The Van Horne City Council passed an ordinance on Monday, June 9, 2014 that is aimed at reducing underage drinking and substance use. The vote makes Van Horne the second city in Benton County to adopt this ordinance, which already exists in unincorporated areas of Benton County

The ordinance known as Social Host, fines adults who knowingly allow youth to use their property for alcohol consumption or drug use. The fine schedule ($250 fine for a first offense, $500 fine for second offense, and $1000 fine for third and consecutive offenses) is designed to discourage adults from hosting or condoning gatherings of minors consuming alcohol or other controlled substances. .  It is the goal to have every town within Benton County adopt a Social Host Ordinance so that the county as a whole stands united in the efforts in reducing underage drinking and substance use.

 The Social Host Ordinance was presented to the Van Horne City Council in April 2014 by the Benton County Above the Influence Coalition, a group in Benton County dedicated to reducing substance use among youth. The ordinance was drafted by the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) Committee, and is modeled after the Benton County Social Host Ordinance

The SPF SIG project is is funded by the Iowa Department of Public Health, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service. For more information on the Social Host Ordinance, or the Benton County Above the Influence Coalition, visit www.bcati.com or contact David Condry at 319-436-4728 Ext 203.