We're not all troublemakers

BEER SALES IN NEW CONCORD!

Did that opening line catch your attention? Is the thought of having alcohol sales in New Concord either enticing or enraging to you? Good, because either way, I've got your attention. This November, registered voters of the New Concord area will be able to vote on the ability for some local businesses to sell beer, wine, spirits, etc. as with any issue, there are going to be two sides to this issue: those for the sale of booze, and those against. Let's talk about why selling alcohol is a good thing for the area of New Concord.

Let's make one thing very, very clear before we go on. Let's talk about the ‘partying students'. One concern from opponents of this issue are that students will now have easier access to alcohol to fuel their loud and annoying parties, that students can just walk down the street, get more beer, and that the parties will never stop. And not just stop, but get more and more rowdy. 

Let's be serious here. New Concord isn't outside civilization….there's places to get beer already very close to New Concord. (The Cooler, the drive thru, both not even 2 miles from town) People are worried that if a student can just walk from a wild party on a beer run, that the parties will last longer, and get worse…when in reality….they can already go barely out of town currently to do the exact same thing. So what's the difference?

The difference is that now that money that was being spent outside the village could not be spent inside the village, allowing much better revenue possibilities for business, and even the village itself. And if you're worried about people going on runs to buy more beer to keep parties going at night? Most business close at a reasonable hour, not really allowing for that possibility.

"Oh, but Jonathan," you ask, doubting me. "Students could by large amounts ahead of time!" If that's the argument, I am sorry, but we need to be realistic. If someone wants to have a ‘raging party', they are just going to go to their normal places anyway…Wal-Mart, The Cooler, Mr. G's…. None of these places are far. If we're worried about the parties, the noise, etc….then we need to examine that from a different angle than ‘If we don't allow them to buy beer the parties won't get worse.'

Last I checked, people enjoyed a cold beer after a long day of work. Isn't it nice to pop off the bottlecap and have a drink; to relax and enjoy the evening? What about those of us who enjoy having a good barbecue, small get-together, dinner party, etc?

If I'm having some friends over for burgers and drinks before the big game, I need a few things: burgers and beer. If I happen to think Riesbeck's has fantastic ground beef on sale or something, I can go there, and then go to Cambridge or Zanesville for the beer….why even bother wasting time to get the burgers here in town if I just had to leave anyway? It would be fantastic to just get it all here in town, keeping my money and my continued business here in New Concord.

And of course, we need to know about the procedures. Just because a wet-dry vote here in New Concord allows for sales of alcohol, it is ultimately the state of Ohio that will decide if a business can get a license to provide. And there's all sorts of different licenses to get: Class A for example allows sale of beer, malt, and wine beverages. And then there's special license such as a Bar and Grill license(Class C) which allows you to sell beverages to any legal customer who is a customer in the establishment. Ergo, Class A allows you to buy alcohol, but you cannot consume it there. Class C allows you to buy and only consume at the location.

The State will only allow for a certain amount of licenses in an area, too, so if anyone's worried about the legislation being passed and all the sudden bars and such will start popping up all  over the village, don't worry. It doesn't work like that.  There's only about 2,500 people in New Concord, and based on the states Liquor Control Quotas, it appears only 3 permits may be available. Even if you add every Muskingum Student to that population pool, we may only be looking at 1 additional permit, MAYBE.

Bottom line: There will be parties in any community, no matter what.  Our local and Campus police do what they can to keep students from hurting themselves, to keep parties from getting out of control, etc. They're doing what they can.  I know there are some ‘wild' parties going on around off campus, and the solution to that may be to have stricter leases for student tenants. Are landlords enforcing ‘no party' sections of their lease agreements with students?

Keep business in New Concord. A flourishing small business market can only grow with the passage of this legislation, and it would be wrong of us to hold it back.  I encourage you to consider voting for this legislation in November. Small business is what makes communities thrive, and an opportunity is here to allow New Concord unparalleled opportunities, should we allow it. Let's not forget our local small business owners who want this, who can expand their services for everyone with the possible extra revenue.