Marie Shultis

KINGSTON – A 20-year-old Town of Ulster man, charged with violating Ulster County’s new social host law by serving alcohol in his home to underage people, has been sentenced to the Awareness Alcohol Program.   The Social Host law was adopted by the county legislature, earlier this year, after months of debate, most of that involving whether the 'educational component' should be included. Marie Shultis, a parent who volunteers her time to work with Onteora High School students, said the defendant attended a peer to peer educational class.

The program created after Stephan Bielecki, administrator of the teen AWARENESS Mentoring group reached out to his friend, the driver in a tragic accident on prom night that led to the death of their friend.Together with Rose Hallinan Coordinator of the AWARENESS Mentoring group they work to help others see the serious consequences that can arise from their behavior.“What they walked away from it with is now knowing that they need to watch the people around them and it made them realize that you don’t just have to think about what you’re doing,” she said. “You need to see that the people around you, they can die from alcohol poisoning, they can leave and potentially kill someone in a car accident, and the fact that they are liable for, if they are 18 years old and someone around them is drinking and ends up dying, they can be charged.”

Shultis suggested that perhaps a person who committed the crime that led to a death be able to “make amends not only for the life lost but also by helping other teenagers not to become involved in the same behavior.” That could be done, she said, could be accomplished through “the education and donation of their time, even for the rest of their life.”

Copyright © 2008 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc.
This story may not be reproduced in any form without express written consent.