Wet or Dry: Benton County Question Under Petition
By: Whitney Ray
Updated: July 9, 2007
Right now it’s illegal to sell packaged liquor in Benton County. Benton County is one of a few areas in the U.S. where you cant sell alcohol. Still, its known as the wettest dry county in the country. Many of the clubs and restaurants offer liquor to customers if theyll sign up for a membership to a private club. There are about 200 of these private establishments in Benton County.
Citizens for Choice is the counties newest non-profit group. The members want to put the wet-dry issue to a vote in 2008. In order to get the issue on the November ballot theyll need 38,000 signatures from registered voters in Benton County. The group started their petition drive Saturday when they went looking for Benton County residents in Missouri. The group drove just across the state line to rally support from Benton County folks buying their liquor in Missouri.
The group hasnt released the number of signatures they received this weekend in Missouri. They plan to update the signature count on their website sometime in the next few weeks
