Tuesday, February 9, 2010 | DeKalb County's Oldest Newspaper |
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Alcohol veto takes voice from communities
Published April 30, 2009
Over the years, most of the calls to change Alabama’s outdated constitution have centered on the state Senate and House controlling too much of what goes on at the local level. On Tuesday, Gov. Bob Riley added another layer to the movement.
Riley vetoed a bill that would have done two things. First, it would have allowed restaurants in Shelby County to continue selling alcohol on Sundays. That has little or nothing to do with the rest of us, especially the governor. The people of Shelby County or their elected state representatives should decide that issue, not Riley.
The second part of the bill would have had a much greater impact in DeKalb County. It called for enabling municipalities with populations of at least 1,000 and less than 7,000 to be allowed to vote on alcohol sales. It would not have allowed alcohol sales, but instead would have given the right to the people of Collinsville, Crossville, Henagar, Rainsville and Sylvania the ability to vote and decide for themselves. Also, the DeKalb County towns of Fyffe and Powell are just short of the 1,000-population threshold.
The original bill – which this page supported – put the population limit at 500, which would have allowed Mentone, one of the largest tourist attractions in Northeast Alabama, the ability to decide on alcohol sales. We were disappointed in the change, but still believe alcohol sales should always be a local issue and communities should have the right to decide for themselves.
The Alabama House could vote as soon as today to override Riley’s veto. We encourage DeKalb County’s representatives – Todd Greeson, Jack Page and Richard Lindsey – to quickly dismiss the governor’s attempt at controlling local issues and put the power back in the hands of the people.
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The Fort Payne Times-Journal | Publisher: J.D. Davidson
811 Greenhill Blvd.NW, Fort Payne, Alabama 35967 | Tel: 256-845-2550 | Email
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