Updated 08/28/2008 08:30 PM
Alcohol referendum stirs debate
YADKIN COUNTY, N.C. -- A referendum to allow the sale of alcohol countywide in Yadkin County is stirring debate in the county's business community.
Yadkin county voters approved the sale of unfortified wine in 2006, but the only place to buy malt beverages or mixed beverages, or find an ABC store is in the Town of Yadkinville.
The Yadkin County Chamber of Commerce said it's time to allow sales countywide.
"We see it as an economic development issue," said executive director Bobby Todd. "The sale of alcohol is something our visitors to the county expect."
Todd said countywide sales would spur growth in the number of restaurants.
"A high-end restaurant, let's face it, will not go into a municipality of a county where they cannot sell alcohol," said Todd. "It's part and parcel of their revenue stream."
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But chamber member and Yadkinville businessman John Clifton doesn't buy the argument.
"Where they gonna put them?" said Clifton. "Where they gonna put the restaurants? Where they gonna put the motels?"
The ABC store in Yadkinville may be there to stay, but what Clifton says Yadkin County doesn't need is another one.
"I see people pulling into that thing day in and day out, people that are not from around this county to buy alcohol, so, that's one reason why I'm opposed to it," he said.
The chamber's Todd says Yadkinville restaurants and grocery stores that have sold alcohol since voters approved a similar referendum have generated tax revenue for the town.
He said the county is losing out.
"For example, if beer sales were allowed within Yadkin County last year, it would have generated over a $100,000, purely by the population of the county," said Todd.
But Clifton says, tax benefits aside, alcohol sales are a safety issue.
"I don't want it for my children," said Clifton. "I want my children to be able to ride bicycles on the highways and things like that, instead of me worrying about drunk drivers out here on the highway.
Voters in the Yadkin County town of Jonesville turned down a similar alcohol referendum two years ago.