At times, DeKalb resident Carol Krusbe still waits for her 19-year-old daughter Stacey to walk through the door.

“It just seems so strange,” Carol Krusbe said with tears in her eyes. “I keep expecting the door to open and she’s not there.”

Stacey C. Krusbe was killed in an auto accident on June 11 after allegedly being served alcohol by a friend behind Andy’s Lounge, 317 E. Lincoln Hwy., and at McCabe’s Night Club, 323 E. Lincoln Hwy.

The incident has brought one question to mind—were Stacey and her underage friends allowed to walk into McCabe’s without being carded and drink alcohol?

According to McCabe’s Owner Mufid Saleh, “It’s a fact that girl (Stacey Krusbe) got rejected that night.”

DeKalb Police and the city attorney, however, have filed charges with the DeKalb liquor commissioner regarding the presence of minors inside the bar and the consumption of alcohol by such persons. A public hearing on the case has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 26 in Room 200 of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 S. Fourth St.

The hearing will determine whether McCabe’s should have its license suspended or revoked or receive fines of up to $500 for allegedly allowing minors Krusbe and Anessia Ragan to enter or remain in the bar and be sold or permitted to drink alcohol.

“It’s not really fair,” Saleh said. “I think the police know we do a good job carding. I’m going to contest the charges.”

But the charges came as no surprise to Carol Krusbe who believes Stacey and her friends were allowed to walk right into the bar, and proof of this stems from the fact no identification was found on Stacey at the time of the accident.

“Something had to be done,” she said. “Maybe it will save the lives of other kids.”

Although Saleh expressed sorrow for Stacey’s family, he said he believes Stacey, as an adult, should be held responsible for her own actions. If she got into the bar, he said, “she knew she wasn’t supposed to come in.

“Why am I getting all of the blame for it? I’m in 100 percent belief that I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said.

Stacey’s older sister Sue Farris, a Sycamore resident, believes the incident uncovers a major problem in DeKalb. “I think it’s high time something is done about minors being allowed to walk right into bars,” she said. “They (bar bouncers) just kind of turn the other cheek. I’ve seen it firsthand.”

Farris said the problem festers during the summer because business drops off when many students go home. In order to make more money, the bars slack off when it comes to restricting minors, she said.

“Maybe somehow something good can come out of this,” she said. “If they started to fine people and do what’s necessary, maybe less accidents would occur and more lives would be saved.”

But DeKalb Police Lt. Richard Moudy said the summertime is no different than the rest of the year. Because of DeKalb’s environment, a number of young people in the community who go to school and a number of residents under 21 will attempt to get into bars, he said.

“It’s not just a problem during the summer, it’s a problem all year long,” Moudy said. “I think the problem has been here ever since they’ve had alcohol.”

He also gave DeKalb bars some credit. “I think they’re pretty diligent about checking I.D.‘s.”

The McCabe’s incident is the second case in which minors allegedly were allowed to enter a bar in DeKalb. The liquor license of Paradise Club, located in the Days Inn, 1212 W. Lincoln Hwy., was suspended on June 25 for one week because a 15-year-old girl was found in the bar.