A County 4-H extension agent was arrested Monday for allegedly having alcohol on the Straughn Middle School campus.
Lt. Lance Price with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board said his agency was notified by the Covington County Sheriff’s Office following a report of a suspicious vehicle in the school parking lot.
Price said once the deputy investigated the vehicle and found a cooler containing beer and vodka, as well as several empty bottles, the ABC board was notified.
Price said officials arrested Tanya Bales on the charge of felony possession of an alcoholic beverage on a school premise. Price said Bales travels throughout Covington County visiting schools and providing 4-H classes to students.
“From what I understand, I think she’d been to a party this past weekend and didn’t remember she had the cooler in her possession,” he said. “I can’t emphasize enough that it’s illegal to have an alcoholic beverage on any school property. We’ve set a precedent with our arrests for this charge in the past, and we have to continue to follow the law.”
Bales was released later Monday afternoon on a $3,000 bond.