Vote no on alcohol sales

Editor:
I live in Hartselle, and own a business in Priceville. I am also a prison minister.  An overwhelming percentage of the inmates we come in contact with in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida claim to have been incarcerated because they were influenced by alcohol or drugs. Those who committed crimes due to drugs say that their drug use began with alcohol abuse.
So why would any voter possibly want to send more people to prison and cost taxpayers more money?  The cost for corrections would far exceed any revenues from liquor sales.  We are sending the wrong message to our youth.  Many will never see their 18th birthday due to drinking and driving. I see so many people in prison who got behind the wheel under the influence and are now behind bars for vehicular manslaughter.  It’s time we stopped letting the lure of easy money lead us down the primrose path. Have you ever heard a drug addict or an alcoholic say “thanks for my addiction”?
Vote no to  alcohol sales.
Guy Shipp
Hartselle

Alcohol sales good for city

Editor:
I’m not going to use an unsigned letter from an alleged mayor given to me from a second party PAC member to try to prove my point in this writing. What I am going to do, is inform those that don’t have the time to research the issue about the advantages of legalized alcohol sales. The positives far more outweigh the negatives.
I entered into this issue with open eyes. I have spent  hours researching the pros and cons of allowing the legalized sale of alcohol. I have heard all the claims from the religious sects about elevated crimes, accidents, DUI’s, public intoxication, and domestic abuse related to alcohol. Ironically, news stories in Alabama and many other states show that instead of an increase, a dramatic decrease in alcohol related crimes are being reported.
I think everyone would agree with me that this recession isn’t over by any means. All across this country, municipalities are tightening their belts to stay within their budgets. In Hartselle, our budget has grown significantly with the financing of the new high school that will soon be built. No matter what is in our budget, one of the first, if not the first item to be paid, is the school bonds. We are 100 percent committed. There is no other immediate fix to add to the tax revenue base in Hartselle, other than going wet.
Hartselle residents have come to expect numerous services from the city. Among these expectations are water, sewer, street repair, parks and recreation, etc. What happens if our local economy suffers more decline? What city service are you willing to do without. Would all the sports fans be receptive to unkempt ball fields? What about lights for the games? Remember, these are also city provided services. These little things would be the first of cuts made by the city. The vast majority of the opponents are church groups. Their claim is it’s a moral issue, and it will destroy the quality of life in Hartselle. Well, I adamantly disagree. It’s a choice. It’s between a person’s right to purchase a legal product and his/her conscious.  Quality of life has little if anything to do with a community, but more to do with what you do personally.
Mike Dowdy
Hartselle

Express your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor. Send your thoughts to P.O. Box 929, Hartselle, AL 35640  or email to  news@hartselleenquirer.com.
Signed comments can be included as Letters to the Editor; unsigned ones in our  E-Sound Off.