Lead Hill to decide on alcohol measure

Voters i n the Boone County town of Lead Hill will decide Nov. 4 whether they want to allow the sale of off-premises alcoholic beverages on Sundays.

If the measure passes, it will affect only the three businesses that are currently allowed to sell alcoholic beverages: Country Market, Dollar General and Lead Hill House of Spirits, according to the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.

The measure would allow those businesses to sell al- coholic beverages between the hours of 10 a.m. and midnight on Sundays.

Passage would put Lead Hill on the same footing as Diamond City, which is 3 miles to the south and has allowed Sunday sales since 2011, shortly after Boone County voters decided to allow alcohol sales after a hiatus of almost 70 years.

Lead Hill and Diamond City are both on Bull Shoals Lake, a popular destination on Sundays, particularly in the summer. Beer and wine can legally be sold on

Sundays for on- premises consumption but not for off-premises consumption.

Voters in Lead Hill considered Sunday sales in 2012, but the measure was defeated by 13 votes, 52 in favor and 65 against. Lead Hill has a population of 271, according to the 2010 Census.

“I personally think it’s an excellent idea because we cater to a lot of tourists and fishermen and golfers,” said Jimmie Lou Nuessner, mayor of Lead Hill.

Nuessner said a citywide 1 percent sales tax is also on the Nov. 4 ballot, and having Sunday alcohol sales would mean more revenue from the additional tax.

“I mean, why not?” Nuessner said. “People are going to bring it over here anyway.”

Jeff Dell of Peel said a campaign is underway to educate voters, unlike the first time Sunday sales were considered. Dell’s wife, Patricia, owns Lead Hill House of Spirits.

“It’s a convenience for the customer,” Jeff Dell said of Sunday sales.

Customers who can’t buy alcoholic beverages in Lead Hill on Sundays might drive 21 miles to Missouri instead. If they do that, they might decide to stay in Missouri and spend their money in that state, Dell said. There are campgrounds at Lead Hill and about eight motels between Lead Hill and Diamond City, he said.

Dell said if the measure passes, Lead Hill House of Spirits will be the only liquor store open on Sundays in northern Boone County.

“I’m hoping for it,” he said. “I think it’ll be good. … Everybody in this town except the post office and the bank sells beer.”

Crystal Ghassemi, a spokesman for Dollar General’s corporate office in Goodlettsville, Tenn., said the company got a permit in December 2011 to sell beer and wine at its Lead Hill store.

The Lead Hill store is one of six Dollar General stores in Boone County — and one of 127 stores in Arkansas — that currently sell beer and wine, she said in an email.

“Overall, Dollar General began selling beer and wine in 2008, and we currently are licensed in nearly 5,900 stores, approximately half of our 11,500-plus stores across the country,” Ghassemi said.

Ghassemi didn’t respond to an email asking whether Dollar General favors Sunday alcohol sales in Lead Hill.