Corinth residents attend forum on liquor sales vote

CORINTH – Emotions on the town’s liquor ban ran high, but the approximately 15 residents who attended Thursday night’s public forum on the issue stated several times that it was not personal.

Residents will vote Nov. 2 whether the town will make the transition from dry to wet. A similar vote was held in June and failed. The item on the November ballot in Corinth will read: “Shall this municipality authorize the state to permit the operation of state liquor stores and agency liquor stores on days other than Sunday?”

Resident Sonny Buswell circulated the most recent petition and got 166 signatures, 22 more than are required to have an item added to the ballot.

Contrary to what some residents previously said, Buswell said his petition was not influenced by any of the town selectmen or Town Manager Don Strout.

“It was totally me that brought this forward,” Buswell said.

The June vote to decide whether residents would allow malt liquor and wine sales, with the product to be consumed off the premises of licensed establishments on days other than Sunday, failed by a vote of 402-334.

Buswell’s petition is slightly different because it requests permission to sell hard liquor.

“I don’t believe that we should be stopping a business from making a profit,” he said Thursday.

The business in question is Tradewinds Supermarket. Strout noted that the business had no part in the petition, and has not said whether it will even apply for the license if the item is passed.

It is unclear whether Tradewinds, or any other business in Corinth, would qualify to operate a state liquor store.

If the ballot initiative is approved, Maine’s Bureau of Alcohol will advertise and eligible businesses can apply for a state license.

Residents who oppose alcohol sales in town said businesses would survive without selling liquor and that it would damage the character of the town. They also are afraid of what might occur in the long run if the item is passed.

Even if no one is awarded a license, “the camel’s got his nose under the tent,” resident Tom Bean said. Corinth being a dry town was a factor in Bean’s decision to move there about a year ago, he said.

“It gave me an idea of the character of the town,” he said.

Others agree and are upset that the issue has been brought up again less than six months after the last vote.

“I think the town would be better off to remain dry,” resident Ron Wilcox said. “If there’s a foot in the door, who knows what may come after.”

Alcohol has not been sold in the town since the 1930s, and until this year a vote on the issue hasn’t been held since 1973.