Wet or dry? Question goes to ballot on Nov. 4

Clark County voters will decide on Nov. 4 whether the county will be wet or dry as the county election commission received 4,168 certified signatures Monday afternoon from County Clerk Rhonda Cole and her ...

[Ray Stewart]

The only economic growth will be with he dixtribution and retail sale of alcohol. If this passes, get ready for litter,(which will require more county and city employees), more accidents, more arrests (which will require more police) and many more admissions to the hospital emergency room. This is not to mention that some kids will go hungry and rent and utility payments will slow. People need to wake up and realize that if this passes, our troubles will increase in many ways. Please vote NO on November 4.

[law man]

Lets closed all the fast food places and that will cut down litter more.In countys where they have passed it the dui have gone down.What wrong with haveing more police? You act like there is no drinking going on now.Now people go to counties that sell it and start drinking it on way back to their home. If it was a few miles away then most would wait until they get home. That why the arrest usely go down.You need to get a life.

[Ray Stewart]

Maybe the people in Clark County are smarter than some other states and counties and will keep alcohol out. I think having a life is not like many that I have seen ruin their lives with booze.

[non drinker]

So are you calling everyone that votes to be wet Dumb ??? When are you going to other counties in ar and start burning down the places that sell it.That what it sould like you want to do.Jesus drunk wine NOT grape juice.If you don't kown he did that then you are the one without an education.

[Ray Stewart]

It is a fact that the greatest drug problem in this country is alcohol. More than all other drugs combined, Why would anyone want to help out an industry that is our greatest drug problem?
I have lived in states and counties that are wet and I can assure you that the quality of life in wet areas is NOT better, whatever you drinkers say. Get the facts and educate yourselves before you speak.

[Non drinker]

Why did you fail to answer a simple question was it too hard for you. Jesus drunk wine and he turn out real good.He changed the world.

[u know]

There are more DWIs and drinking accidents in areas that are dry - ask a cop, you'll hear all about it. Better yet, check the statistics yourself - they're easily found via the web. It's because the drinkers cannot wait until they get home from Hot Springs to pop the top on their six packs.

Apart from that, did it occur to any of you that the greatest majority of your college student population (and you have a huge one!) spends the greatest majority of its expendable income in clubs and bars and restaurants in Hot Springs rather than in BK or McDonald's in Arkadelphia and Caddo Valley? There's another post in the Arkadelphia forum that speaks of what restaurants people want to see in Arkadelphia - how do you propose to get them here? Do you think Applebee's, El Chico, Outback, On the Border, any of those, would come to a dry county? Heck no! And if you could start bringing in those kinds of major chains, Arkadelphia would be in a for a major and much needed economic turnaround as other businesses and investors would follow, which means JOBS and more opportunities to keep some Arkadelphia dollars in Arkadelphia instead of sending them off to Hot Springs.

And no, people are not gonna sit at El Chico and get wasted - think about it and be realistic. How many of you have actually seen huge numbers of drunks eating at places like that? Most people who drink just want a beer with their steak.

And by the way, it is true that Jesus drank wine - in fact, he even turned water into wine, if I'm not mistaken. Furthermore, go do a google search on medicinal uses of alcohol - you'll be overwhelmed.

Bottom line, Arkadelphia has the potential for greatness, folks - two colleges, a beautiful state park, abundant outdoor opportunities, good friendly people ... why kill that potential with a 1920s prohibitionist attitude? Help your community grow, folks! By the way, I'm a former resident, and I loved living in Arkadelphia, but I can tell you, the majority of my spending was done in Hot Springs ... Arkadelphia has simply not been allowed to grow as it should have been, and that's been a great disservice to the people who live there still.

[u know]

Failed to mention that there is a huge number of outlying towns that go elsewhere for shopping and entertainment ... Gurdon, Sparkman, Friendship, Amity, Glenwood ... give those folks a reason to spend their time (and money) in Arkadelphia, and you'll be doing your community a great favor!(Not to mention raising your own property values!!)

[concerned resident]

I'm glad that Camden is a good example. I had to move my retail store from the Southwest part of town in Camden because of liquor stores and clubs. People did not want to come to that part of town. So, how many of the top name restaurants are in Camden where it is wet? Where do you shop now?

Look at City-Data.com and you can see that wet counties have grown much less than dry ones.

