Sample Ballot Included Darren Doyle, story: Voters in the Lincoln district will see an option on their ballot for the upcoming Primary Election whether or not to allow alcohol sales in the district. This option will only appear on ballots of those in the Lincoln District and will not appear anywhere else in the county. Several questions have been asked as to how this works, who decided the option, and what exactly does it mean. Edmonson County Clerk Kevin Alexander answered several of those questions in an interview earlier this week. Clerk Alexander explained that when a person or group is interested in adding such an option to a voting ballot, they must first circulate a petition within that area, per KRS 241.010 (67). In order to move forward, the petition must contain the signatures of at least 25% of the registered voter turnout in the petitioned area. Signatures of those that are not registered voters in that particular district do not count, in addition to other requirements. "Once the petition is verified and the signed petition is brought in to the Judge-Executive's office, it is the duty of the clerk's office to verify the number of acceptable petitioners there are, based upon the list of registered voters in the precinct," Alexander stated. "Petitioners can be rejected for a number of reasons - not a voter in the precinct, failure to complete properly, or unverifiable information. This petition, despite the rejection of several signers due to some of the aforementioned examples, exceeded the satisfactory number of petitioners required." Clerk Alexander stated that a total of 129 signatures were required on the petition and that 154 signatures were validated. Alexander said that once the petition signature numbers were verified, Judge/Executive Scott Lindsey's Office then presented it to County Attorney Adam Turner's Officer, who also reviewed and determined it was legally acceptable. Following, Judge Lindsey's office then sent an order to the Clerk's Office for the option to be officially added to the ballot for the upcoming election, which states, "Are you in favor of the sale of alcoholic beverages in the Lincoln Precinct (E101) of Edmonson County, Kentucky?" None of the aforementioned county offices acted in favor or opposition of the petition, they simply performed their duties as required by law. One local businessman, Tony Mello, owner of Saling's Grocery and Bait Shop on Nolin Dam Road, located just east of the dam, started the petition in the area and says he has multiple reasons for initiating the option. Mello, who has owned the business since 1975, told the Edmonson Voice that he was also approached by others in the county in support of the option, including one former business owner who recently failed to gather enough signatures for a countywide option. When asked how often tourists visiting the lake ask about available alcohol sales, Mello said "In the winter time, only once or twice every day, but during the summer, it's all the time. I just tell them go 17 miles from here to Leitchfield. And over there, they've seen about $288,000 from it." Mello said that personally, he isn't interested in making more money, but say the benefits outweigh the negative. He says more revenue means higher pay for his employees, a possible tax that would bring increased revenue for the Fiscal Court, and the possibility of adding a state lodge at the Nolin State Park. His said his biggest reason is to provide a better revenue stream for the area without having to increase property tax. "We all know Edmonson County has financial issues, but people here don't want higher property taxes," he said. "We have to get money from somewhere but we need to keep those property taxes down, and that's what I'm in favor of." In the United States, dry counties are becoming a thing of the past. Arkansas leads the way with the most, with 33 out of 75 counties (44%) being completely dry. Who comes in second? You guessed it--Kentucky, with 46 out of 120 counties (38%) being completely dry, according to the KY Cabinet for Economic Development. Edmonson County is considered dry with exceptions, with alcohol sales being allowed at Park Mammoth Golf Course and the hotel/restaurant there because of the "winery" on the property. So what are the pros and cons to counties and/or specific areas becoming wet? Those in favor will agree with much of what Mr. Mello stated in his comments, which include increased revenue and tourism benefits, along with fewer DUI offenses, due to the fact that those who drink do not have to drive as far to purchase it. According to a 2012 article by the London, KY newspaper The Times-Tribune, Kentucky showed a higher number of DUI-related crashes in dry counties than their dry or moist neighbors, but an article by the American Addiction Centers noted that according to the CDC, limiting the number of days when alcohol can be sold (like limiting alcohol sales in wet areas on Sundays) has shown to decrease consumption, alcohol-related violence, and DUI-related incidents. In a study published by Montana State University in 2014, legalizing alcohol purchase in areas where a ban once existed caused an increase in crime in some instances. The study found that "a 10% increase in drinking establishments is associated with a 3 to 5% increase in violent crime. The estimated relationship between drinking establishments and property crime is also positive, although smaller in magnitude". The study also showed that strict prohibitions on the sale of alcohol were associated with a decrease in total arrests and that restrictions on local alcohol