Editor

A historic county-wide Sept. 9 alcohol referendum, which will allow voters to cast ballots for the sale of beer, mixed drinks and an ABC store, has received its first endorsement.

The Yadkin County Tourism Development Authority agreed last week to support the alcohol referendum. A draft resolution says in part that travel and tourism provide an important contribution to local economic development.

The ability to serve alcohol throughout the county "will provide additional economic opportunities" in Yadkin, the resolution says, generating direct and indirect tax revenues from alcohol sales.

The authority's endorsement came just two days after Yadkin commissioners voted 4-1 to schedule the referendum with Commissioner Brady Wooten casting the lone dissenting vote.

Commissioner Joel Cornelius introduced the resolution.

"People in this county complain that they never have a chance to vote on anything," Cornelius said. "Well, we're allowing them to vote on this . . . There are some who will vote against it to get re-elected. But we're not here to get re-elected. We're here to serve the residents of the county."

Commissioner Chad Wagoner agreed with Cornelius.

"I definitely think it is something that is long overdue," Wagoner said.

Commissioner Tommy Garner, the lone Democrat on the board, noted that alcohol consumption, like gambling, is about personal responsibility.

"It's just like the lottery," Garner said. "You don't have to use it if you don't want to. It's also untapped revenue."

Commissioner Chairwoman Kim Phillips said that it "gives voters a chance to vote on the issue."

Wooten said after Monday night's budget meeting that he believes voters should be allowed to voice their opinions on the issue.

"But this is not a good time," he said.

Wooten said that he was personally opposed to alcohol sales, adding that his vote was not influenced by his upcoming re-election bid in November or fear that he might alienate his conservative base. Wooten received the endorsement in the May 6 Republican primary of a conservative action group, organized by several area churches, that wants sectarian prayer restored at commissioner meetings.

"I just don't like alcohol," Wooten said. "People have a right to choose. I just don't think this is a good time . . . This is just a personal value for me."

Supporters of alcohol sales say that it is closely tied to economic development. It only makes sense, they say, for the rest of the county to receive revenue from alcohol sales that now go to Yadkinville and neighboring counties. Opponents say any revenue increase doesn't offset the detrimental effect that alcohol plays in the rise of domestic violence incidents and alcohol-related traffic accidents.

Until recently, Yadkin was a dry county where alcohol sales were illegal. That changed with the advent of new vineyards, which obtained special permits for their on-site tasting rooms. In 2003, Yadkinville voters narrowly approved wine sales inside the town limits. Three years later, Yadkinville voters approved beer, mixed drinks and an ABC store. Jonesville voters defeated an identical measure as they did in 1999.

Wine is now available throughout the county after voters two years ago approved a wine referendum.

The Sept. 9 vote is expected to face opposition in the Jonesville area where recently a majority of the town council voted to remove 40 grapevines planed in front of the new town hall.

Yadkin was once home to one of the largest alcohol distributors in the country. The Old Nick Whisky Co in eastern Yadkin flourished prior to prohibition in the 1920s. Alcohol sales were banned in the county in the 1950s after prohibition was repealed in the 1930s.