BY AMY CALDER

Staff Writer

Stores that carry liquor, beware: If you try to sell to underage buyers, you're likely to get caught.

At least that appears to be the case in Waterville and Oakland, where on Tuesday an undercover operation caught four out of 23 stores selling to someone under the age of 21.

The person buying the alcohol was a Kennebec County sheriff's corrections officer who is younger than 21. The operation was conducted by the Northern Kennebec Underage Drinking Task Force, including a Waterville officer and an Oakland officer who issued summonses Tuesday.

That force is made up of police, sheriff's officials, health groups and youth advocates working to prevent underage drinking and to educate businesses, parents and youths about the dangers and risks of underage drinking.

"When we go out to do these compliance checks, we are hoping for compliance," Waterville police Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey said Wednesday. "We are, for all intents and purposes, thinking the sale is going to be denied. We're happy when that happens."

On Tuesday, however, four businesses were summonsed for selling to a minor -- an administrative civil violation that could mean a fine of up to or more than $1,000, depending on whether a business has other violations and what the history of the owner's license is, according to Rumsey.

In cases where prior problems exist, a liquor license may be suspended.

Business owners or managers whose stores received summonses Tuesday said they have worked hard to prevent such sales from occurring by making sure their clerks are educated about false IDs, people using other people's driver's licenses and the like; but some clerks allowed the purchases Tuesday.

Daniel Marsilio, manager of On the Run, on Pleasant Street in Waterville, said he has been in the business 12 years and this is the first time one of his employees has had a liquor violation.

"They know. They go to alcohol and tobacco training classes. They take the liquor and tobacco exam prior to hire," Marsilio said. "You can have God watching over them, almost, and still, this can happen."

Joe Karter, an owner of Joka's Discount Beverage on Front Street in Waterville, also has worked hard to prevent sales to minors and in the last seven years has had no problems, he said. Even so, his store received a summons Tuesday after the officer was able to buy liquor there.

Karter said the store has special equipment that scans all IDs and licenses in the United States, and employees are trained in liquor violation issues.

"We sent three of our people to seminars in the last two months, and we've worked with police Officer Todd Burbank in the past on different things," he said. "You can't do any more than have a system that checks all IDs and send people to seminars and tell them to check IDs."

Joka's, which does a lot of volume, is not immune to mistakes, he acknowledged.

"If you check anything enough times, somebody's bound to make a mistake," he said.

The other two stores that were summonsed are Casey's Redemption on College Avenue in Waterville and Circle K/Irving on Kennedy Memorial Drive, also in Waterville. Messages left at those businesses for someone to return a call were not answered as of Wednesday evening.

The Korner Store in Oakland was one of 19 businesses that refused to sell liquor to the undercover officer.

Korner Store co-owner Andy Noel said Wednesday that he was unaware the store had been visited Tuesday, but he is delighted that his employees complied with the laws and checked the ID carefully.

"I'm definitely going to let them know they're doing an outstanding job," he said of his workers.

Noel has sent about 15 employees to training sessions that provided them with information about underage drinking laws, how to know when an ID is false and other issues.

"They all got their little certificates that show they've done this course," he said. "They're on the ball."

The Northern Kennebec Underage Drinking Task Force was formed last year. It includes police from Waterville, Winslow, Fairfield, Oakland and the sheriff's department; MaineGeneral Health; and the Prevention Coalition of Greater Waterville Communities for Children and Youth, which funds the program. Nancy Findlan, project director for the coalition, organized and launched the task force.

Funding for some training came from the Office of Substance Abuse, Healthy Maine Partnerships and Drug-Free Communities. Last year, MaineGeneral Health's Prevention Center helped provide training for more than 70 employees of 22 establishments including bars, restaurants and retailers. The Korner Store is one of the businesses that took advantage of the free training.

Meanwhile, Rumsey said the Maine Department of Public Safety's Liquor Licensing & Compliance Division reviews the summonses. The businesses cited could admit the violation and pay a fine or deny it and ask for a hearing.

The task force has done many such compliance checks with businesses and plans to do more, Rumsey said.

"We get very good compliance, approaching 90 percent," he said. "It's good. We're generally pleased with the results."

He said in some cases Wednesday, store clerks looked at the officer's driver's license and still sold the liquor. Rumsey did not know whether it was because the clerks did not calculate the birth date correctly.

"In some instances, the license was never requested (by the clerk); and in some instances, they were requested and they were looked at and the sale was made anyway," he said.

Other stores in Oakland that did not sell to the officer, and thus were in compliance, were: Buddies Groceries, Main Street Mobil, N&H Redemption, D&L Country Store, The Lakeside Market, Riverside Market and Rite Aid.

Waterville stores that also did not sell to him were the Big Apple stores on Main and Elm streets, College Quik Stop, Cumberland Farms, CVS, Maine Smoke Shop, Rite Aid, Shaw's supermarket, Wal-Mart, J&S Oil, and Hannaford at JFK Plaza.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com