Last modified: Thursday, September 25, 2008 2:15 PM PDT Prep players face rebuke By JESSICA KELLER ARGUS OBSERVER ONTARIO — The Ontario School District will suspend a number of prep athletes from games in the football, volleyball and soccer fall schedule after officials determined the youths took part in an illegal drinking party last weekend. Ontario School District Superintendent Dennis Carter said, while he is not sure how high school administrators learned of the party or circumstances, at some point they were notified about a number of high school athletes at a party Saturday night consuming alcohol. Ontario Police Department Capt. Mark Alexander said, while police did hear about the party, he did not think it took place in Ontario. He said he called Malheur County Sheriff’s Office and was told sheriff’s deputies were not investigating an underage drinking party either. “So if it was in Malheur County, no police responded to it,” Alexander said. While Carter said he cannot name the students involved, he said apparently the athletes included football, volleyball and soccer players. “Our high school is still, at this time, working through who was involved, how many kids and things like that,” he said. He said, when high school administrators became aware of the party, they began questioning some of the students said to be involved. Carter said the school district’s co-curricular code lists the penalties for such offenses as drinking at parties. He said the penalty for a first offense is three weeks suspension from those extracurricular activities or suspension from three contests, whichever is longer. “If we determine that (students) were at the party, but not participating, sometimes there’s a provision on a first offense that the penalty may be different if we establish they were not drinking but were there,” Carter said. He said, the investigation is difficult at times because students may deny involvement, but school officials usually have testimony from other students establishing who was taking part in such situations. Once students are determined to be involved, their parents are notified, and the penalty begins immediately. In this case, Carter said, high school officials probably won’t conclude their investigation until the end of this week or the beginning of next. “I think, at this time, we have about four or five football players and four or five volleyball players that the determination has already been made and the penalty has already been started,” Carter said.