Orchard Park students were among those arrested at a party which involved underage drinking Friday night.

East Aurora police were called to a Jewett Holmwood Road residence Friday night, which resulted in the arrest of 22 youths for possession of alcohol by a person under 21 years of age.

Police Lt. Jack Wolff said Officer Dustin Waldron and Lt. Shane Krieger responded to a complaint of a loud party, where they observed approximately 60 high school-aged youths drinking what they suspected to be alcoholic beverages. When the group noticed the police vehicles, they scattered, Wolff said.

“When you get parties like this, everybody takes off in all directions,” Wolff said. “They were able to contain the 22 who were arrested.”

Wolff said in addition to the possession of alcohol charge, the host of the party, a 17-year-old minor, was charged with unlawfully dealing with a child. Wolff said the charge is associated with providing the alcohol to the youths attending the party.

Although the home is in the Town of Aurora, it lies within the Orchard Park Central School District.

Orchard Park Superintendent Matthew Mc- Garrity said he was made aware of the situation.

“Anytime the health and safety of a student or youth in our community is jeopardized, it is important for us to take prompt and proactive action,” said McGarrity.

“I am thankful that the East Aurora Police are involved and investigating an underage drinking incident, and I believe the District needs to act now to review and recommend changes to our current policies and procedures. We need to set a clear expectation for conduct on and off school property,” he said.

According to the Superintendent, the current district policy includes disciplinary action if an incident happens either on school grounds or at a school sponsored event, such as the prom.

Off-field incidents such as this are not addressed.

“It’s not covered by a policy right now,” said McGarrity.

The superintendent would like the board to talk about making changes to that section of the policy. As soon as the case is complete, McGarrity said he and the board will review the case to determine if the district will take any action against any students involved.

McGarrity would not confirm whether any of the students involved are members of athletic teams.

(East Aurora Editor Timothy Chipp contributed to the article).

e-mail: cgordon@beenews.com