Arkansas Blog

Okay, let's make the entire county dry including the country clubs, the private boat clubs on the lake, the VFW and other retired military clubs. Otherwise, this is just a farce. I doubt if those kids at the playground can afford to go to the restaurant for a drink without their parenta along.

The entire state needs to be made wet. Here in Faulkner County and In White County, the primary trash on the side of the road isn't soda cans. It is beer cans and bottles and booze bottles. So the country is dry and they are drinking while driving to Cabot, or Morrilton, or Little Rock to get the supplies and drinking their way home. If they can buy it locally, maybe we can stop these road trips!.

Another thought to the above. Do not allow package stores or any other stores selling beer to sell it cold. Hot beer isn't the same unless you are after slugs.

Seeing this shizz...is just difficult to imagine it's happening.
We repealed the 18th Amendment in Dec 1933, and now this.

Never will learn.

Being a former citizen of that estemed (ahem) county, I can attest to the fact, there was as much alcohol and MJ (very good stuff) as any other place in the universe. So the comment "Keep Cleburne Dry" turns out to be one of those "the horse is out of the barn" type thingies.

What we have is a few trying to tell the rest of us how to run our lives. They would rather have people driving to where ever they can get a drink and then driving back thus putting them on the road longer and maybe making them drink more than be able to get it locally. It's the 21st century for Pete's sake, we need to make the whole state wet and allow at least the sale of beer in grocery stores on Sunday and allow you to get a drink of your choice in a restaurant on Sunday. We do all this advertising to get people to come visit Arkansas or locate a factory here and it's embarrassing when they run into our archaic liquor laws.

If the people don't like liquor that's fine, but don't try and inflict their views on the rest of us. Go ahead and run the private clubs off and watch your tax revenue shrink and then when you complain because the infrastructure isn't being maintained somebody can remind you about those private clubs that you ran off and the business that went with them.

I grew up in a dry county and we knew that on Friday and Saturday night to be extra vigilant regarding the traffic coming into the county from the next county over where the liquor stores were as close to the county line as they could be.

Nothing like a rally at the capitol on Saturday when there's nobody there to see it.

Talk about preaching to the choir!

lrdem: "What we have is a few trying to tell the rest of us how to run our lives."

I have no dog in this fight, but let me stir the pot a bit. The residents of Cleburne County who don't want alcohol served commercially in their county would say that those outside their county are telling them how to run their lives. All these arguments about not forcing people to drive for alcohol, increased economic development, etc. may or not be correct. Either way they are beside the point for this argument. I would contend that even if you think that the residents of dry counties are stupid to remain dry, that is their decision to make. The place to make these arguments is in a local option election, not the Alcohol Beverage Control Board.

I agree. A dry county should be dry. Period. No watering holes of any kind. Period. Of the 42 dry counties, only seven have no watering holes. Dry 'em all up. That will be the best guarantee of voting these "dry" counties wet in a hurry!

Doesn't make any difference if you sell it cold. An aluminum can in ice will be OK in 8 to 12 minutes. Try it.

Dan Limke, I take issue to your report of the Coalition of Dry Counties Rally! While it is true that Larry Thomas asked for a show of hands of (something similar to) anyone who has known someone with a drinking problem, that was a very, very small side issue of the rally. Most of the words spoken centered on the right of counties who have voted to be 'dry' to remain so. We were told that the law allows for private non-profit clubs to have permits. Profit-making public restaurants surely do not fall into this category! We were reminded that wet counties have the right to serve and sell alcohol. At the same time, counties who have voted to be "dry" should have the right to remain so until we choose to change it. Our coalition is NOT about prohibition, but rather about upholding the INTENT of the local law.
You also stated that the crowd was "retirement-age." While there were indeed some of retirement age present, did you not notice the many (including myself) who have many more years of employment in our future? In the group of 20 who came from my small town, the average age is slightly over 43 years. I saw many young adults and several small children present. I am also not sure where you got the idea that most of the crowd were from Cleburne County. Did you talk to them? Did you poll us? I have been employed in a public (government) position and saw many groups of (mostly not-yet-retired) people whom I know from Saline, Pulaski, Faulkner, White Grant, and Craighead Counties. I am not from Cleburne County.
The signs that rally attendees held were overwhelmingly about the abuse of existing laws, the right of local citizens to decide whether or not their county is dry, and the way some of the ABC board often ignores or insults those who come to speak against the issuance of permits. The only "anti-alcohol" sign that I remember seeing was the one that appeared online with your report.
In reply to the argument that dry laws cause people who drink to have to drive longer distances while drinking.isn't drinking while driving illegal regardless of the distance?

Will there ever come a day that Arkansas will move forward and legalize alcohol sales in every county?

I would contend that even if you think that the residents of dry counties are stupid to remain dry, that is their decision to make. The place to make these arguments is in a local option election, not the Alcohol Beverage Control Board.

Posted by: Perplexed

I wonder if those "independent thinking" people of Cleburne County would be willing to give up their share of the tax revenue on alcohol sold in other counties?

That's a great point. Refusing to sell alcohol for moral issues but taking the tax money
from those who do sell it is a little hypocritical.

Having a dry county doesn't decrease drinking one iota. What it does do is increase
the number of people drinking and driving.

If we really were concerned about public safety, we'd outlaw alcohol and legalize
the safer alternative, marijuana.

I'm going to carry Country Boy's banner. Even though I cannot smoke the divine weed, like being dry, the issue should be put to a vote. Let the people rule.

Afterall, could the Terminator be wrong! click

dp3,

I only caught the tail-end of Reverend Thomas' speech (I was previously inside the capitol for an unrelated photo shoot) and my first impression upon seeing the crowd was that it was a senior-related issue. I did see some of you young-uns there, but didn't mention the children, figuring they didn't travel there by choice to articulate their thoughts on government policy. Yes, I did talk to several people, but did no polling.

A person who appeared to be toting things around for the rally told me most were from Cleburne County, and I was told "this all began when such-and-such happened in Heber Springs..."

I don't think the photo misrepresents the sign-holder's opinion, or the feelings of those people I did talk with.

The lack of media-types present was interesting to me. A lone KHTV reporter was there, and her piece (and Max's links above) convey the story well.

I hope not, Kizzy. While I am not against allowing alcoholic beverages to be purchased, I am against the loss of our citizens' ability to pass laws by majority rules that can not be overcome by centralized state or federal regulations.

If it was majority rule that would be one thing but to overcome a "dry" vote from the 1930-40s requires more than a 50% plus one vote. That part ought to be challenged.

Fine, Couldn't Be Better.

Then challenge it at the ballot box. That is part of our system of laws and government. But, I still do not believe in overturning existing legislation adopted by vote of the citizens or legislators by the delegated authority of a state agency to create regulations that are not subject to ballot box approval. That is not a part of our system of laws and regulations.

The legislature does delegate the authority to create regulations in many laws, but not to overturn existing legislation.