By Lori Ehde
Nobles Rock Public Health Board has suspended the tobacco license of Luverne's Pump 'N Pak, formerly Cenex-Ampride, for 30 days, starting Sept. 1.
That penalty, in addition to a $250 administrative fine, stems from the businessÕs third failure in two years to pass a compliance check.
According to Public Health Educator Paula Anderson, Nobles Rock Public Health is the licensing authority for all businesses in the two counties that sell tobacco.
The businesses are regulated under the Youth Access to Tobacco Ordinance, which stipulates routine checks of tobacco sales to minors.
"We use 16- and 17-year-olds with real I.D.s," Anderson said. "They're not lying about their age or who they are."
A Pump 'N Pak cashier failed the compliance check July 15 when she ran the minor's license through a scanner and sold the minor cigarettes, even though the scanner did not read the identification properly.
"The scanner wasn't working, but she basically didn't take the time to do the math," Anderson said.
The same cashier failed a similar compliance check on April 23, 2001, but that time she didn't ask for identification.
The first offense by the business, this time by a different cashier, was Oct. 25, 2000.
Anderson said Pump 'N Pak did pass a compliance check on Nov. 6, 2001, but this summer's failure prompted penalties.
Other tobacco retailers have failed compliance checks once or twice in a two-year period, but Anderson said this is the first time since the ordinance was passed in 1999 a business failed three times in 24 months.
According to the ordinance, a minimum suspension of seven days is required for third violations, but in this case the licensing board decided to levy the maximum penalty.
Pump 'N Pak manager Lila Sudenga said the penalty translates into $10,000 to $15,000 in losses for the business.
"They're really sticking it to us," she said. "But it's like she said, they're making an example out of us."
Anderson said she and local law enforcement hope other tobacco merchants learn from Pump 'N Pak's mistakes.
The clerk, who has been fired, was fined $50 for the infraction.