Blueridge has done just fine without the beer and wine, why push a good thing? The stuff is useless anyway no good comes from alcohol, except to put it on a cut!!! Please ”A Word To The Wise Is Sufficient”… Leave Blueridge alone! Alcohol stay out of Blueridge we don’t want or need you! If the door is open to Alcohol slowly but surely you will see the town go down the hill. And there is nothing at the bottom of the hill but Trash my friend.

Got a quick story for you this happened this week. A woman that lived in Port Saint Lucie Florida was driving to Georgia to pick up her 75 year old Father to bring him with her so she could take care of him. On her way up, in North Florida on I-95 a drunk driver hit her car and killed her! ”May the Lord be with her Family”.. Ask her 75 year old brokenhearted Dad if he will be in that County Commissioners meeting! As I said Alcohol is Useless.

Theres enough “trash” in Blue Ridge without the alcohol my friend! And there will continue to be both good AND bad forever in any community, alcohol or not.

Quit living in the dark ages and get a clue… Drunk drivers kill people, yes - so what? Unfortunately, so do tired drivers, reckless drivers, inexperienced teenage drivers and plain just unlucky drivers also kill people (with no alcohol involved) - so let’s just ban the automobile, OK? Makes as much sense as all the emotional and off-base rhetoric that oftentimes gets spewed around on this subject in North Georgia.

I wonder how many of the people who are so concerned about alcohol being served in restaurants would bother to spend any time volunteering to educate young people about the dangers of drinking and driving or participating in alcohol-awareness campaigns, etc. I would have a little more respect for them if it was apparent they put their concerns into action via legitimate programs, versus just spouting off half-baked rhetoric about “evil” alcohol. I wonder if they all think guns are evil too, with all the damage guns cause to lives everyday? Although I consider myself to be very pro gun personally, its the same argument really… Let’s emphasize the concept of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY - how about that for a change?

Alcohol (just like a firearm) is an inanimate substance, neither good nor bad… This argument has nothing to do with religion or Christianity - we all are free to worship and believe as we personally choose. It does have to do with personal responsibility, freedom and economic development - and not seeking to impose one’s personal beliefs and convictions on others via the law and public policy. That’s the argument.

Very well said, John. Likely enough to make Stephen want a stiff drink…

Its not like Fannin County is a dry town anyway, wine & beer is sold at the grocery stores and even some restaurants will let you bring in wine. So what’s the harm in letting restaurants sell beer & wine.
I would keep hard liquor out only because if its only beer and wine, I think it would keep the chain restaurants away.

Stephen,

Unfortunately, Blue Ridge will not be left alone as you desire. It has been changing for many reasons over the years. The train came; it left and then came back again.
As SF has already stated, Blue Ridge already has beer and wine. The door is already open as you put it. It is a known fact that making alcohol difficult to purchase will not prevent people from drinking alcohol. Think back to when all alcohol was banned in the US during Prohibition. It is now everyone’s responsibility to ensure that the door is properly closed and locked against unwanted intruders.

Your story about the lady who was killed by a drunk driver is a sad reality in this world. However, you didn’t provide all of the details. Where did this person get drunk: at home?, at a friend’s party?, behind a beer or wine store? I don’t think you will find anyone agreeing this is acceptable but it can happen in Blue Ridge today. There are many people, including myself, who like Blue Ridge the way it is today. I also know that Blue Ridge is going to change more in the future.

If you read the blog titled “Blue Ridge local drinking laws - a visitor’s guide” you will find a long list of postings. One is by “Ron”, a 25 year law enforcement veteran, dated 5-25-07. He stated “It’s true a lot of the problems … concerning alcohol drinking does come from bars & nightclubs in my area, not restaurants”. I think you will find those who are in favor of alcohol in Blue Ridge are only in favor of beer and wine in restaurants; not in bars. Very few are in favor of liquor of any kind.

John,

I agree with you that education is important related to alcohol issues. I also know that alcoholism has been declared to be a disease. I don’t think education alone will help with them. I think we can hold our lawmakers and judicial system accountable for the DUI problems we have today. Europe does not have nearly the problem we have in the US. You get a first offense DUI conviction in Europe and you are without a license for years. In the US you get a fine for a couple thousand dollars and a slap on the wrist from the court. Start making it really painful for a first offense and watch how our culture changes. Sometimes we can’t rely on personal responsibility unless we mold their attitude with proper punishment.