[info for you guys]

The City-Data.com site shows the latest figures available---Clark County with a 9.8% population growth and Quachita County with a -5.8 growth during the same time.

[lawman]

info for you guys wrote:

The City-Data.com site shows the latest figures available---Clark County with a 9.8% population growth and Quachita County with a -5.8 growth during the same time.

Boy your dumb.You think Quachita loss pop because they have drinking ?Get real.It could be that clark is getting more mexician moving in then Quachita.Clark co has a interstate going threw it which help for developement.

[u know]

For one thing, Camden's population decline has more to do with the closure of IP than anything else. Like the rest of South Arkansas, the city is fighting a population decline because of unemployment rates, which is something Arkadelphia is not struggling so much with.

For another, I don't live in Camden - that's just where my internet service provider is located. But thanks for your comments anyway.

[info for you guys]

lawman wrote:

<quoted text>Boy your dumb.You think Quachita loss pop because they have drinking ?Get real.It could be that clark is getting more mexician moving in then Quachita.Clark co has a interstate going threw it which help for developement.

You seem to know a lot about Clark County and have all the answers. Maybe you should move to Clark County and take all your intelligence with you and solve the problems.

[lawman]

info for you guys wrote:

<quoted text> You seem to know a lot about Clark County and have all the answers. Maybe you should move to Clark County and take all your intelligence with you and solve the problems.

So far you have proved NO facts to back up you drinking problem.To slove the problem is very easy. VOte it wet. It doesn't take me to move there to slove it. You need to move out and the IQ average will rise greatly.

[happy camper]

concerned resident wrote:

I'm glad that Camden is a good example. I had to move my retail store from the Southwest part of town in Camden because of liquor stores and clubs. People did not want to come to that part of town. So, how many of the top name restaurants are in Camden where it is wet? Where do you shop now?
Look at City-Data.com and you can see that wet counties have grown much less than dry ones.

I checked the City-Data.com and you are correct. The dry counties in Arkansas have had a much better population growth than the wet ones. Guess facts don't lie.

[John]

Why are we still in the dark ages? This country was founded on the principle that people are free to make their OWN decisions. If they make bad decisions and screw up, that's THEIR fault... not the law. I grew up in Arkadelphia, and I moved away when I was 25 because the job market was virtually nonexistant. I have lived abroad, and my attitude and perspective on life has grown a great deal because of that. Now, whenever I come back to town, I feel really depressed because this town that I used to consider my home is DEAD. It has ALWAYS been dead for as long as I can remember. Arkadelphia has greater ptoential for sucess than any of the cities mentioned above. I fell that simply letting liberty reign, rather than a stupid outdated law, the town would spark to life. There is a reason that 90% of the people I went to high school with are now living in other towns and states. ARKADELPHIA SUCKS!!! LET'S MAKE IT AWESOME!!! Open your minds, people, or the town will dwindle away!

[law man]

Well the judge said the people will have to vote to decided the issure.Why do these so called preachers don't want the people to Vote on this?

[Preacher]

I do not mind voting. The difference between a little wine being good for the stomach and drunkeness is the difference between heaven and hell.
If restaurants won't come to a dry county then explain Saline county/Benton/Bryant-dry but has all the above mentioned establishments but not bar....they do well under the shadow of Little Rock...hmmm.
Where are all the restaurants who don't serve alcohol normally, like CiCi's pizza, Captain D's, Long John Silver's, etc. We don't have them because they are not going to be able to stay in business because people are going to go to Hot Springs because there is more to do there than eat. Will we get a big mall because we are wet, oh wait Hot Springs doesn't even have a big mall.
By the way the argument of Baxter county's growth following becoming wet is ridiculous, it grew because it became a haven for retirees, not because of being wet.

[Just plain Joe]

People will and can obtain booze anywhere if they want it. Gurdon needs all the business it can get. I have lived in both wet and dry counties and can see that the counties that are wet are doing better than the dry ones. Business simply will not come to Gurdon if it is dry. Vote it in, get some of that tax revenue, if it don't work for you vote it out.

[observer]

That's strange. I've lived in wet and dry counties and cities and by far, the dry ones do better and have a much better way of life. No drunks laying on benches and ditches and much less litter and trash. The nicest places are DRY!