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To the Editor:
I have been falsely accused of purposely providing misleading information in a recent letter concerning the wet/dry issue in Clark County. The statistics I provided came from the U.S. Census Bureau and not the Village Journal. Also the statistics didn’t say wet counties don’t grow, they showed wet counties have less growth than dry. I am not a fearmonger for wanting Clark County to stay dry. The reason I am against Clark County going wet is that wet counties really do have more crime than dry. I have compared the dry communities in Arkansas to wet communities and discovered the wet have higher crime rates.
Another Web site I have explored (http://arkansaswatch.blogspot.com/2006/07/hester-research-shows-wet-counties.html) has stats showing wet counties have a lot more crime than dry. Also, what I said about OBU relocating if Arkadelphia goes wet wasn’t a lie, since about 10 or 15 years ago, the university did say it would relocate to a dry county ... when people were trying to get Clark County to go wet.
Let’s compare Jonesboro and Pine Bluff, which are both about the same size. Jonesboro is dry and Pine Bluff is wet. Jonesboro has a large, thriving mall, many restaurants, two Walmart supercenters, Sam’s Club, Target, Kmart, Lowe’s Home Depot, and lots of shopping centers. Pine Bluff has very few restaurants, one Walmart supercenter, Lowe’s, and a once-thriving mall that is about to close. Pine Bluff has a lot of gun violence. Most of the neighborhoods in Pine Bluff are dangerous. It was rated the third worst city in the U.S. to live a few years ago by Money magazine and Forbes magazine ranked it the third poorest city in America last year.
Pine Bluff has a suffering economy whereas Jonesboro has a good economy and a lot of factories. Other communities like Helena-West Helena, Forrest City, and West Memphis, which are wet, aren’t thriving. These cities have a lot of poverty and gangs. As for A Vote for Growth comparing Arkadelphia to Mountain Home, which is wet, Mountain Home would be a larger city if it was dry. Just down the road is Harrison, which is a larger dry city that is growing faster.
The question I ask John Crawford is how bars and liquor stores have helped Pine Bluff, Helena-West Helena, Forrest City, West Memphis, and Camden prosper? Why do you choose to live in a dry county? If Clark County goes wet it won’t get any more restaurants since the population isn’t large enough.
Those who want Clark County wet because they think it will grow as big as Hot Springs are mixed up about some things. If we go wet we won’t grow as big as Hot Springs since there isn’t much industry in Arkadelphia. Hot Springs is a larger city since it is a tourist town and has a lot more jobs. Another thing that will happen if Clark County is voted wet is that taxes will go up. Wet counties have higher taxes than dry since alcohol is taxed. If A Vote For Growth really cared about the economy in Clark County they would be trying to recruit more industry instead of booze. All those people out there who see going wet as a way to bring growth into the community aren’t looking at the facts.
Forrest Millsap
Arkadelphia
To the Editor:
I have been falsely accused of purposely providing misleading information in a recent letter concerning the wet/dry issue in Clark County. The statistics I provided came from the U.S. Census Bureau and not the Village Journal. Also the statistics didn’t say wet counties don’t grow, they showed wet counties have less growth than dry. I am not a fearmonger for wanting Clark County to stay dry. The reason I am against Clark County going wet is that wet counties really do have more crime than dry. I have compared the dry communities in Arkansas to wet communities and discovered the wet have higher crime rates.
Another Web site I have explored (http://arkansaswatch.blogspot.com/2006/07/hester-research-shows-wet-counties.html) has stats showing wet counties have a lot more crime than dry. Also, what I said about OBU relocating if Arkadelphia goes wet wasn’t a lie, since about 10 or 15 years ago, the university did say it would relocate to a dry county ... when people were trying to get Clark County to go wet.
Let’s compare Jonesboro and Pine Bluff, which are both about the same size. Jonesboro is dry and Pine Bluff is wet. Jonesboro has a large, thriving mall, many restaurants, two Walmart supercenters, Sam’s Club, Target, Kmart, Lowe’s Home Depot, and lots of shopping centers. Pine Bluff has very few restaurants, one Walmart supercenter, Lowe’s, and a once-thriving mall that is about to close. Pine Bluff has a lot of gun violence. Most of the neighborhoods in Pine Bluff are dangerous. It was rated the third worst city in the U.S. to live a few years ago by Money magazine and Forbes magazine ranked it the third poorest city in America last year.
Pine Bluff has a suffering economy whereas Jonesboro has a good economy and a lot of factories. Other communities like Helena-West Helena, Forrest City, and West Memphis, which are wet, aren’t thriving. These cities have a lot of poverty and gangs. As for A Vote for Growth comparing Arkadelphia to Mountain Home, which is wet, Mountain Home would be a larger city if it was dry. Just down the road is Harrison, which is a larger dry city that is growing faster.
The question I ask John Crawford is how bars and liquor stores have helped Pine Bluff, Helena-West Helena, Forrest City, West Memphis, and Camden prosper? Why do you choose to live in a dry county? If Clark County goes wet it won’t get any more restaurants since the population isn’t large enough.
Those who want Clark County wet because they think it will grow as big as Hot Springs are mixed up about some things. If we go wet we won’t grow as big as Hot Springs since there isn’t much industry in Arkadelphia. Hot Springs is a larger city since it is a tourist town and has a lot more jobs. Another thing that will happen if Clark County is voted wet is that taxes will go up. Wet counties have higher taxes than dry since alcohol is taxed. If A Vote For Growth really cared about the economy in Clark County they would be trying to recruit more industry instead of booze. All those people out there who see going wet as a way to bring growth into the community aren’t looking at the facts.
Forrest Millsap
Arkadelphia
