Spirited Debate on Spirits

Non-residents flood Boone mixed-drink forum
By Frank Ruggiero
frank@mountaintimes.com
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The Boone special public hearing on a mixed-drink referendum was served on the rocks, and with a twist: the number of non-residents outweighed that of town residents.

Anticipating a larger crowd than usual, the Boone Town Council had scheduled the April 24 public hearing at the Watauga County Administration Building, but the boardroom capacity could hardly contain the droves of concerned community members that congregated on the sidewalks of downtown Boone.

Many of them donned yellow T-shirts, bearing a crossed-out cocktail glass and the words “No liquor by the drink in Boone.” The shirts were reportedly distributed by an area church, and congregational members from many were on hand to voice opposition to liquor by the drink.

Though the matter concerns the potential availability of liquor by the drink in Boone bars and restaurants, the sole agenda item was discussion of the referendum, which, if approved, would allow citizens to vote yea or nay on the matter this fall.

The hearing featured testimony from 10 residents and 23 non-residents, some of whom owned property or businesses in town. Public comment opened with a passionate statement from the Rev. Derek Wilson of Zionville, who quoted Bible scripture and condemned strong drink as evil.

Citing a report from the Boone ABC Task Force, which says that liquor by the drink will boost revenue in the town of Boone, he said such funds would not even begin to cover the cost of additional ambulances and law enforcement that would become necessary were liquor by the drink allowed in Boone.

Wilson warned that the availability of liquor by the drink would result in rape and murder, the blood from which would stain the council’s hands.

Mac Forehand, director of the Boone Convention & Visitors Bureau and member of the Boone Tourism Development Authority, spoke on behalf of the TDA, saying that the prohibition of mixed drinks deters business from Boone.

“[Businesses] will not come hold meetings in Boone because they cannot have their choice of beverages,” Forehand said, noting that since beer and wine is already allowed, liquor should be, as well – both contain alcohol and can produce the same effects. “The people of Boone should have the opportunity to vote on this. You are not being asked to vote to allow alcohol. You are being asked to allow the people of Boone to vote on whether or not they want to do that.”

Robert Zane Tester, former police chief of Boone, said he recalls when Boone did not even allow beer and wine. Since then, Tester said he’s seen a lot to convince him of its negative effects. “I’ve held little babies in my hands that have been involved in alcohol-related accidents, I’ve seen men die in my hand that we’ve lifted out of vehicles,” he said. “When you make this decision, if you’re a Christian, I’d like for you to pray about it.”

Boone resident and restaurateur Justin Allen told how he left Denver, Colo. with 25 years in the restaurant business to move to Boone, where he cannot feasibly open the type of restaurant he desires without liquor by the drink, due to the required alcohol-food ratio. Once Allen had finished speaking, a disagreeing audience member jeered, “Then go back to Colorado.”

The Rev. Harold Danner, a resident of Zionville, said he’s lived in the western part of Watauga County all his life, and he opposed beer sales when that was first proposed.

“I knew what kind of damage it was going to do,” he said, adding that since that time, he’s been called out as a minister to visit homes where alcohol had damaged families, wreck sites where alcohol played a role, and graveyards where young victims had been buried.

“[Alcohol] has never been something that God has approved of,” Danner said, adding that references in the Bible to wine actually describe grape juice.
Vilas resident June Pope said she did not come to speak, but rather to take a stand.

“My childhood was robbed because of an alcoholic dad,” she said. “There was abuse, there were a lot of things that shouldn’t have gone on in our house, and… I hate [alcohol] with everything in me.”

Having worked as a first responder in Cove Creek, Pope said she’s seen firsthand the damage caused by drunk driving.

Dr. Adam Newmark, assistant professor of political science at Appalachian State University, said he’s taught state and local government, economic development and public policy. As such, he said that liquor by the drink is a good idea and good for business.

“This is the type of policy that will be good for the town of Boone,” Newmark said, noting that from a public policy standpoint, most of the testimony at the public hearing about the ills of alcohol is more anecdotal than factual.

There is no systematic research that touches on “the evils that people have talked about,” Newmark said, adding that if someone were to offer him a legitimate study showing otherwise, he would be glad to reconsider. “But they can’t do it, because there are no studies that suggest these are problems.”

Boone resident Andrew Mason said he spoke from experience as someone who served as chief toxicologist for the state of North Carolina and has studied alcohol impairment issues for more than 25 years. Restricting the choice of available alcohol will not prevent accidents, he said, noting that 80 percent and more of accidents are beer-related.

In professional practice, Mason said he has participated in hundreds of civil cases related to driving under the influence, and he can only remember a few where liquor was involved. Most incidents arrive from mass-market lager beers.

Accidents can be decreased if people are educated to drink responsibly and exercise taxis, buses and other designated driving programs.

“The great majority of people who do drink do so responsibly. Unfortunately, a small minority does not,” Mason said, adding that he adamantly opposes restricting the privileges of the majority because of an irresponsible minority.

Vilas resident Jimmy Galgano said he had once been an alcoholic and drug addict, and the purpose of his presence at the hearing was to preserve the safety and welfare of not only the community, but of America. He said the country was founded on “good, godly morals, but somewhere along the lines, politics took over.”

“How many kids have to die because we want to make more money for our town?” he Galgano said. “If you vote ‘yes’ for this, I tell you, you’re going to have the blood of little babies on your hands.”

Rich Jacobs, president of the Downtown Boone Development Association, said that while he supports liquor by the drink and would like to see the town “prosper in a good way,” he mainly believes that citizens should have the opportunity for a democratic vote.
“If it should so pass, the people against it will have three years’ time to put up a referendum to shut it down if they want,” Jacobs said.

“As I’ve been told in all the counties that have let it happened … there as not been one county to reverse this action.”
Business owner Jeff Templeton addressed the ABC Task Force’s reasons for pursuing liquor by the drink, one of which says the availability would help the town compete with others that do allow it, such as Blowing Rock, Banner Elk and West Jefferson.

“That reason translates into ‘We should do it because everyone else is doing it,’” Templeton said. “Well, that excuse didn’t work for me in high school, and it shouldn’t in the town of Boone.”

He presented statistics from a 2006 traffic study, saying that 32 percent of fatal crashes are from drunk drives aged 21 to 24, while the median age in Boone is 21.4 years. “That mixes a very sour drink,” Templeton said.

Boone resident Saul Chase said he also shares concern for the welfare and safety of Boone’s citizenry, and he supports the mixed beverage referendum.

“Because of the way the state sets up the laws in regard to alcohol, any area has … two choices and two choices only: you can either have a mixed beverage resolution in your town, or you can have brown-bagging,” Chase said.

If liquor by the drink is denied, the town is required to allow brown-bagging, where diners can bring bottles of liquor to restaurants with them, provided they’re concealed in a bag, he said.

By opposing the availability of liquor by the drink, Chase said that opponents are, essentially, supporting brown-bagging. “

You’re supporting allowing a person to bring a bag, and in that bag is a bottle, and they can drink, perhaps, too much from that bottle, and they might drink too much because they can’t have a partially filled bottle in their car when they leave,” he said. “So, as a result, brown-bagging encourages excess consumption.”

Boone resident Bunk Spann said he attended not to speak for or against mixed beverages, but rather to speak passionately about democracy and the opportunities it offers. The public hearing is an example of such, allowing people to come forward and share their thoughts, “and I celebrate that.”

“I encourage you to give the citizens to vote on this issue, and however they vote, I will live with that … and celebrate that,” Spann said.

The council is expected to vote on the matter at its next regular meeting, scheduled for May 15.