A group of Saline County residents has met to discuss putting an end to the 77 years of alcohol prohibition in the county.
Shelli Russell, who operates MySaline.com, generated interest in the subject when she posted a query on her website asking if anyone else wanted to look into getting the issue on the ballot in 2014.
She expected about 20 people to attend last week’s informational meeting on Thursday at Denton’s Trotline, 2150 Congo Road in Benton, to talk about the steps needed to make that happen.
“The last time we voted on this was during World War II, I think, and my guess was it was a bunch of women that put it to the vote before their husbands got home from the war,” Russell said. “We are a much different society now.”
In fact, the only vote on the matter was Feb. 11, 1936, County Clerk Doug Curtis said. Records show that 431 people voted for the county to become wet, but 620 voted to keep it dry.
Talk of putting the decision to voters again has come up in the past few election cycles but never amounted to anything, Russell said.
She believes it would bring in more revenue from residents now spending money in neighboring wet counties, she said, adding that it would also be safer.
“Statistics show that [driving while intoxicated arrests] decrease in wet counties. There are more in a dry county because there are actually people who will go drive somewhere to get alcohol, then find their way back home,” she said.
Two wet counties border Saline County: Pulaski and Garland. The remaining three border counties - Perry, Hot Spring and Grant - are dry.
Russell contends that allowing alcohol sales will also bring more businesses intoSaline County, boosting economic growth. Major restaurant chains may not want to start up a business in a dry county because they have to go through an extra process and acquire a privilege license to sell alcohol, Russell said.
Russell isn’t the only one with such thoughts. A recent plan called Saline 2020 that was released by the Saline County Economic Development Corp. projects that most counties will become wet in the next few years. Extra revenue from alcohol sales taxes could benefit the county, the report noted.
Last year, Benton imposed an alcohol tax on drinks sold in private clubs, but the proceeds weren’t immediately as high as anticipated, generating slightly less than $4,000 in the first three months. Bryant considered imposing such a tax on alcohol sold in permitted restaurants to pay for needed police vehicles, but the City Council voted against itand found alternative funds to purchase vehicles.
About 800 people said they wanted alcohol sales in Saline County when surveyors were collecting information for the Saline 2020 report this year, said the corporation’s executive director, Eddie Black.
But before the issue is put on the ballot next year, a petition and 24,619 signatures of registered voters would need to be collected. That could be the hardest part, Curtis said.
“I think its going to be hard for them to get the signatures, but it is not impossible. Benton County, they did it. Boone County did. Park County, [and] I think Marion Township in Drew County did it. So it can be done,” he said. “I think that if it goes to the ballot and they have that many signatures, I think it would have a great possibility of passing.”
If it does make it to the ballot and the issue fails, four years would have to pass before it can tried again, Curtis said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 8 on 06/24/2013