The townspeople of Hartselle will make a critical decision at the polls as part of the Nov. 2 election. The decision to permit the sale of alcoholic beverages should not be taken lightly and could change this town forevermore. As newcomers to Hartselle, we want to clearly communicate one of the several reasons we want our town to remain dry.
There are deeply seated opinions on both sides of this issue. Many of you have seen statistics that have been used by both sides to support their opinion. Frankly, I’ve seen “statistics” used to prove ridiculous arguments, even that the world is flat! I am not going to attempt to show you that my “statistics” are better or point out the fallacies in the pro-alcohol argument. I am not going to attempt to discuss the moral issues of alcohol. I just want to share my experience of living in a county that was dry and one that voted to become wet.
Our family relocated to Hartselle from Santa Rosa County, Fla., just east of Pensacola, in mid-2007. We received the opportunity to move to North Alabama as a result of a wonderful opportunity and job transfer within my company. I was starting a new job and the challenges were high so my wife spent hours of research evaluating where we should live. At the time, our two children were in junior high so their formative years of high school would be determined by where we lived. We looked at Decatur, Madison, Athens and even Huntsville. All of these communities are wonderful places with great people but there was no doubt in our mind that Hartselle was the best location for our family. The combination of a great school system, sports programs and a family friendly community were all found in Hartselle. The quality of life here is outstanding.
Not only did we relocate from Santa Rosa County, Fla., but my wife and I were both raised there. For those of you that know the area, you can attest that it is much like Alabama. In fact, the old joke is that northwest Florida would prefer to be annexed into Alabama rather than be associated with south Florida. The towns we grew up in were family friendly and the values of Southern small towns were embraced by all.
Santa Rosa County went through seven wet/dry elections since Prohibition ended in 1933. I recall elections in each decade from the 1970s to the 1990s. Each election was hard-fought but each time the county elected to remain dry. In fact, similar to past wet/dry elections in Hartselle, the percentage margin of victory sometimes grew from one election to the next. The last wet/dry election was held in the late summer of 2005 when the county voted to go wet.
The pro-alcohol groups would like you to believe the issue revolves around tax revenue and little more.
They believe that increasing tax revenue would somehow bring progress or an economic boom to Hartselle. I dispute that because I am certain the financial cost of being wet (high crime, law enforcement costs and the costs of alcohol treatment) far outweigh any tax benefit. Hartselle has made tremendous progress and enjoyed excellent growth in recent years. I believe that growth is directly connected to the type of community we are, not the type of community we will become if we legalize alcohol.
I want you to consider the experience I witnessed when we lived in Florida. Following the election to “go wet” the atmosphere of the community changed. Liquor stores, lounges and bars began to spring up in 2006 after businesses obtained liquor sales licenses. The family friendly nature of the community was damaged. My wife and I comment on our return trips to visit family that the community is very different than when we lived there, different in a bad way. It’s more than the neon signs flashing from bars and liquor stores, it’s the loss of a sense of being a family friendly community.
Hartselle is a family friendly town and I assure you that will be lost if we become “wet.”
I urge you not to take that risk. Whether you’re a life-long resident of Hartselle, a newcomer or somewhere in between, let’s keep Hartselle the safe and wonderful community we enjoy and vote “no” to legalizing alcohol sales.