Partying teens risk triple trouble

Just curious: Was it the three kegs or the chocolate pudding wrestling that drew more than 100 kids to an ill-fated Washington house party?

We can't help but wonder what was so alluring about the Nov. 9 fete that had scads of underage revelers from around the region willing to drive to Tazewell County on a Friday night, risking the sting of law enforcement and the wrath of their parents.

Some certainly felt the former, as Washington police were tipped off about the 108 N. Market St. party and broke it up. Sure hope a fair number felt the latter, too. Try explaining your presence at a "Jell-O Wrestling Triple Kegger" to Mom and Dad.

House parties are as old as booze itself, but this one ranks in the "are-you-kidding-me?" category.

First, police say the organizer was one Calvin L. Barnes, at 21 old enough to know better than to allegedly entertain minors in the home he was renting - from a police sergeant, no less. Officials say Barnes took the time to collect a $5 cover charge. Apparently he forgot to check IDs while he was at it. Is it really possible that Barnes thought he could run a bar catering to scores of pimple-faced party guests in a residential neighborhood without anyone noticing?

Second, police say the party was advertised on Facebook.com, one of several social networking Web sites popular among young adults, where this week we also discovered ads for a Thanksgiving kegger, a farm kegger, a bonfire kegger and a 'hot-tub toga' kegger. Not only is this a heads-up for law enforcement, but 'this is a good time for parents to address these issues head on with their children,' says Washington Police Chief Jim Kuchenbecker.

Here's the perfect segue for the technological version of The Talk: What's junior up to online?

Third, this wasn't a case of a few local teens sneaking into the big kids' bash, as just one Washington teen was ticketed. Nearly four dozen minors, the youngest 15, were given notices to appear. Revelers came from Peoria, East Peoria, Eureka, Metamora, Morton, Princeville, Tremont. Also represented were Lincoln, Decatur, Hazel Crest and Mount Prospect.

Had police not intervened and arranged transportation for those in custody - and unless Barnes planned on playing hotelier, too - it's safe to assume many would have tried driving home.

That's a scary prospect, considering Washington is in the same Tazewell County that between March 2005 and July 2006 lost more than a dozen youngsters to automobile accidents, including four that were alcohol related. Just two days before this party, the teen-driving education program the county formed in response to those deaths was honored by the Federal Highway Administration.

"In my 22 years in the law enforcement business," says Kuchenbecker, "you never forget the faces of pain in a parent when you have to notify them their kid is not coming home."

Indeed, young partygoers potentially triple their troubles: Not only do they risk a criminal record and the ire of their folks, but their own lives. No night of partyin' and puddin' wrasslin' is worth that.