Resident sees liquor law as bad move

By Josh Littlejohn
LiveWire

When almost 1,100 people voted in favor of passing the recent liquor by the drink referendum this past August, and only about 400 voted against it, one man stuck to his belief that alcohol is not all it is cracked up to be.

Pastor Allan Blume of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church holds fast to his beliefs that the new referendum, which could bring more consumption of alcohol to Boone, was not a beneficial thing for the city of Boone, regardless of the suggested economic benefits.

Many citizens in favor of the referendum argued that the new law would bring a much needed economic boost to the city. However, Blume suggests that the citizens of Boone did not think things completely through.

“How anyone can say there is an economic benefit, they must have their head in the sand,” Blume said.

The facts may indeed support his arguments. According to a 2002 study that Blume found done by the Alcohol/Drug Council of North Carolina, results suggested that for every one dollar generated in tax revenue from alcohol sales in North Carolina, the state spends a corresponding $21.42 due to the cost of alcohol related problems.

Blume was against the new referendum not only because of he calls the false assumption that it increases revenue, but also for personal reasons.

By his mid-twenties, Blume had already been involved in two alcohol-related accidents.

“Before I was even 25, I was hit by two drunk drivers, one that totaled my car when he plowed into me from the rear,” said Blume. Blume also argued that alcohol is not just a “issue,” but the largest drug “problem” in America.

“There are 14 million alcoholics in our country, and usually when there’s that kind of epidemic the government steps in to help. Frankly, I think it’s the greatest hypocrisy in America today. We refuse to see alcohol for what it is.”

However convincing the arguments that Blume makes, his sentiments are not shared by all, even from those that one might expect to agree with him.

Candy Winebarger, involved with the local Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) chapter agrees with Blume on his opinions that alcohol is not a good thing, but was not against the recent referendum.

“Upfront, the new law means more money, approximately $8,000 more a month have come in to our liquor sales at the ABC store,” said Winebarger.

Winebarger is heavily active in the MADD chapter in Boone, but also serves in a different way to prevent out of control usage of alcohol. Winebarger is on the Boone Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board.

This board runs the local ABC store, borrows money, takes care of insurance and is a part of the North Carolina control system of alcohol.

Winebarger also serves state wide on the ABC Board, and was elected as part of the Board of Directors for North Carolina.

The ABC system is a state run control system for the sale of liquor.

“The state controls what products we carry in our store and we have to price them how they say,” said Winebarger of the control that the state has over liquor sales.

Winebarger and the Boone ABC Board pick what liquors come in and out of our local ABC store from a list that the state offers.

One thing that Winebarger would like to see more of is assistance in dealing with drunk driving and the sale of alcohol to minors. The Boone Police Department is in charge of enforcing penalties for drunk driving. In terms of serving alcohol to minors, Boone only has one Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) officer.

Yet another way that Winebarger works as an advocate against drunk driving is by court monitoring. She regularly attends the one special DWI court that Watauga County has.

“As a court monitor, we sit in the courts and make notes of how the case is tried, if the case is dismissed then why. We take note of what the blood alcohol level is. Once we’re finished in the courts, we go and log the information into a database on the North Carolina MADD Web site,” she said, “We also take note of the demeanor of the judge, the arresting officer and what the probable cause was for them pulling over the drunk driver.”

When asked about any real negative effects of the new referendum, Winebarger responded “I don’t think there are any. People will get alcohol one way or another, just the way they did before the new law.”