Would a 60-year-old really take offense at being carded before being served alcohol? That's the red herring often raised by opponents of mandatory carding. But the issue, which has been kicked around in legislative circles, might be gaining some ground.

Package stores, along with numerous other retailers, were hit by excise police earlier this year and found to be out of compliance in pockets around the state. Now, they're doing something about it - like Steve Kohrman, who has two package stores in the small communities of Grabill (Cedar Creek Carry Out) and Leo (Cedar Creek Beverage).

Kohrman recently fired an employee as soon as he was notified that the clerk failed a compliance check. It was the same day he had received congratulations letters from Allen County Sheriff Ken Fries for passing local checks on potential sales to underage minors several weeks earlier. He had just posted the letters for his employees and customers when the failure to card occurred the very same night.

"There's just no excuse," Kohrman, the father of five, told his employee.

With a request from local organizers of Project Alcohol Reduction, Kohrman has decided to institute mandatory carding.

Kohrman said a 42-year-old customer who refused to show ID at one of his stores, stormed out and headed to his store just two miles down the road. And he did show ID to be served.