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Time change in Sunday drink hours challenged          Send a link to a friend 

[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.

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"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. 

Voting yes: Luster, Hasprey, O'Neill, Sahs, Stewart, Werth, Farmer

Voting no: Mitchell, Ruben, Voyles, Gleason, Logan

A 7-5 decision says that Sunday drinking hours will be 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. in the county.

[Jan Youngquist]

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