RIDGWAY — The Elk County Commissioners have approved a contract between the Erie  County (Pa.) Department of Health and Elk County Sheriff’s Department to begin performing tobacco checks at stores and other places that sell tobacco products in Elk and McKean counties.

In order to purchase any type of tobacco product in Pennsylvania a person has to be at least 18-years-old.

Elk County deputy sheriff Theresa Merritt said the program is called Act 112, adding it acts like a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board ramp check, or underage drinking checks. In the program, deputies can enter any store that sells tobacco, Merritt said.

“We are also checking to make sure their employers are giving employees the ‘We Card’ training,” Merritt said. “It’s required by the state to be given to any employees that sell the tobacco. It’s done online, but they are supposed to be training their employees. It’s whether or not they are actually doing it.”

Merritt said in order to have the tobacco license, stores are supposed to have the signs posted and a license displayed where it’s visible, like lottery licenses. 

“All the little regulations you have,” Merritt said. “Those are the things we go in and check. We also take juveniles into different locations and see if they ask the juvenile for ID. Different stores are different ways. I had done this program for five years and used to subcontract through drug and alcohol abuse services. Stores don’t always ask for ID. You will have stores that ask if you are old enough? Do you have ID? Date of birth? A lot depend on those ‘We Card.’”

Merritt said the youth used in the program are not allowed to tell a lie or to deceive a store clerk in any way. If they are asked, they have to tell if they are really old enough or give their real date of birth.

“If we have someone who is 16 or 17 and they are asked for their driver’s license, there’s really no excuse because there is a big banner on it stating they are under 18 until a certain date,” Merritt said. “They are absolutely not allowed to trick anyone in any way.”

Merritt said the contract for the service is out of Erie, but the Pennsylvania Department of Health is paying for it. The sheriff’s office will get $50 per store check, which will cover the salary for both the adults and children.

“We get our wages and the children get a flat rate for the day,” Merritt said. “Then you have your gas and meals. If we are out for lunch, we will take them (the child) for a break. If we did a regular year contract, like I’ve been fighting to get since November, you look at having a regular stipend of about $7,500. That’s their payment cap. We won’t earn that this year because there are some things we won’t be able to do.”

Merritt said that deputies will only be able to do one check per store in both counties. 

“We are responsible for both Elk and McKean counties, so by the time we do all the stores we will only have time to do one check per store,” Merritt said. “We’re getting a really late start. It was a little bit difficult to get someone to listen that this will benefit the county and the taxpayers.”

Merritt said the five years she was doing it before deputies had a “really good run.”

“We were doing them two or three times a year and we were really checking them,” Merritt said. “We were one of the top counties in the state … we weren’t getting any (illegal) sales at all. Then the Drug and Alcohol Services lost funding for their people. I was subcontracting under them and we all lost our funding, too.”

Merritt said that’s why deputies have included McKean County in the program this time around.

“They (McKean County) don’t have anybody that took the Act 112 training and that would take an extreme amount of time,” Merritt said. “They also run their jail and are incredibly busy. Their district attorney (Ray Learn) asked because I used to do their county before if I would handle their county, too. We are looking forward to getting it started and hopefully keeping the contract going for several years.”

Merritt said if a retailer is caught selling tobacco to an underage child, both the clerk and store get a fine. However, the store owner has the ability to plead guilty, but only if they can prove that everything that they are required to do is in order under the ‘We Card.’

“They get a one-time free pass,” Merritt said. “They have to prove they did everything they were supposed to do. If it happens again in a certain timeframe; however, the judge will give fines. They do have to come in and plead guilty, but are saying that as the store manager/owner they did everything to prevent it other than stand there and make them check ID.”

Merritt said that deputies are excited to get the program started and get together with the Department of Health. 

“It’s a good program. It should be good for everyone,” Merritt said.