SF,

I agree with you about beer and wine in the restaurants and prohibiting liquor. This will likely keep out the chain restaurants and keep the “small town” atmosphere. But, I would carry that an additional step. I would prohibit the selling of any alcohol in restaurants beyond 10:30. This is for public safety. The beer and wine are intended for consumption with a meal. There is no need for alcohol in a restaurant after 10:30. Past that time you are making it a bar. I would also make it a law that the alcohol portion of any check cannot exceed the food portion of the bill. Most laws look at the overall ratio in a restaurant/bar. I would lower it to the individual bill. This would make it cost prohibitive for those who just want to go in for chips and a few rounds of beer.

Fannin county does have beer and wine. Matter of fact Blue Ridge has drive through package stores!! Unheard of in most towns!! What Blue Ridge and the surrounding towns do not have are finer restaurants, nice resorts and places where the over 21 crowd can go to enjoy great food and fine wine in different settings. There is plenty of “drinking” going on already and for those who have problems with it there is AAA!!

“There is plenty of “drinking” going on already and for those who have problems with it there is AAA!! ”

Good one! Didn’t think about that one - AAA is who they’d call AFTER they wreck their car! - hopefully from the graybar hotel - and not with someone else involved in the accident

AA might help before hand though!

I am just tired of certain people trying to blame the responsible people (the VAST majority BTW) in society with their personal shortcomings… If you can’t handle “drinking” - DONT DRINK!! Simple solution, huh? Why should I have to limit my dining and entertainment options because of a certain sub-culture of society that is not responsible and will never be responsible with certain aspects of their lives. Why not put the burden where it belongs - on THOSE CAUSING THE PROBLEMS! As Steve said very well, if our courts would deal with first-time and ESPECIALLY habitual violators extremely harshly, we would see this issue virtually disappear - ever seen a criminal court in North Georgia? It’s oftentimes full of the same people, over and over and over again…why?

This whole issue should be a non-issue, and in most places (big town and small town alike) it usually is… why should it be any different here?

Just think of all the jobs it will bring to the area. Now that the factories are gone there are limited opportunities for many young peolpe here, who are raising children and still want to live and stay here. With the pouring license the Ritz Carlton and other “brand” resort/hotel/spa’s will come here. Without it they will go to the next county over and Fannin will again loose jobs to the other area’s. It’s really more about jobs and opportunities than anything else. Has anyone been up to the Seiverville, TN area? Five years ago the town was old and “hokey” now it has nice restaurants, businesses and shops. People invested in the area!! No one is going to invest in Fannin without it. It boils down to economics again-not personal preferences!!

Speaking of ‘trash”, has anyone noticed the littering that goes on here in Fannin county? It is quite remarkable that in this day and age people still throw garbage out onto the road ways!!
Has anyone driven down Loving Road?? See all the ‘trash’ which is dangerously near the road, there are signs to warn you that trucks are entering the road way.

Speaking of ‘trash”-(7/22-Jophn) has anyone noticed all the littering that goes on here in Fannin?? Drive down Loving Road and it is a dangerous reminder that there is plenty of “trash” here in Fannin already!!

We recently visited a dry county in N.C. I had never been to one before. We went over the line to the first bar we found, had a drink and then hit the package store to bring beer and wine back to our cabin. While we were at the bar we heard that many of the locals crossed the line daily to drink. Seems to me that encourages drunk driving more than not having it.

I don’t support dry counties but I do kind of like the law about single shot bottles being used for drinks as so many bartenders over pour. The problem with that is that it is time consuming and wasteful.

How about the extra tax $ go to your Firefighters and get them on the payroll.
Let people pay $8.00 for a glass of wine and $5.00 for a beer.
As far as keeping alcohol out of BR. Blue Ridge Ingles and Food Lion have enough Beer and wine to supply Atlanta.

What would we get from alcolol being served in Blue Ridge?
Higher food tabs in restaurants, More litter on the roadways, Drunk drivers galore, and more of the trash that seems to follow the flow of alcohol. You want alcohol, bring it from your home and drink it there too!!!! Mountainous roads are no place for tourist and alcohol. The people up there have been doing without and they get along just fine. We don’t need no stinking Redneck bars all over the beautiful countryside. Besides most places let you brown-bag and it gets you what you want, for less money. Not a 100% markup as restaurants usually do.

What was the outcome of the meeting?

I was not able to attend but you can read the front page article in The News Observer’s website -
http://www.thenewsobserver.com/articles/2007/07/27/news/news01.txt

In summary: Robert Skelton, past president of the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, made a plea to the county commissioners to “do something” to compete against economic competition from surrounding counties. He stated that Fannin County lost out on $30 million in restaurant sales last year. This amounted to $875,000 in sales tax revenue lost to Gilmer County.

Commissioner Ledford said he was all for it as long as it was tightly regulated.

Commission Chairman Bruce said he was not opposed to beer and wine in the county but felt it should not be up to three people to decide. He said the decision should be made by the entire county. He suggested Mr. Skelton take his case to the City of Blue Ridge where most of the restaurants are located.

