Pay to play

Has the mother of a Newport Middle School student invented a new low in pay-to-play?

Sherry Herzner has been charged with hosting a slumber party at her home, where she allegedly collected money from seven teenagers, then bought vodka and converted the event into a drinking party. A 14-year-old girl, afraid of another girl who wanted to fight, blew the whistle on the drink-and-drown when she called her mother to come and rescure her.

A Newport police officer lamented that some parents think they are doing kids a favor by serving alcohol at home to give them the experience in a controlled environment. But aren't adults' motives rendered questionable and any thread of responsibility shredded the instant they start downing the alcohol themselves? Police found Herzner "highly intoxicated."