Editorial: Let’s have a discussion about booze

There was a time when Clarendon was wet and free.

This information always comes as a shock to many who think of Clarendon only as “Saints’ Roost” – the temperance colony founded in 1878 by Rev. L.H. Carhart on the banks of the Salt Fork of the Red River a few miles north of here. But after the town moved to the railroad, Clarendon was indeed wet from 1887 through the 1890s, and it was a bustling community. Churches of different denominations popped up left and right, a Catholic academy was founded, the region’s first college – Clarendon College – was opened, and all of it happened in the midst of alcohol sales and consumption.

Then, in 1902, the prohibitionists won out and Donley County was voted dry, and with the exception of the City of Howardwick after 1972, it has remained dry.

But now local rancher/artist Jack Craft and a merry band of supporters (including your editor) want to change things, and they have economic development on their minds. They have nothing personal against anyone or any business. They only want to see Clarendon and Donley County grow and prosper. The group points to studies that show alcoholic beverage sales have a positive financial impacts on communities, and the numbers are compelling. An analysis paid for by the Canadian Economic Development Corporation estimates that Hemphill County could reap $7.6 million in business activity annually and see the creation of 116 new jobs if alcoholic beverage sales were legalized. Additionally, local governments there could gain $426,000 annually in new tax receipts.

Of course, that’s in Canadian. If Donley County could reap one-fifth of that, it would certainly be a benefit to our community, and the study does not measure the potential sponsorships that might be available from Coors, Budweiser, and other companies for local events if the county were not dry.

Craft’s petition on the sale of alcohol in the county must gain a minimum of 413 registered voters in just the next few days in order to get it to commissioners in time to call a November election. The petition is the first step to having a good debate about the merits of alcohol sales and then letting the people of the county decide the issue.

As best we can tell, it’s been 35 years since any Donley County voter outside of Howardwick has voted on the alcohol question. Does the majority now support it? The only way to find out is to put the matter to a vote and see, but to do that the petition has to go through.

Already, those opposed to legalizing alcohol sales throughout the county are putting forth their positions and voicing their concerns that legalization will lead to increased criminal activity, immorality, higher law enforcement costs, and other social ills. Are they right? That’s a question worth asking other towns that have become wet in the last few years, places like Silverton, Shamrock, Childress, and others.

If the petition garners enough signatures, we can spend the next four months looking at this question from all sides, hearing the pros and cons, and finding out what other towns’ experiences have been.

And what of the economic question? Canadian’s numbers look amazing, but what could Clarendon expect? Again, if the petition garners enough signatures, we can spend some time trying to determine what – if any – financial reward has been realized by legalizing alcohol in towns more similar to Clarendon.

We are currently enjoying something of mini-boom as a petroleum byproduct pipeline comes through our area, causing a couple of hundred people to temporarily call Clarendon their home. Sales taxes receipts were up 41 percent in April. With traffic to Greenbelt Lake seriously lagging, the pipeliners have been a blessing in bolstering our economy. But they are only here for a little while. What can we do to keep the economy humming after they leave? Allowing alcohol sales may be one thing that will stimulate the economy.

There may be dollars and jobs that are slipping through our fingers, and maybe we can catch them if we take action. Signing the petition won’t automatically make alcohol legal, but it lets us talk about it and gives us an opportunity to vote on it. Maybe it passes, or maybe it gets soundly defeated. Maybe after we explore the realities of legalized sales, most people will embrace the idea, or maybe not.

There will be good people on both sides of this issue; and for some folks whose lives have been touched by alcohol abuse, the topic might be doubly sensitive and the position might be twice as strong. But disregarding all the heated politics we’ve been through lately, we believe that Donley County residents can discuss and weigh this issue with open minds and a willingness to listen to each other. Civility and neighborliness should be our guideposts if the petition reaches its goal and we begin a path to November.

If we keep our focus on what’s good for our community and treating each other with respect, then surely the voters will make the decision that is right for Donley County. Whatever that decision may be.