and vehicles (39.0%).
The investigators note that frequent exposure of young people to brand-name references in popular music may constitute a form of advertising and could contribute to the early initiation and maintenance of substance use among adolescents. Typically, brand-name references to alcohol are strongly associated with positive feelings and associations, which are often the goal of advertisements. The brands found in music, such as Patron Tequila, Grey Goose Vodka, and Hennessey Cognac, represent the same distilled spirits brands that are increasingly named as favourites by underage drinkers, especially women.
The authors suggest that the relatively high level of brand-name alcohol appearances in popular music may be a consequence of strengthening ties between the alcohol and music industries. Some alcohol companies have formally entered the music industry, such as Seagram's ownership of Universal and Polygram between 1995 and 2001. And individual artists, particularly those in the rap and hip hop communities, have begun to establish and promote their own alcohol lines, including Lil' Jon (Little Jonathan Wineries, 2008), Ludacris (Conjure Vodka, 2009), Jay-Z (Armadale Vodka, 2002), Snoop Dogg (Landy Cognac, 2008), TI (Remy Martin Cognac, 2010) and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs (Ciroc Vodka, 2001).
According to the authors, most instances of brand-name references in song lyrics seem to be unsolicited and unpaid for by advertising companies. However, the line between paid advertising and brand references is difficult to distinguish because advertising companies have begun retroactively to reward artists with product, sponsorship, or endorsement deals after a song containing their product's name becomes popular. For example, when Busta Rhymes and P. Diddy's hit "Pass the Courvoisier" was released in 2002, the cognac's sales jumped 18.9% and Courvoisier's parent company, France's Allied Domecq, subsequently reached a lucrative promotional deal with Busta and P. Diddy's management company, Violator.
Alcohol trade associations such as the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) have developed self-regulation codes that specify inappropriate marketing practices, such as a guideline forbidding marketing to audiences below legal drinking age. However, because rap music is popular among high school students, the authors suggest that advertising campaigns that focus on rap artists are not consistent with the alcohol industry's stated intent to avoid marketing to underage drinkers.
Information was taken from
addictionjournal.org. |
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Next Racine County Youth Coalition Meeting
Thursday, November 10, 2011 11:30-1:00 Mount Pleasant Municipal Building
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