Opinions Battle: Should the city of Mt. Airy have stuck with the ordinance they passed to close the bars?
Closed
by Sandi Tatum
Issue date: 1/26/09 Section: Opinion
Jan. 1 marked the day that Mt. Airy lost the ability to have on-premiss consumption of alcohol. Nine days after the ordinance passed, one of the bars in the city was granted permission to reopen and allow consumption of alcohol.
The owner of Mt. Airy Package Store fought the city because she would no longer have an income. She'd been owner of the bar for 15 years. Instead of the city complying with its ordinance it gave to the entire city, it decided it would make an exception for this one bar and nobody else. If a city makes an ordinance they should not change the rules for one person. Everyone should have to comply.
In an article from The Northeast Georgian, the Mt. Airy Mayor, Garry Morris, was quoted as saying: "The mayor and council reviewed the request and we felt it was in the best interest of the public to avoid expensive litigation." So instead of backing his ordinance, he caved in to one business. The mayor lost his credibility because he passed an ordinance and helped one person but knocked down others.
The mayor should have stood behind his ordinance and should not have granted one bar the privilege he took away from everyone in the city. If Mt. Airy wants to close the bars to in-house consumption they actually need to close all of the bars.
Not only does this ordinance close down bars, it keeps Piedmont students from being tempted to drink and drive. In 2005 there were 16,885 alcohol related deaths. If Piedmont students have the opportunity to drink at a bar they also have the opportunity to drive intoxicated. If students go to someone's house to drink they are more likely to take a designated driver or sleep there.
Piedmont students are already in proximity to the liquor stores in Mt. Airy so it was a good thing they were no longer in proximity to the bars. Since the ordinance has changed students now can now have access to a bar and have more of a chance of becoming part of a statistic.
The owner of Mt. Airy Package Store fought the city because she would no longer have an income. She'd been owner of the bar for 15 years. Instead of the city complying with its ordinance it gave to the entire city, it decided it would make an exception for this one bar and nobody else. If a city makes an ordinance they should not change the rules for one person. Everyone should have to comply.
In an article from The Northeast Georgian, the Mt. Airy Mayor, Garry Morris, was quoted as saying: "The mayor and council reviewed the request and we felt it was in the best interest of the public to avoid expensive litigation." So instead of backing his ordinance, he caved in to one business. The mayor lost his credibility because he passed an ordinance and helped one person but knocked down others.
The mayor should have stood behind his ordinance and should not have granted one bar the privilege he took away from everyone in the city. If Mt. Airy wants to close the bars to in-house consumption they actually need to close all of the bars.
Not only does this ordinance close down bars, it keeps Piedmont students from being tempted to drink and drive. In 2005 there were 16,885 alcohol related deaths. If Piedmont students have the opportunity to drink at a bar they also have the opportunity to drive intoxicated. If students go to someone's house to drink they are more likely to take a designated driver or sleep there.
Piedmont students are already in proximity to the liquor stores in Mt. Airy so it was a good thing they were no longer in proximity to the bars. Since the ordinance has changed students now can now have access to a bar and have more of a chance of becoming part of a statistic.
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