Holly Taylor said she has irritated a few people who tried to buy tobacco products from her.

A clerk at Quick Mart on East Side Boulevard, she has asked for ID from some older customers, even if they looked like they might be at least 18 years old.

Quick Mart was one of 18 Muskogee stores targeted by a recent undercover program. It was a test by the Area Prevention Resource Center to find out if retailers check ID before selling tobacco products.

When she arrived at work that afternoon, her boss showed off a card that thanked him for checking ID. It from an APRC representative.

“It said, ‘Thank you for not selling tobacco to a minor,’” Taylor said. “We’re pretty proud of it. He kept it. He’s pretty big on the law.”

Taylor, 19, said she already knew how important it is to check ID because she previously worked for another convenience store. Her boss at that store told her failing to check ID can result in a $5,000 fine.

Deciding who has to fork over ID and who doesn’t can be a balancing act.

“Appearances and actions are a big thing,” she said. “I’ve grown up in this neighborhood, and I know most of my customers. But, if I ask ‘What’s your age?’ and they take a long time to answer me, I say, ‘Show me your ID.’”

Marianne Long, director of the APRC office in Eufaula, was one of the team conducting the “Reward Reminder” program. She and Associate Director Lisa Lewis sent in teenagers who each attempted to buy a tobacco product.

“We did all of them in one day,” she said. “I did nine stores and she did nine. I took the stores on the west side of Main Street, and she took the ones on the east side.”

Long said they recruit student volunteers who are 16 to 17 to enter stores.

“They never touch the product,” she said. “They don’t take any money into the store. Even if the clerk starts ringing it up, most will ask for ID then. Then if the merchant says ‘Are you 18?’ they cannot lie. They just leave the store.”

Long said she and Lewis always entered the stores about the same time as the teen.

“I’m already there; I’m doing something else,” she said. “After the attempted purchase, I go up to the counter. If they asked for ID, I give them the card that says we appreciate what they did. If they don’t ask for ID, we give them a card that says ‘You could be fined for this.’”

Only four of the 18 Muskogee retailers flunked the test. The city came in with 78 percent compliance with state law, she said.

Long’s APRC office has been conducting the checks since July, Long said. They cover three counties: Muskogee, McIntosh and Hughes.

“We report to the Department of Mental Health,” she said. “We do these every quarter. We’re supposed to do about a fourth of the stores (in each county) each quarter. In McIntosh County, we checked five outlets. Three of them complied. In Hughes County, all four complied.”

Long said the Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission does checks of retailer compliance. The difference is, they have law-enforcement power and can issue fines.

“Under the (Mike) Synar amendment, the state has to have no more than 20 percent noncompliance,” she said. “I believe ABLE looks at the results of Reward Reminder visits because it provides an indicator of how effective the enforcement program is.”

Reach Keith Purtell at 684-2925 or kpurtell@muskogeephoenix.com.