Wartrace liquor petition causes confusion

The issue of a special liquor by the drink permit for the Walking Horse Hotel is already stirring up controversy, and so far, the only thing that has been done is a survey.

"I don't think people realize what the survey is all about," said Alderman Scott Claxton. "When they go in and sign it, they are saying they are for it."

But that "it" is not liquor by the drink itself, he said. By signing the petition that is in the Wartrace town hall from now until Oct. 30, residents will be saying yes, they want the town to ask the state for the special exception that would allow the hotel to serve liquor by the drink.

The board voted at the last meeting to survey voting residents of the town. Joe Peters, owner of the hotel, had approached the board in February asking them to request the special exception from the state legislature to permit him to sell liquor by the drink. Brown-bagging is legal in Wartrace, but with fewer than 1,000 voters, the town cannot hold an LBD referendum.

Alderman Ed Simpson suggested the residents themselves be consulted. The board approved the idea and the survey was set out at the town hall.

Claxton said he heard that the office staff was trying to sway those coming in to sign the survey into not signing it, but Mayor Don Gallagher denies that.

"In fact," he said, "I've heard the opposite. Some people said they came and looked at it and the women made no comment. They're not supposed to comment one way or the other."

Phillip Smith, who operates the Blockade Runner between Bell Buckle and Wartrace, agrees.

"No, they were nice. There was no cold shoulder or anything like that," he said.

But Smith has other concerns. A resident of Wartrace, he was the third to sign the survey and his father, who owns property in Wartrace but lives outside city limits, soon followed.

"My dad went and signed, but I heard his name has been scratched out, but I'm not sure," said Smith. "My dad gets one legal vote since he has property in the city, so he can vote in a Wartrace election legally. That has him perturbed."

The senior Smith's name probably was discounted. According to Gallagher, the only signatures being counted on the survey are those of registered voters who actually live in Wartrace -- the signatures of those who own property there, but don't live there, don't count.

"There are 378 registered voters in Wartrace and we're taking a sample," said the mayor. "We're looking at a percentage."

"I don't care for that," said Smith.

He said his father -- and others who own property in Wartrace city limits -- have the right to vote in city elections and should have the right to sign the survey.

"What happens in city limits affects them, too," he said. "Either pro or against, it does affect them and even if they're for or against it, they should have a say."