The local attempt to defeat a vote that would make the sale of alcohol legal in Albany and Clinton County is well underway,and involved what was billed as an “informational meeting” on the wet/dry issue held Monday night, December 19.

An estimated 80 people attended the approximate 45 minute information session held at the Clinton County Fairgrounds building, in what was basically a get the “no” vote out when the issue comes up for a special option election on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

The battle over whether or not Clinton County will become wet is in full gear after proponents of the legal sales of alcohol in the county officially filed a petition with the county clerk’s office a few weeks ago. Subsequently, by law, judge/executive Richard Armstrong set a date for the special election for next month.

The meeting was somewhat co-chaired by different individuals, primarily pastors David McIver and Jim England as well as former schools superintendent Mickey McFall.

The public meeting, which opened and closed with prayer, saw both a lot of verbal and hard copy information pertaining to different aspects and some “myths” as well about the legalization of alcohol and its presumed effects on a community.

Several local ministers from across the county were among those attending the meeting.

The group opposing the legal sale of alcohol has been officially named, Concerned Citizens for Families and have a mailing address set up for any contacts, that being P.O. Box 813, Albany, Kentucky 42602.

McIver, in his opening, noted that pastor David Dorn of Albany United Church of the Nazarene, had insisted the “families” be used in the organization’s title. He also said the group could not do anything officially until after the wet/dry issue became political, or until it was officially announced it would be on an election ballot.

McIver also theorized that many people in Clinton County were still unaware that the special election is even coming up on January 24 and stressed the need to inform local citizens about the election.

He further noted the word “families” was important in the group’s title because, “We’re not just against alcohol or the sale of it,” but the organization’s goal is to support families and the community.

McIver also noted the effort was not just created by a few, or just a single denomination, noting it was a “unified effort” with not one, but several denominations, groups and individuals supporting the opposition move.

The group seems well prepared to urge local citizens to not only vote “no” on the sale of alcohol, but to push to get unregistered voters registered in time and assist people in getting to the polls on election day.

The strategic plan of the group is listed as, among others, newspaper and radio ads, yard signs and possible banners and mailings to local residents. And, expect to see anti-wet group members in downtown Albany over every Saturday leading up to the vote carrying “vote no” signs, in an attempt to encourage people to vote against legal alcohol sales.

McFall, in citing several Kentucky Revised Statutes pertaining to “revenues” that proponents project for the county, discussed what he called “myths” about such revenue being brought in.

Under KRS laws governing the sale and tax collections from local alcohol sales, most of the revenue actually would wind back up in Frankfort, and the small amount of money raised would actually, by law, be used for specific purposes, not in the county’s general fund.

For example, McFall noted, revenues from excise taxes, wholesale retailer and sales tax would all go back to the state, not to Albany and Clinton County. Further, he said, the regulatory license fees, which would be set by the county, would come to the county but could only be used each budget period, by KRS statute for extra policing, and regulatory and administrative costs.

The (license) fees would be used to offset the aforementioned costs, he said, and “the county won’t gain anything, or break even at best,” revenue wise.

McFall also said there were a lot of misconceptions among the public, saying at least one person had asked if the sale of alcohol issue passed, “Will it help get a new high school?”

He also theorized that proponents suggestions that the sale of alcohol in a community would attract more business, especially like restaurants, to come to the area. However, he said that usually many other items are taken into consideration for a business or industry to locate in a community and said whether or not alcohol is sold is “at the bottom of their list…if it’s even on their list.”

“We need to dispel some of the myths about the revenue and attracting business aspects,” he added.

Pastor Jim England then passed out some hard copy information about a church’s legal options pertaining to such issues of alcohol sales in a community, saying churches “do not need to be silent.” He estimated 80 percent of incarcerations involve some type of substance abuse, including alcohol, not to mention over a third of highway fatalities being a result of impaired drivers.

Although churches, by federal law, cannot take official stands on politics, such as openly supporting a certain political candidate or party, they do have leeway on local, morally based community issues.

Although federal law threatens to have churches removed from tax exempt status if they do directly get involved in politics in the pulpit, England and others noted that no church has ever, to date, lost tax exempt status because of the law.

McIver, in following up on England’s comments, said “We (including churches) have the liberty to “vote no” on the issue.”

McIver also noted that, despite several area counties and/or cities voting to allow the legal sale of alcohol, others have turned the measure down, including nearby Monticello which voted “no” this past fall. Plus, there are other areas with similar option elections coming up in January, including Rockcastle, McCreary and Knott and more closely, Monroe County, which will vote on the issue January 10.

He also told the audience that anyone wishing to help in the effort with either monetary donations or to volunteer in other ways, such as working on Saturdays holding signs, distributing materials, and so forth, can write to the aforementioned address.

He further stated his concern for children and young adults in the county if the wet vote succeeds, saying that if passed, children could walk into a convenience store and the first thing they would see for sale is alcohol. He said it may not seem that big a deal to some people, but it was to him.

McFall also informed those in attendance that if they wished to learn more about the legal aspects of what churches could legally do on such issues of alcohol sales, they could go online to the Liberty Counsel website. He also noted that churches, by law, could put a small portion of their funds toward such community issues, estimating up to around five to seven percent, adding he had confirmed this with George Baker of the state’s Registry of Election Finance.

Following the presentations and addresses, some people from the audience spoke and asked questions, primarily discussing the issue of making sure people vote, how to get people, especially the elderly to the polls, and the absentee voting process.

It was noted by one individual that absentee ballots can only be mailed back to the clerk’s office and must be received by January 17. Also, the deadline for non-registered voters to register in time to vote January 24 if next Tuesday, December 27 at 4 p.m.

Apparently the anti-wet forces will continue meeting, planning, being in public with “vote no” signs and distributing other information and materials right up until and on the date of the wet/dry referendum.