Tis’ the season to be safe, local liquor establishments agree, and are participating in a healty competition to reduce the risk of alcohol-related accidents in Carbondale.

As of Dec. 1, 20 local area bars, restaurants and liquor stores have been competing in the county’s Holiday Safety Challenge. The contest, promoted by the Jackson County Health Department, asks local alcohol proprietors to encourage responsible drinking through various promotions, an organizer said.

Mariam Link-Mullison, director of health education at the Jackson County Health Department, said businesses have accepted the challenge to offer responsible service over the holidays.

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Link-Mullison said measures a business can take to encourage smart drinking include offering specials on non-alcoholic drinks, participating in the designated driver program, putting up signs, and adopting a written alcohol policy program.

Greg Graves, general manager of the University Teletrack, contest winner last year, said an alcohol policy outlines management’s procedures for employees to help them deal with different situations involving alcohol consumption.

We have been known to cut a person off quickly if they have had to much, he said. A waitress has the right to cut off a customer, but needs to approach management about it first.

There are also employee guidelines which say how much you pour in each glass.

The University Teletrack will be sponsoring an event which will offer free non-alcoholic samples.

Link-Mullison said many liquor establishment employees are trained in the Jackson County TIPS program. She said the program helps servers recognize people who need to stop drinking or slow down. She said the program will help employees serve more responsibly.

If a waitress asks who is the designated driver, she will automatically know who to keep an eye on.

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Nicole Petersen, a senior in political science who bartends at Pinch Penny, said she is not worried about asking a person to slow their drinking down.

At first I was scared to be a girl working at the bar, but now its not a problem, she said. People tend to party more over the holidays and need to be reminded to be safe.’

Link-Mullison said to measure responsibility they have assigned a point system to the different actions proprietors take during the next month. She said the establishment with the most points receives a plaque at an awards ceremony held in their establishment.

There are many businesses and citizens that are very responsible with the service of selling alcoholic beverages, she said. That takes a lot of time and energy, and they deserve recognition.

Cindy Morgan, manager of Pinch Penny Pub, said their establishment is not worried about losing business.

I know we won’t scare away customers, she said. We want to make them more responsible. We do things to promote smart drinking and hopefully people will respond.

Pinch Penny is sponsoring a non-alcoholic drinking contest on Dec. 14. The winner of the contest receives an $100 dollar gift certificate to University Mall.

Morgan said for two days this month, Pinch Penny will offer customers a chance to take a breathalyzer test before driving home. She said if a customer receives a reading of .08 or higher, Davis Towing will take the customer and the car home free of charge.

Some people don’t want to leave their car overnight because of work, she said. This is our way of making sure they will get home safely.

The challenge lasts until Jan. 12.