A majority of those voting in last week’s general election gave their blessing to Sunday sales of wine, beer and spirits.
Referendums concerning such sales were on ballots in the unincorporated areas of Catoosa County and in the city of Ringgold, but not on ballots of Fort Oglethorpe residents.
That is because the Fort Oglethorpe City Council decided by a 3-2 vote this summer that neither retail nor by-the-glass referendums regarding Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages would be included on the Nov. 6, 2012 ballot.
The result is that when it comes to the sale or purchase of alcoholic beverages on Sundays, Fort Oglethorpe is now the only “dry” island within Catoosa County.
Local officials said that being able to sell beer and wine on Sunday allows retail outlets to compete on equal footing with their counterparts just across the stateline in Tennessee. Allowing Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages for onsite consumption could attract high-end restaurants and will in no way lead to bars sprouting up across the local landscape, officials say.