Commissioner Morris was a no show. The agenda was published in advance of the meeting so he was aware of it.

County Attorney Lynn Doss restated her position that “the county Board of Commissioners has the authority to permit, license and regulate beer and wine sales in the county” including those for restaurants. She also stated because of this, the board of commissioners is prohibited by law from putting it on a county wide ballet.

Serving beer and wine by the drink in resturants should actually cut down on the litter along the roads. It is the 6 or 12 packs purchased at the convenience store that get thrown out the window of passing cars. The resturants would not have the cans and bottles ‘to go’.

I think a certain amount of liquor license’s given out in the Blue ridge area would be a great idea. Only so many would be available and strict guildelines must be upheld. Right now the kids are drinking in there cars and parking out in the woods. So dont think serving booze is the end of the world people

Jim,

I left out one part of the newspaper account of the commissioner meeting. Lynn Doss, county attorney, said the sale of liquor in the county would need the approval of the county voters. I’m not sure if there is enough support of the voters for that.

I’m sorry, but i’d rather not see the drunk driving rate go up thanks to beer and wine by the drink.

Please explain your reasoning that they would go up (drunk driving rate) with the sale of beer and wine by the drink when someone can go to the next county, buy it and/or consume it there and then drive back into Fannin. For your logic to be valid, you would have to set up a border checkpoint at the Fannin County Line and check each car for drunk drivers - and even then you would STILL have the issue of people buying beer and/or wine at the store in Blue Ridge, cracking it open on the way home and consuming it. There are already drunks on the road in Fannin - selling beer and wine in restaurants will not change anything that is not already going on. Let’s talk facts, not myths or fears.

We don’t need beer and wine to build business… we just need to do our business with honesty and integrity. My wife was hit by a drunk driver who had just left a place where he had dinner. Drinking and dining, will lead to drinking and driving. Someone said… what about the drive through bear barns… just because we have one bad.. doesn’t mean we need more.

Take the high road, and our town will do just fine. We will continue to do good if we all just do right and stop looking for someone or something else to build our business. If we all find our own thing, and stop trying to take business from each other, our town will have greater variety of products… which will help more than any bear or wine. We need to stop trying to hurt each other, and start trying to help each other. If your business does well, it will help mine bacause it will draw more people. We dont’ need a strip where everyone sells the same thing, we need a greater variety of goods… and people will stop going south to shop. Our trafic is growing… because of our great variety of businesses.

I still don’t see ANY facts or statistics to back up your position - can you speak in terms of dollars and cents? The tax receipts sure can! Just look at the difference between Gilmer and Fannin - the numbers don’t lie..

I think you may have meant AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). Not the American Automobile Association.

I live in a small town in Georgia, just inside the North Carolina border. As you may know local election time is coming around, and on the ballot this year is a provision allowing alcohol to be sold by the glass in restaurants in this county. Currently as it stands you can not go into an establishment and order a glass of wine or beer with your food.

Now let me make this clear, you can purchase alcohol in the city limits already, just not in a restaurant. You can, however, purchase your alcohol and bring it with you, and the establishment will serve you your booze. You can go into any grocery, drug or convenience store and buy beer or wine. There’s even a drive thru beer barn. But you can’t buy a glass with dinner.

Now locally, if there is 1 there is 10,000 signs posted in yards all over the county saying vote NO ALCOHOL KILLS. But they’re not trying to abolish the alcohol thats already here in the county, they just… well I don’t know, they don’t want to have any control how much a person drinks, or the revenue created by alcohol. The reasoning is that there will be increased DUI’s and accidents, which is a valid reason to keep the alcohol out, but it’s already here. I have a couple of bartenders amongst my friends, and I’m under the impression that when someone is to inebriated they get cut off. But ol Johnny that just bought two cases of beer and drank them all at Billy Bob house doesn’t have the luxury of someone telling him he’s had enough. He then pours himself into that tank of a Suburban he drives, heads toward home, and kills poor Mr Jones on his way. Maybe if a bartender had been serving him that wouldn’t happen in such a manner. But thats the way it stands.

So as you can imagine there is not a single chain restaurant in the county, (except nasty fast food of course) which is kind of the way they want things. The mentality of the locals is that they will sell you their land at the highest price they can get, but they don’t want you live here, or develop the property. They don’t mind if you come in for vacation a week or two once a year, spend all your money here, then leave and go back whence you came, but to move in here and live is a mortal sin. Being from Florida, I for one, can tell you that they advertise land here in every major newspaper in that state. Look in your local papers… see any ads for North Georgia property?

