Say 'No' to booze - again!

By LOU ANTONELLI
Editor-in-Chief

One thing I’ve encountered in my 40+ years as a journalist that I’ve never forgotten is the look of shock frozen on a man’s face as he realized he was about to die.

He was lying in the bar ditch off Greenhill Road, face up, surrounded by the beer cans that flew out of the bed of his pickup truck as it rolled over on him after he’d been ejected. I didn’t take a photo, but I assure you, it was a very potent image to remind anyone of the dangers of drinking and driving.

Mount Pleasant voters are being asked once again to go to the polls and vote in a local option election to allow the sale of beer and wine in retail stores. Back in 2009, the same proposition was put on the ballot, and was soundly defeated – the retail sales proposition lost by 70 percent of the vote.

Last year retail stores spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to peddle the same poison. It was close, but the voters rejected the proposition again (a proposition to allow sales by the drink in restaurants narrowly passed).

Now, the same threadbare coalition is trying again to make a fast buck at the expense of Mount Pleasant’s health and safety, and voters are facing the same propositions in the Nov. 8 general election; early in-person voting starts Monday.

It was a bad idea in 2009 and 2015, and it remains a bad idea in 2016 – and even less needed. Back in 2009 the Great Recession was in full swing, and the argument was used that it would provide crucially needed tax revenue.

By last year the Recession had abated, but the proponents made the same calls to greed. It’s an invalid argument - What small increases in revenue alcohol sales would provide will be more than offset by the money needed to combat the increase in crime and litter

There’s already plenty of booze for sale in Titus County. Winfield and Miller’s Cove still offer readily available beer and wine sales, and since 2009 Mount Vernon also gone wet. It’s not hard to find the stuff.

Drinking is a nasty habit and, like smoking, is legal but should not be encouraged. The WRONG thing to do is make the acquisition of alcohol easier and temptation greater. Alcoholism is a problem in society, and Mount Pleasant is no different. It causes long-term health problems, problems which in this county are usually treated at the taxpayers’ expense because of uncompensated care at the local hospital.

And while we focus on the traffic accidents and violent crime caused by alcohol, let’s not forget how much it contributes to domestic abuse. In fact, it’s been lost in the dim mists of history, but one of the biggest reasons for the passage of national Prohibition almost 100 years ago was Women’s Rights. The same people who fought for women to get the right to vote also wanted to improve the lives of women, and they knew the less booze flowed the fewer women were beaten by their drunken husbands.

Domestic abuse fueled by alcohol is still with us; I remember the time Mount Pleasant police were called one night to South Jefferson Street where a woman, bloodied and with her clothes torn, was walking right down the middle of the road, crying hysterically. They learned her drunken boyfriend had beaten her and she had run into the roadway to get away from him.

I’ve lived in Mount Pleasant since 2007 when I became the managing editor of the local newspaper, a post I held until new owners booted me at the start of last year. In that job, I saw too many auto wrecks where beer cans and liquor bottle littered the scene. Each day we compiled crime stats, and many, many arrests were alcohol related. We published many mug shots where the subjects were still obviously intoxicated.

The greedy backers of the propositions on the ballot did a mass-mailing recently of a political advertisement published in a newspaper format. In addition to a potentially misleading appearance, “Mt. Pleasant Voter News” obviously cost a bundle to publish and mail. It’s clear there are some people planning to make a big profit off alcohol sales if they are approved.

Proportionately few of those dollars will flow to locally-owned business; most will be drawn in by chain stores that will subsequently suck the money right out of town.

In addition to rejecting the alcohol proposition for reasons of health and safety, there’s an issue of community pride and self-esteem. Mount Pleasant doesn’t need to look like a beer-soaked truck stop. How often do you go in Walmart and a supermarket and see soda piled high in a display? What looks better – a big stack of Dr Pepper, or Bud Light?

Good cities don’t just happen – people have to work every day to promote and protect the community they work and live in. The people and businesses promoting beer and wine sales are only looking out for themselves – it is our responsibility to rise again to the call and do what is right and best for Mount Pleasant.

Early voting starts Monday. Early voting locations are at the Titus County Elections Office and Trinity Baptist Church. For more information regarding voting, or if you would like a sample ballot, contact the Titus County Elections Office at (903) 575-0902.