Parent arrested for allowing alcohol at student party

CORNWALL — An after-prom party Saturday, May 9, that attracted about 100 students to a Cornwall Bridge home resulted in three teens taken by ambulance to Sharon Hospital and a parent placed under arrest.

Ralph Dzenutis, 48, of 94 Kent Road (Route 7) was charged with permitting minors to illegally possess liquor on private property and risk of injury to minors/impairing the morals of minors. The former charge pertains to the host liability law.

State police responded to a report of juveniles drinking at a party and arrived at the Dzenutis home at 1:27 a.m. on Sunday, May 10. The report described the scene as “80-100 youths found consuming alcohol.�

Police said three youths under the age of 18 were taken to Sharon Hospital for extreme intoxication.

All three were reportedly in attendance at Housatonic Valley Regional High School on Monday, where the situation was addressed by Principal Gretchen Foster, who assembled students to discuss what she called “questionable choices.�

When reached early Monday morning, Foster told The Lakeville Journal she was aware of party plans prior to the event.

“There’s always a party, and I knew about this one. So did the police. But it was on private property and there was nothing that could be done ahead of time.�

The junior prom was held May 9 at Crystal Peak in Winsted. During the week prior, students paid $5 for a black plastic mug printed with “May-hem 5/09/09.� The mug was to serve as admission to the party and to be used for liquid refreshments for the night.

While it was supposed to be the “official� after-prom party, some students who did not go to the prom began arriving about 9 p.m.

By the time prom-goers started arriving around midnight, they reported there were no soft drinks left. Watering troughs were filled with ice and beer and covered with wooden boards, according to students who were at the party.

Some students also reported that several youths there were already drunk and some were vomiting on the grass.

Not long after midnight, the students said, a fight broke out when a group of youths reportedly from Webutuck High School in Amenia, N.Y., tried to crash the party. They left and soon after, police arrived, prompting some Housy students to assume the New York teens had reported the party.

Police spent the next four hours screening students and looking for those who had run off into the surrounding woods.

As troopers wrote down names and addresses of each student, they also checked for signs of intoxication. Those who appeared sober and had a car or a ride with a sober driver were allowed to leave. Students who were intoxicated were made to wait for a parent to pick them up.

Meanwhile, troopers and K-9s searched the dark woods for teens. Many were found. A few reportedly told their peers the next day they slept in the woods all night. Toward the end of the search the Cornwall Fire Department was dispatched so that its thermal imaging camera could be used.

Cornwall First Selectman and fire department volunteer Gordon Ridgway said they located several students with the camera.

As for Dzenutis, Ridgway said,  “Ralph is on the fire department. He does a lot for the town. I’m not sure what he was thinking. Maybe things just got out of hand.â€�

Students claim it was not clearly stated before the party that alcohol would be served. But, Foster said, to assume there would be no drinking going on would be nothing short of naïve.

The parent of two, Foster said she was not the popular mom when hers were in high school. She didn’t allow them to attend after-prom parties.

“If parents let their kids go to these parties, that’s their choice,� she said. “Some parents did say ‘no.’ �

At the same time, she said she understands the difficult choices parents have to make.

“You can walk out in the hall this morning and tell exactly who was at the party and who wasn’t. That’s all everyone’s talking about.�

Outside of private parties, she said,  students do not have a lot of options for places to gather.

When asked why the school or a parent group does not plan something, she said the school would not take on that responsibility. Groups have organized supervised parties in the past, but they were sparsely attended, she said.

Foster said she would support efforts by parents to organize an event. She suggested, as one example, renting out the YMCA for an all-night pool party.

Meanwhile,  although the school cannot impose any sort of general discipline for the off-campus activity, athletes are held accountable for their actions outside of school. They are expected to set a good example and the “blue bookâ€� of rules for Housy athletes prohibits them from attending parties where alcohol is served or consumed.

Dzenutis posted a $2,500 bond. He is to appear in Bantam Superior Court May 26. He did not return a phone call asking for comment by press time.