Spot checks by the sheriff's department have shown a dramatic decrease in the number of merchants selling alcohol to underage customers.

These undercover buyers are sent out each year to see how many businesses actually sell to kids.

Last year, 45 out of 48 businesses got caught doing just that.

They say this year, 11 percent of the retailers they checked on were caught selling to underage buyers.

Last year it was 94 percent.

The Marshall County Family Resource Network feels good about that.

This agency led an effort to reduce teen access to alcohol by teaching sellers how not to sell to minors.

"Well, after last year and after we'd seen so many merchants selling alcohol to the underage buyers during compliance checks, we began offering alcohol merchant compliance classes that teach alcohol salespeople how to properly check identification and also how to look for signs of intoxication in people that are of legal drinking age and could be coming into their store and trying to purchase alcohol," said Latrisha Whitelatch, substance abuse prevention director at Marshall County Family Resource Network.

The FRN will continue to offer the class, in fact the next one is August 20.

It's free to all Marshall County business people.

But it's open to anyone in the Ohio Valley interested in attending.

For more information, call the Family Resource Network at (304) 845-3300 or email them at marshallcountyfrn@comcast.net.