Jackson may soon have 'wet' company
Our Opinon

Jackson has been the only place where you could legally buy alcoholic beverages in Clarke County since July 2005. That may change Tuesday as Thomasville voters go to the polls to decide whether or not to legalize sales in the north Clarke County city.

The wet-dry debate there has been similar to the heated one experienced here so we all know that everyone there will be glad when Tuesday's vote is over, regardless of the outcome!

Alcohol sales haven't sparked the boom that some proponents predicted but overall Jackson has benefited. It has generated needed and usable revenue for a variety of projects through alcohol taxes and we think it can be credited, at least in part, to the overall increase in sales tax revenue for the city. Alcohol hasn't produced the problems that many feared it would and local law enforcement officials say alcohol-related arrests and crime have not increased.

Overall, legalizing alcohol has been good for Jackson but we realize there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue and we try to respect everyone's opinion.

Some who supported legalized sales here privately worry that legalized alcohol in Thomasville will affect revenues here. That likely won't happen. Jackson and Thomasville's trade areas overlap little.

We've always been of the opinion that alcohol is a part of life regardless of whether legalized sales are permitted or not. It makes sense to legalize it and benefit from the tax revenues. Lawmen say it is easier to regulate under a legally wet environment too.

We don't have a dog in Thomasville's fight, so to speak, but we think legalized sales everywhere are logical.

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