Six Harford clubs fail liquor board test, employee caught misleading members

In one of the seven Harford County Liquor Control Board hearings Wednesday, commissioners and the audience learned that the underage liquor board employee misled a local club in a compliance test.

As part of a compliance test on June 3, Cadet David Miller and DFC Hana Vaughn, with the Harford County Sheriff's Department, went to various clubs and VFW posts to see if they would serve a non-member alcohol, as well as serve a minor, both of which are violations of the clubs' C3 liquor licenses.

Miller was instructed to be honest about his age and membership status at all of the institutions. In one instance, however, Past Commodore, current Treasurer and Licensee David Grove, of the Otter Point Yacht Club in Abingdon, said he spoke to members of the club, who pointed out that Miller lied about his membership status.

Vaughn confirmed, under oath at the meeting, that when asked by other members of his status, Miller said he was a member of the Key Yacht Club. Thus, when the bartender went to serve Miller, the other members told the bartender Miller was OK, as a member of another yacht club.

Given this, the liquor control board dropped the second charge against Otter Point, which was serving to a non-member. This decision was based on the fact that Miller was "misleading" and the board did not know for sure whether he or any relatives were members of Key Yacht Club.

The club was, however, found guilty of selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor, as the bartender failed to check Miller's identification.

"We just had our guard down in this situation," current Commodore Glenn Kehr said.

The board fined Otter Point $500.

Havre de Grace bar Coakley's Pub was the only non-club to have a hearing on Wednesday, which for them, resulted in fines and a suspension.

Coakley's Pub, in the 400 block of St. John Street, was charged with the sale or furnishing of alcoholic beverages to a minor.

In an unusual case, Coakley's Pub faced two separate charges of the sale or furnishing of alcohol to a minor. The charges occurred June 3 and 4.

The two violation dates were treated as separate hearings by the liquor board, in agreement with the pub's owners, Margaret Coakley Logan and Dwayne Coakley.

When Chairman Donald Hess asked if either person had any comments to make regarding the case, Logan explained that the "timing was imperative" in the pub receiving its violation in the June 3 case.

Logan went on to say that the pub's kitchen closes at 10 p.m. unless many patrons are still present. Miller, accompanied by Vaughn, arrived after the kitchen had been closed and when customers were being ushered into Coakley's adjoining building, where a bar was still open.

Miller and Vaughn then "snuck over," according to Logan, to the other building through double doors that join the buildings.

The bartender did not card the underage cadet or Vaughn when they ordered drinks, assuming their identifications had been checked by the doorman who was manning the entrance to the bar. The bartender was not aware that the patrons entered through the unmanned entrance. If Miller and Vaughn had entered the bar through the "correct" entrance and not the closed dining area, Logan said the doorman "absolutely" would have carded them, as he cards patrons "every time."

On June 4, a different underage cadet and deputy entered the bar, ordered drinks and were asked for identification, according to Logan. When the bartender noticed that the cadet was underage, the two were not served and were asked to leave. However, they went to the adjoining bar and ordered drinks again. The bartender, who is actually a chef and was filling in at the bar that night, asked for identification, took the IDs and served the drinks despite the cadet's license identifying him as underage.

Since the violations, Logan said, Coakley's has implemented a stamp system where a customer's hand is stamped after being carded and verified as being 21 or older, and the stamp must be shown when ordering alcoholic beverages.

The board eventually decided that Coakley's was guilty of both violations, and fined the business $1,000 for the June 3 charge.

When deciding the penalty for the June 4 violation, Hess stressed that "some suspension" was necessary.

Commissioner Randall Worthington Sr. agreed, saying that Coakley's needed "to learn a lesson." A penalty of $2,000 plus a three-day suspension was approved.

Five clubs failed the compliance tests issued on June 3 as well, including Winters Run Golf Club, in the 1000 block of N. Tollgate Road.

Attorney Marshall Grier spoke on behalf of Winters Run at the hearing and told commissioners what had been done since the violation to ensure it would not happen again. Signs have been posted about serving minors, as well as non-members, according to Grier, and servers have reviewed Techniques of Alcohol Management, or TAM, requirements. The woman who served Miller, Danielle Kirchner, has also been TAM certified, he said.

Now, he assured the board, the club was "more alert" and the individual licensees were also scheduled for TAM certification in late August.

Hess warned Winters Run, as he did to all of the clubs, to not become complacent. This was the first time the board issued the compliance tests to clubs.

"Be aware," Hess said. "We have been there and we will be back."

Winters Run was found guilty of both charges, serving alcohol to a minor and a non-member, and was fined $500 per charge.

Jarrettsville VFW Post 8672, in the 1700 block of Morse Road, was tried next and Hess noted surprisingly that the bartender, Jim Wright, was present for the hearing.

Wright did acknowledge he was wrong in not asking for ID, but did say the pair, Miller and Vaughn, entered the lounge from the steps, leading him to believe they were coming from the Bingo room, in which only members or their guests were playing. Because of this, Wright thought Miller was a member.

Even so, Hess pointed out, as he did several times in the overall meeting, that Miller, though tall, did not look to be 21 years old.

"Size does not mean age," he said.

Commander John Kanopp assured the board that he and Wright had had a "conversation," and also made sure that the guestbook, for recording members and their guests at the bar, had been moved to a more visible location.

The post, too, was found guilty of serving alcohol to a minor and non-member, and was fined $500 per charge.

Elks Lodge 2354, of the 600 block of Harford Boat Road, was also charged and found guilty of the sale or furnishing of alcohol to a minor and to a non-member or non-guest of a member. Although the door was unlocked, Attorney Tim Streett, representing the lodge, said it was broken that day.

The lodge was also hosting a Susan G. Komen fundraiser that evening, where members brought Harford County Public Schools teachers as guests and people were not checking for membership, he added.

This was "no excuse," Streett admitted, and since then the bartender was suspended for 60 days and the situation had been "addressed."

The lodge, too, was fined $500 for each charge, as was the Bush River Yacht Club for both of their charges.

Bush River was charged and found guilty of serving alcohol to a minor and non-member and Commodore Gary Schlueter spoke on behalf of the group as a whole. In this case, Worthington "recused" himself because of prior business with the club.

That day the gate to block non-member vehicle traffic was open, Schlueter said, but in the future, it will be closed, and they have also reviewed the carding process and held a meeting with the bar staff. Hess, again, reiterated how the clubs had begun to slack off and how easy it was to pass the compliance test.

"We're not out there to trick you," he said. "We're not out there to catch you."

At this point, County Councilman Dion Guthrie attempted to give a character reference for Bush River, as well as Otter Point Yacht Club, calling the incidents a "hiccup." The board, however, said it wasn't necessary.

Aberdeen VFW Post 6054 went before the board in the case of two charges: the sale or furnishing of alcohol to a minor and the sale or furnishing of alcohol to a non-member or non-guest of a member.

Frederick Jenkins Jr., vice commander for the post, in the 200 block of Spesutia Road, explained to the board that in order to enter the canteen area patrons have to be buzzed into the building and that is why a guestbook was not present at the doors.

He added, however, that the door was unlocked and no member was at the door to check IDs. In this case, the bartender is supposed to check identification, but failed to do so.

Commander Sharon Snead noted that the bartender on duty "felt so bad she hasn't been back since."

The board found the post guilty on both charges, fining them $500 for each charge.

Other business

The board also approved a one-day outdoor liquor license for a smooth jazz event on Aug. 12 at Rockfield Manor hosted by The Women's Challenge, Inc.