BLUE LAW REPEALED IN PERRY VOTE

PERRYVILLE - Voters in Perry County decided to repeal the county's ban on Sunday sales by an overwhelming margin Tuesday.

Repeal of the "Blue Law," which prohibits the sale of "non-essential" items on Sunday, was placed on the ballot by initiative petition earlier this year. The effort was initiated by the Chamber of Commerce, after several merchants who are members asked the chamber to take the lead.

In other races, Eugene Besand won a hotly contested race for Perryville city marshal by a wide margin, and Kim Moore, John McDaniel, and Orville L. Schaefer claimed seats on the Perry County Board of Education.

The Sunday sales issue carried all but five of the 18 precincts in Perry County, with 59 percent of the voters supporting the repeal. The final vote margin was 1,655 for the repeal and 1,154 against.

Charlotte Worrell, executive secretary of the Perryville chamber, said the vote reflects an effort by Perry County to keep up with modern times and the changing needs of residents and consumers.

Said Worrell: "Personally, I was pleased. I think it will be very good for Perry County - a very positive step forward. I think the people in this area realize it's time. It is just one of those issues that hadn't been brought to the public's attention before."

Worrell said she doesn't expect a rush of merchants in Perry County to be open on Sundays, but anticipates some will be open starting on April 18.

The only precincts where the Blue Law repeal was rejected was in Biehle, Highland, Crosstown, Farrar, and Uniontown.

In the race for city marshal, Besand received 874 votes to finish well ahead of Keith D. Lane, who had 571. Jim Newcomer received 144 votes and Erik P. Degenhardt had 127.

Besand, who is a Perryville police officer, was elected to fill the one- year remaining on the term of Gary Schaaf, who was elected county sheriff last November.

In the school board race, Moore and Schaefer won new terms on the board, while McDaniel won a newly created seat. McDaniel led the field with 2,123 votes, Moore had 2,020, and Schaefer 1,911. Larry A. Ackley, who did not win a board seat, had 1,035 votes.

Paul Dunlap in Ward 1, and Gary Schumer in Ward 3, won seats on the city council without opposition. Dunlap is an incumbent.

In Ward 2, Randy J. Leible emerged from a field of four candidates to win the seat of retiring councilman Paul Simpson. Leible received 242 votes and Stephen Landholt finished second with 169; Clarence "Jack" Zahner was third with 105 votes; and Harold Weinrich received 49.