Four St. John the Baptist Parish stores and employees were cited recently for selling alcohol illegally to patrons under 21 years of age.

Sheriff Mike Tregre said the roundup was completed recently to deter the sale of alcohol to minors.

Also implicated in the roundup were front-counter workers that ranged in age from 27 to 60 years old.

Simply stated, these adults knew better than to sell alcohol to youths.

Should they be found guilty of pedaling alcohol to those under 21, the stores face fines and the suspensions of their liquor licenses.

We hope the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control and the local sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office hold these workers and establishments accountable to the full extent of the law.

As Tregre puts it, local stores and employees are the first line of defense against underage drinking.

Possibly lost in the report on this roundup in Wednesday’s L’OBSERVATEUR was the fact a majority of stores checked by authorities did their part by not selling alcohol illegally to those under 21.

In LaPlace that includes Cheap Smokes, Millet Quick Stop, Shell (Big River), Stop N Save, Circle K, Chevron, Pilot Travel Center, Race Trac, E-Z Stop, Min Hui Mart, Birdies Food and Fuel (River Forest), Big River Bend Truck Stop, Old Time Saver and Pit Stop Petroleum.

In Reserve, that includes Birdies Food Valero, Mom’s Grocery and Kart & Karry. In Garyville, stores in compliance included Fast Stop, Mike’s, Monticarlo, Chevron Truck Stop, River Ben Truck Stop and Saints Express.

Residents and the business community play major roles in the well being of our youths, and it was certainly worth noting 27 of the 31 stores visited by the sheriff’s office’s undercover minor team didn’t break the law in their attempt for extra alcohol sales.

We all have a role to play, even if it’s simply asking for identification.