[JULY 20, 2005] County officials wrangled around a
consideration of whether to extend drinking hours on Sundays. A
second-time request from the owner of the Lawndale Tap, Dave Naugle,
spurred a debate to modify Sunday drinking to begin at 11 a.m.
rather than 1 p.m.
In his first request that was made a year ago,
Naugle said that he wished to be able to serve NASCAR fans, there to
watch the races on the big screen with lunch and a beer. That
request was just for a set number of Sundays, the NASCAR season.
This year his request was for year-round, an all-the-time change,
which meant amending the county liquor ordinance.
There are
currently seven licenses this affects:
Atlanta, the former Country Aire
Hartsburg, Tom's Lodge
Latham, The Corn Crib
Lawndale, Lawndale Tap
Mount Pulaski, Dingers
Clubs:
The Maple Club, Lincoln
The Elks, Lincoln
A straw vote at last Thursday's
board-of-the-whole meeting indicated it would pass, with only two "nos"
observed.
When discussion opened on Tuesday evening, a
number of board members were prepared with statements for, against
or betwixt. A couple of community members had also come to comment.
Dale Voyles opened by saying that he is not to
be a teetotaler, but when it comes to Sunday, he believes in keeping
the hours of serving alcohol from an hour to an hour and a half
after church services have let out, so families can go out to dinner
together.
He said he has strong beliefs, that Sundays
should be a time to think about family, a time to reflect on where
you are in life, and you're not going to do that sitting on a barstool in a tavern.
He said, "It seems like a small thing, but in
the eyes of the public, Sunday is church day. We need to respect
families and our community."
He added that this is also a financial and
legal consideration, as alcohol is a significant contributor to
incidents calling for sheriff's deputies, adding to legal system
costs, a factor in domestic violence and juvenile detention costs.
We are voting tonight to add days to our juvenile detention
agreement with McLean County, and this is the second addition this
year, he said.
Liquor committee chairman Gloria Luster
responded that she believes that the bars being open are not going
to influence people into attending church services. That has to come
from the heart.
However, people out in the county come into the
city of Lincoln, where the bars are open at 11 a.m. This puts the
county license-holders at a disadvantage.
Jonathan Wright spoke as a member of the
community. He said his time on the third floor of the courthouse --
as assistant state's attorney -- has made him aware of the influence
of alcohol in this community. "I think you would be stunned at the
number of police reports, including juveniles, that involve
alcohol," Wright said.
"I'm not here to say we should be dry," he said. But he urged
thinking about the added costs.
While we may know people who drink responsibly,
there are many people do not. Some may say: Well, I'll go to the bar
a little bit earlier on Sunday and spend the day in the bar, he
said.
He added that studies show that hard drug use
usually begins with soft drugs, like alcohol.
Bob Twist spoke as a preacher. He said he had
done enough counseling to know the effects of alcohol on an
individual and families. While he respects the right to individual
opinion, he wanted the board to consider the effect of expansion. He
said they have the responsibility to control those things that cause
destruction to our society and culture.
John Stewart addressed the issue from the point
of view of the businesses. We just asked them for money on their
video machines, he said.
He thinks they should be able to have the same
hours as their competitors.
Dick Logan said that there are some places in
the county that don't even serve alcohol -- Atlanta and Elkhart --
and they do all right.
He said that he lost a son to an
alcohol-related incident, and that influences his feeling on the
matter.
I drink alcohol, but I try to do so
responsibly, he said. But I don't think we have to encourage it.
Luster responded that she has heard requests to
extend the hours to 3 a.m., but she would never do that. The request
to begin at 11 a.m. would allow the businesses to serve certain
patrons fit a specific time, such as the NASCAR fans.
Voyles concluded by saying that alcohol-related
incidents are a drain on our treasury, a drain on our
socioeconomics. Think of all our communities, that it's time that
you start planting your feet and saying, "What is contributing to
those costs?"
If we keep passing things like this, we are
contributing to our own demise, he said. Just because Lincoln has
those hours is not a good enough presentation.
