A group comprised of restaurant and resort owners in Marshall County is making a push to allow the sale of alcohol in the county. The group, called "Marshall 1st", is attempting to get the 2,100 petition signatures required by state law to allow the issue to be put up for a special vote. "Marshall 1st" spokesperson Sissy Wommack says the group is taking on the issue to try and boost economic growth.
“Marshall County has always been a large tourist area, and we have found that that has really diminished in the past few years. We were discussing, years back when we were young teenagers in the 60’s that you could hardly get down 641 because of the tourists, and we don’t see that anymore.”
Wommack says her group has looked at studies of surrounding counties that have gone wet. She says in those areas, DUI’s as well as cases of spouse abuse have gone down, while the counties have seen significant economic growth. "Marshall 1st" will hold a petition meeting this Monday at 7:00 at the Marshall County Court House. Wommack says she hopes the issue will be put to a vote in the next two or three months.