It’s no secret that a few Choctaw County residents attempted to make the county wet in the past. After a period of time, the push eventually died down.
But, a new push is growing from a grassroots campaign formed by Lauren Carson, Ken Paine, Tyler Long, and Lacey Salley. To do this, they need a little over 1,000 signatures. But, their goal is 1,200 to cutdown on if someone signs and for reason it isn't permissible. But, this is only half the battle. After the signatures, it goes before the Board of Supervisors for a vote. If the Supervisors approve, then it'll be placed on the Nov. 7 ballot as a referendum. “We just want the people to have a voice and put it on the ballot. What happens from there is for the voters to decide. We just want a voice,” Long said.
According to the Department of Revenue’s Wet/Dry map, Choctaw County is just one of two counties in the state that are completely wet and surrounded by wet counties or have a municipality under resort status.
The map shows that Montgomery, Attala, and Winston Counties are completely wet to the sale of beer. However, Oktibbeha County- except for the City of Starkville and Webster Counties – except for the City of Eupora- are dry counties to beer.
On the alcohol map, Montgomery, Oktibbeha, and Winston are wet to the sale of liquor. Attala County – with the exception of the City of Kosciusko and Webster County – with the exception of the City of Eupora are dry to the sale of liquor.
“A municipality doesn’t have to hold an election. They can apply to become a resort status,” Paine said. If Ackerman, Weir, or French Camp wanted to become wet, they could vote as a board of aldermen to begin the process of gaining resort status that permits them to sell.
They’re aware that it could be a battle as there are people who disapprove of the idea.
The biggest discussion is some people believe there will be an uptick in drinking and driving.
The group argued the county could have the same uptick from people going across any of the county lines to purchase beer and alcohol. But, the group argues there are already DUI arrests that take place in Choctaw County.
“You can go across the county line [to Attala] or to Eupora, Louisville, Starkville, Kosciusko and still drink and drive. You go across the line, you open up one [a beer] on the road. Well, you’re going to want more than one, and you have a 10-15 minute drive. Before you know it, you’ve had two or three,” he said.
Carson said they want to use it as a revitalization catalyst. They want to see the empty stores throughout Choctaw County filled with restaurants and retail. Things that drive people to an area.
“It’s not about the alcohol for us. It’s solely about economic growth. We want to see the property taxes increase. It’s about property taxes,” Carson said. “There’s a decline happening in Choctaw County. And that’s the definition of a dying community. We love it here, we want to raise our kids here. We just want to see it grow.”
The group sees Choctaw County's potential to grow and wants to see it happen. They all have young children they want to see grow up here in Choctaw County.
They acknowledge the progress the Choctaw County School District has made by slowly working to update, beginning with the new building at the high school and now the new football stadium. And acknowledge the Town of Ackerman’s efforts with the building of the new sportsplex. But, they said Choctaw County could see more growth and more people moving in – just by allowing the sale of alcohol.
“Choctaw County has one chance to become an attractive bedroom community,” Ken Paine said. He said this is the county’s opportunity to seize that chance and make the property tax more attractive to those wanting to move to the county.
Between Webster County, Attala County, Oktibbeha County, Montgomery County, and Winston County, Choctaw County may be seen as behind the eight ball to some. And it’s because in those counties people want to invest. The connection? They all have areas that are wet. The entire county isn’t wet, but they have areas that are.
To show that this is a move that Choctaw County as a whole should make, they used the City of Eupora as an example. According to the 2022 City/Town Sales Subject to Sales Tax Comparisons, the City of Eupora grew from $31.8 million in fiscal year 2020 to $42.1 million in fiscal year 2022.
“That’s an $11 million dollar increase. Ackerman’s nowhere near that.” Long said. The City of Eupora is undergoing a revitalization that’s hard to miss.
“It speaks to the leadership in Eupora. They see the need for change,” Carson said.
“You have to have people who are willing to make the change,” Long said.
According to the Stennis Institute, Choctaw County brought in a little over $3 million in food and accommodation sales, which is up. The county averages $2.6 million in food and accommodation sales, a difference of $366,000.
The Town of Ackerman brought in the bulk of that, bringing in $3.01 million in food and accommodation sales. The town averages $2.6 million and saw an increase of $364,000.
Weir’s biggest influx of sales taxes is listed under informational, property taxes, and retail trade.
The Town of French Camp brought in $15,000 in food sales and accommodations, averaging $13,000. French Camp recently saw a $1,900 increase. They said if the Choctaw County Board of Supervisors were to approve the vote and get the referendum on the ballot on Nov. 7, those numbers could increase.
“And they’re building the ballfield. Think of what it could bring in. People are going to do it anyway,” Long said. “They could have tournaments there like Winona, Mathiston, and Starkville. Starkville just built a brand new park.”
They also said the sale of alcohol could go hand in hand with the Supervisors' plan of building a new lake.
“They want to build it for recreational and residential use. That’s their plan, but it could be a resort status,” Paine said.
They said people in Choctaw County complain about the lack of things, they didn’t want to get on Facebook and complain. They wanted to be proactive and do something about it.
“I don’t drink and I’m for it,” Paine said.
Similar arguments were made about the Mississippi lottery for years, saying that it would cause a gambling problem. However, not much is heard about the lottery, and benefit is being seen. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is able to do more projects and able to fund more projects.
“If it goes through, I think once it’s all said and done, you’re not going to hear anything about it,” Carsons said.
