Wednesday, November 26, 2003
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Wednesday, November 26, 2003 |
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Liquor still on people’s minds in Tyrone By MICHAEL BOYLAN At last Thursday’s Tyrone Town Council meeting, there was an item on the agenda that was merely a formality, but it preceded a much deeper discussion of a still-controversial issue. Owners of the new Publix, which is set to open Dec. 11, applied for a wine and malt beverage license, which would give them approval to sell beer and wine and make them like every other grocery store. There was zero controversy and it was approved rather rapidly, but the subject of liquor came up several times during the meeting and it may come up more and more as time goes on. The meeting opened with public comments and both David Nebergall and his wife, Nancy, addressed the town council about their concerns now that the liquor-by-the-drink ordinance has passed in Tyrone. Nebergall gave the council members a visual aid of one of his concerns, as he placed close to a dozen beer cans and bottles that he collected around his property in a two-week period in front of the council. “This is proof of open container violations and, if they were thrown out after being consumed, a DUI as well,” said Nebergall. “Drinking is a personal decision and I wouldn’t tell anybody they can’t do it, but we have to share the roads. I’m afraid that the more available that we make it, the more problems will occur.” Nebergall also discussed how to prevent DUIs and wondered if police officers at every establishment that served liquor by the drink or bartenders taking the keys of people who ordered drinks were ways to stop it. He closed his comments by asking a question of whether another petition could get another vote to get liquor by the drink removed next year. The town attorney promised to look into that question. Nancy Nebergall followed her husband and talked about more dangers of driving under the influence. She stated that she once heard a statistic that one of every two people in the audience would die in a drunk driving accident. She then stated that she had lost several loved ones in accidents caused by drunk drivers. Nebergall also wondered where money for a DUI task force would come from. Ginger Blackstone took the podium next and spoke in favor of the passed liquor by the drink. “I supported this because I didn’t want Tyrone to get inundated by things like McDonald’s and Captain D’s,” said Blackstone, who stated she had faith that the council would be very diligent of what goes where. “I don’t want to see this go back and forth every year, where one year we have liquor by the drink and one year we don’t. If people cared, they voted.” David Nebergall made one more comment during the Publix portion of the meeting, stating that he couldn’t let it go without saying something. “In an ideal world, this would be where everybody would get their alcohol and they would consume it in their home without taking to the road.” He then reiterated his concern for the effect of the public at large but then also stated that rejecting Publix’s request wouldn’t solve the problem. He closed by stating, “Even one drink will impair your level of judgment.” In the end, Publix got their beer and wine license, the town is working on their liquor by the drink ordinance and sometime within the next year a restaurant that serves liquor by the drink will likely take up residence in Tyrone. The issue is not dead yet, however, and it may not be for a long time.
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