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Petition Drive Underway in Barren County to Get Alcohol Sales Issue on the Ballot

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Barren County is the latest southern Kentucky county to consider allowing package alcohol sales.

Cumberland and Metcalfe counties recently voted to go wet. The city of Leitchfield, in Grayson County, also voted to allow package alcohol sales.

Western Kentucky University graduate and retired Navy veteran Sonya Hamrick is leading a petition drive to get the issue on the ballot in Barren County.

She says she started thinking about pushing for change when she moved to Barren County after retiring from the military.

“To me, it only seemed reasonable to have alcohol for adults in an area that’s convenient for them. That’s what I was used to, and when I came back home I discovered there was no such thing here.”

Hamrick has formed a social media group aimed at attracting signatures on the ballot, and she and other supporters have been attending local events to ask attendees to sign the petition.

While Hamrick says she’s receiving a lot of encouragement, others have been less than supportive.

“My niece actually had someone come up to her and tell her that she would be going to hell for her efforts in getting the vote on the ballot.”

Supporters of expanded alcohol sales in Barren County have to turn in the signatures of about 2,300 registered local voters to get the measure on a ballot. Hamrick says she hopes to have enough signatures by the end of August.

Kevin is the News Director at WKU Public Radio. He has been with the station since 1999, and was previously the Assistant News Director, and also served as local host of Morning Edition.
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