availability can play an important role in crime prevention. On the other hand, dry and moist counties in Kentucky had a higher rate of meth lab seizures than wet counties, and a 2018 study of Kentucky counties concluded that "meth lab seizures in Kentucky would decrease by 35% if all counties became wet." Mello said he would be the first person to call 911 if someone came into his store to purchase alcohol that was already under the influence or to report someone committing an alcohol-related crime. "I think there will be a lot more benefits from it," he said. "If it's not, then vote it back out. If it's not worth it in Edmonson County, Tony Mello does not want it." One of the main reasons that the county has remained dry over all the years is that the county is made up of dozens of churches whose doctrines teach abstinence from alcohol. Those roots run deep and most of the churches have specifications in their Church Covenants (a basic creed) that state something along the lines of abstaining from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks a beverage. The stipulation is one of the ways local churches choose to be separated from the secular world. In the Lincoln Precinct alone, there a half dozen of these churches or more, with most, if not all, their members opposing the measure. While no churches have reached out to the Edmonson Voice specifically, we have spoken to many residents in the district that are against local alcohol sales; many of which did not want to be named. We spoke with one voter of the area, Mr. Shane Wilson, who expressed his opinion on the upcoming vote. He said a large group of concerned citizens are strictly against the measure because they feel more harm than good will come from it. "Edmonson County is a great place to live," Wilson said. "We are a county rich in traditional Christian values that is tucked away from the fast paced, big city life. There’s a large amount of people that want to keep the peaceful and slower-paced living separate from the speed and dangers of certain aspects of society. Concerned citizens against this measure truly believe it will be more harmful to our children and future generations by making a drug more easily available and will bring more crime, dangers, addictions and tragedies into our community." Mr. Wilson said while the economic benefits have been presented in the area, he felt they would be limited to only a few businesses, but the negative impact, including that on our youth, would be much more negative than any financial gain. "There are also negative economic aspects as well since crime, traffic accidents, vandalism, etc. are all known to increase in communities to move from dry to wet. There is also a big difference in what people do in their own homes versus what is publicly allowed and what would be an increased accessibility of alcohol to our youth in our community." SAMPLE BALLOT One argument that we've heard in not only this conversation but also in many others, is how Edmonson County is behind the times, with no real way of growing or developing a better economy. Many are happy with a "Mayberry"-type feel, enjoying small town life while traveling outside county lines for work and shopping. Mr. Wilson said he likes the way of life here and he and others want to keep it as long as possible.
"The people that stay here are the ones that have religious or family ties or just love the community values that we have," he added. "Many people like keeping a distance between their work or big city life and the things that go along with that and enjoy coming home to the peacefulness and safety in our county. This measure is a threat to that way of life. Concerned citizens that are against this feel that voting this measure in will put more dangers on our roads, make drugs more accessible to our youth and also impact families and homes in a much more negative way than people can imagine, if they haven’t been around and seen the affects that alcohol can have. For us concerned citizens that love the safety and peacefulness in this county, we are wanting measures like alcohol sales to keep a distance away from our community. Naturally, we know that more populated areas have passed these measures and our hopes are that our community will not adopt and bring this into our county. Nolin Lake has brought a large number of people into our county to enjoy this slower paced way of life and the beauty of our county. We are a vacation spot for many but we don’t want vacation and tourism to dictate our normal day to day community life and values." Mello said he understood why area churchgoers weren't happy when the petition was started, and said he chose not to go door-to-door or have a standard campaign-type push for the measure. "If they are a church member, I wouldn't ask them to sign the petition. I wouldn't even think of it," he said. "I wouldn't want it to be used against them and someone would use it against them." While this magisterial district now has two polling precincts - Lincoln (E101) and Bee Spring (E102), Clerk Alexander reiterated that the subject area for this vote are ONLY the voters of Lincoln. Those voter ballots contain the question. "Additionally, if a person is registered in a party other than the Democrat or Republican, they may vote in regard to this one question on a ballot," Alexander stated.
1 Comment
Ann Claycomb
4/19/2024 01:13:06 am
I completely agree with Bro Shane…….we don’t need this. As for Tony Mello not caring about the money that’s a joke. I don’t want this. It will not benefit anyone.
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