Dear Editor:

     A few individuals keep saying that they fear that the crime rate will go up if the voters lift the ban on alcohol next Tuesday. There is a liquor store about 4 1/2 miles from the city limits of Brookhaven. This liquor store is in another county, so Lincoln County gets no tax benefit whatsoever. This liquor store, in a town of about 1,500, is one of the largest in the state in volume of sales. There is also another liquor store very close to the county line on the other end of Lincoln County. So there is already a lot of liquor in Lincoln County. Unfortunately, Brookhaven gets NO tax benefit from it.

     Corinth, Oxford, and Flowood voted YES on this issue, and their tax revenues have increased significantly. I don’t think the amount of alcohol consumed will change much. What WILL change is the amount of monthly revenue Brookhaven will get.

     As I have already mentioned previously, Brookhaven would do well to follow in the path of Hattiesburg, Ridgeland and Madison. Brookhaven is in the right location for a regional shopping complex for this section of the state. It would be nice if Lincoln and Pike countians didn’t have to travel to Hattiesburg, Hammond and the Jackson area on shopping trips.

     The attitude “We’re right, and the rest of the world is wrong” does not set well with the developers who are looking for areas to build commercial ventures.  On Tuesday, June 4, the voters have the chance to help Brookhaven move forward in the direction of cities like Hattiesburg, Ridgeland, Madison, and Tupelo. Please make the effort to vote, and please vote YES.

Jack McGee