ENID — Concerned parents and community members heard presentations about the dangers of underage drinking Tuesday, including statistics that showed 82 children ages 7 to 17 were arrested in Enid last year on alcohol offenses.

The speakers were part of a town hall meeting at Cherokee Strip Conference Center on underage drinking sponsored by PreventionWorkz, in conjunction with Youth Opportunity Task Force and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Tammy Grantz, executive director of PreventionWorkz, welcomed the participants and opened with a video, “This Place,” regarding underage drinking.

Following the video, a panel of four speakers spoke about the affects of alcohol they have seen in their jobs or personal lives.

Virginia Crice, Enid Police Department DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) instructor, said the DARE program starts with fifth-graders.

“I often get asked why fifth grade? Research shows they are beginning to drink at this age,” she said. “Children often feel pressure to drink. They think it is the cool thing to do or a right of passage.”

Crice gave the group several statistics on underage drinking, including 50 percent of high school seniors reported drinking in the last 30 days.

“When we hear a list of statistics, it is easy to think, ‘Well, that doesn’t happen here.’ In the last year, 82 children ages 7 to 17 were arrested for alcohol related offenses,” said Crice.

Offenses included public intoxication, driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated. According to Crice, the 82 arrests work out to one in 75 children in Enid were arrested last year.

Jeff Hoffsommer, a physician in the Integris Bass Baptist Health Center emergency room, followed Crice.

He said he previously was on a alcohol task force, but said he was disappointed because all they could decide was people should not drink and drive.

“I’m all for stopping drinking and driving, but that is only the tip of the iceberg,” Hoffsommer said. “My opinion of alcohol, as an ER doctor, is I hate it. Most of what we see after dark, and especially after midnight, somehow involves alcohol. In the emergency room, I only see a small portion of what goes on in the community in a night.”

Hoffsommer said he sees a lot of alcohol-related injuries, including teens who have consumed enough alcohol to put them in a comatose state.

“I personally believe alcohol is such a problem because it is so ingrained in our culture,” he said. “Until we change that, alcohol will always be a problem. Every football game you watch or go to alcohol is there. Every event has alcohol.”

Taylor Randolph, a licensed professional counselor and drug and alcohol counselor with Youth and Family Services, followed Hoffsommer.

Randolph told the group about three teens and pre-teens he treated with alcohol-related problems.

One pre-teen told Randolph he had taken 15 shots of two types of alcohol and then didn’t remember anything after that.

Randolph said he asked several teens if their consuming large amounts of alcohol was a suicide attempt. They said it was not.

According to Randolph, only 15 percent of the alcohol consumed is absorbed in  the stomach. The rest is absorbed in the small intestine, and the delay in absorption can lead people, especially underage, inexperienced drinkers, to consume too much alcohol.

“In Garfield County, the average age for a child to take their first drink it 11 years old,” said Randolph.

Pat Ridgway concluded the panel of speakers. Her son was an underage drinker who caused damage she was forced to pay for.

“Where does it start? It is earlier than most people think,” she said. “It starts in the teens and pre-teens. It doesn’t necessarily come from a broken home or from stress at home.”

Ridgway spoke about the symptoms of teen drinking, including mood changes and a child becoming secretive and isolated.

“Peer pressure is a strong influence,” she said. “If your teen wants to do things, have things at your home. Some parents do provide alcohol in their homes and take keys. Parents need to be parents, not best friends.”

Teen often get alcohol at home, she said.

“If you drink, it may be from your own liquor cabinet. Lock it up and let them know you know what’s in there,” Ridgway said. “Don’t be fooled that they can’t get it if they want it.”

The first step to preventing teen drinking is being educated about teen drinking.

“Set clear boundaries with clear consequences. Your boundaries are only as good as how you enforce them,” Ridgway said.

Following the speakers, another video, “Together We Can Make a Difference,” was shown.