What bothers me most about all this though, with all the political propaganda around town (and yes even the churches fall into that category) I’d bet at least three quarters of these same exact people would have, or have, voted in favor of this war we have going on. But I guess war doesn’t kill… silly me. There’s not one single sign in town to protest the war, and not one single Ron Paul supporter that I can tell you of. My own mother had never even heard of Ron Paul, until I told her who he was. I just don’t get it, either you sell alcohol, or you don’t, but you can’t decide that some places can and some can’t. Especially when the one’s that are allowed to have no control over how much you actually consume. Is that not the text-book definition of HYPOCRISY??? Seriously, tell me if I’m wrong.

All that being said, I’m not a big drinker, and when I do drink it’s not beer or wine which is all thats allowed here, so either way it doesn’t effect my life except that if I want to go to Outback or some other such place I have to drive 60 miles to get there.

well it looks like the beer and wine is passing and although I wasn’t for it I choose to embrace it and work responsibly with it. I work in a rest. where you can brown bag, and it seems like a good thing to me, you definately come out cheaper.
There is no regulation on how much one drinks though, so in this respect I will atleast be holding myself accountable on how much one drinks. This can be a good thing!
So, let’s hope this change will prosper our small businesses, move forward and act responsible.

Into each day put equal parts of faith.
Patience, courage, work hope, fidelity,
Liberality, kindness, rest, prayer, mdeitation, and one wel slected solution.
Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits. A dash of fun,
a pinch of folly, sprinkle of play, and cupful of good humor.

The alcohol issue in GA has always fascinated me. I’ve never seen such concern for IMPORTANT issues. I love the argument that alcohol will bring restaurants and more jobs. What kind of jobs? Washing dishes? Serving food? Bussing tables? That doesn’t sound too promising a future to me.

The waste on the roads isn’t from people who are frequenting restaurants. There is an element in the area that throws junk out windows because they are irresponsible and don’t care - they’ve been here forever. They are the same people who have trash bags on their front porch or piled high on their property. The people who have junked cars and don’t take care of anything - that includes yours and my roadways. My solution: Get busted for DUI. Community service cleaning roads.

People now will have what they want, wine and beer with dinner at $5 - $8 a pop - only if the restaurant can afford $10,000 pouring fee for both wine and beer. Cucina Rustica is popular and doing well, they can afford it, but it will be interesting to see how many other restaurants will buy a license in economic hard times.

Alcohol sales did a lot for Murphy, NC, didn’t it? How many new restaurants with all those fantastics jobs have opened up? None! Chop House is open, but that was in the works before the vote. Oh, since the alcohol law passed someone opened up an adult toy store!! That is real progress and a boost the Murphy’s economy. Haha

There are so many more important issues to worry about these days than whether Joe-tourist can buy a beer or glass of wine.

We are not wanting beer and wine to bring in big businesses! The drunk will be drunk! Go to Ingles! It’s better than driving to Ellijay, getting buzzed or drunk, and driving home to Blue Ridge. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want that. Not at all. But what’s wrong with being able to sit down and have a glass of wine with dinner? And “Love Blue Ridge,” adult toy stores come with or without wine. More jobs means that you can get a job at a restaurant if needs be. If you lose your job and have no where to go, just remember that you’re too good to work at a restaurant. I work at a restaurant in Blue Ridge and I’m walkin away with not 7 bucks an hour, but 15-20 an hour. Toccoa Riverside can afford a license, Cucina Rustica can, just like you mentioned. You’d be surprised just how many can and will afford it. The restaurant business is a great one to be in! I have great hours, good environment, and terrific pay. Sure, it might not be ideal to be a busboy long term, or a dishwasher, but not everyone can have a cushiony job. So don’t talk my job down. I may not be a CEO, but I’m doin a heck of a lot better than what you make it out to be! I’m making a living which is more than I can say about a lot of people I know both fortunate and unfortunate enough to have a job. In an economic time like we’re in are you really going to be so choosy about jobs? You made good points and bad ones, mostly bad. I do agree with the community service and getting rid of junked cars. But leave people’s jobs out of this! How many times have you sat your butt down at a restaurant? It’s those busboys, dishwashers, and waiters that make it possible for you to enjoy your meal. People like me! That are makin a scrawny 20 bucks an hour. HAHA

just my two cents from an outsider. I live in FL and am planning a trip to N. Georgia, TN and NC on a bike trip next month. This will be the 4th vacation i have done this and have learned to check ahead on where I can get a “drink” at the end of the day. I found this website to see if I would rent a cabin in Blue Ridge, GA and based on the fact I can’t have an adult beverage at the end of the day; will not plan on staying there (may still head through) but the cabin folks and others won’t see my vacation dollars. Again, it’s your community and you do as you wish, but I just wanted you to see how others who may visit your area look at things. Thanks.

You can get beer and wine anywhere in Fannin County.