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SUNNY Temp: 73 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Thursday, August 29, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend August 9, 2002 Renzo Biedak, assistant manager of the Astro Gas station in Ashland, says his store had tried to make improvements in its efforts to prevent the sale of tobacco to minors. Click the photo to see a larger (33k) version; use your Back button to return to the story. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli County businesses caught in sting Twenty-four of 138 Jackson County businesses targeted in a recent statewide compliance check sold tobacco to minors, according to the state Department of Human Services: Astro Gas, 449 Main St., Ashland. Campers Cove Resort, 7900 Hyatt Road, Ashland. Pilot Travel Center No. 391, 1590 E. Pine St., Central Point. Ray’s Food Place No. 9, 126 Pine St., Central Point. Little Butte Mini Market, 19 N. Shasta Road, Eagle Point. Medford Oaks RV Park, 7049 Highway 140, Eagle Point. Jacksonville Market, 510 N. Fifth St., Jacksonville. Barnett Shell Food Mart, 1100 E. Barnett Road, Medford. Country Store, 1670 Kings Highway, Medford. El Gallo Mexican Store, 2122 E. Main St., Medford. Fast Track Gas, 3082 S. Pacific Highway, Medford. Food 4 Less, 2230 Biddle Road, Medford. Foodland No. 2, 745 Stewart Ave., Medford. Little Market, 412 S. Central Ave., Medford. Minute Market No. 8, 407 N. Main St., Phoenix. Ray’s Food Place No. 5, 506 Main St., Rogue River. Rogue River Exxon, 1 Pine St., Rogue River. Wimer Market and Video, 8816 E. Evans Creek Road, Rogue River. Shady Cove Market, 22111 Highway 62, Shady Cove. Lost Creek Marina, 3521 Highway 62, Trail. Bi Mor gas, 13325 Antioch Road, White City. Foodland, 7334 Highway 62, White City. Protest fuels anti-smoking ire By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Anti-smoking advocates are calling for a boycott of an Ashland gas station that critics claim consistently sells cigarettes to minors. Astro Gas at 449 E. Main St. was among more than one in six Jackson County merchants that sold tobacco to kids during statewide compliance checks last year, a new survey showed. Of 138 local businesses targeted, 24, including the downtown Ashland station, sold illegally. "They’re chronic," said Stephanie Soares Pump, executive director of Southern Oregon Drug Awareness. "I don’t know that there’s ever been a time that there’s been a visit that they haven’t sold." For four years running, the downtown gas station has failed a Department of Human Services test to gauge illegal sales, despite repeated warnings from police and others, SODA organizers said. "We are asking Ashland citizens and visitors to boycott Astro Gas," they said in a statement. "Maybe a hit to overall sales/profit will make them understand that customers do not support the sale of tobacco to minors." Renzo Biedak, the station’s assistant manager, admitted that employees had sold cigarettes to people under 18 in the past, but added that the station had recently taken new steps to curb the problem. "We just talked to the police a week ago," said Biedak, 29. "We’ve told our employees, ‘If you’re caught doing this, you’re out of here, you’re fired.’" Clerks can face state fines of up to $600 for selling cigarettes to minors, plus charges of endangering the welfare of a minor. "It could be jail time and all sorts of bad consequences," Biedak said. "If I even have a question in my mind, even if they’re 30 years old, if there’s even a remote possibility, I ask for ID. If they don’t have it, I refuse to sell them tobacco." The prospect of a customer boycott dismayed Biedak. "I think that’s a little extreme," he said. "I don’t believe that we are worse than any other business that sells tobacco." If Astro is serious about improving compliance, SODA would soften its stance, Pump said. "If now they have new management and they want to turn over a new leaf, we want to support them and not boycott them," she said. Sales to minors contribute to the more than 8,000 Oregon children who start smoking each year. Advocates estimate that smoking-related illness costs state taxpayers $1.77 billion each year. The Jackson County survey was part of a statewide compliance check of more than 2,600 businesses conducted by the state Department of Human Services. Seventeen percent of local businesses sold to kids, slightly higher than 16 percent statewide, officials said. Overall, the local rate of sales to underage teens has fallen by about 23 percent in four years, Pump said. She credited increased attention and regular checks with the improvement. "Locally the difference is hands-on monitoring," Pump said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S