Dexter aldermen pass liquor license on second try

DEXTER, Mo. -- Despite an unsuccessful attempt two weeks earlier, local merchant Eldon Evans will be granted a liquor license for his convenience store on Route AD.

The license, the city's 10th and final available, passed by a 3-2 vote of the Board of Aldermen Tuesday night with Mayor Joe Weber passing the final vote after Alderman Kirby Taylor abstained from the vote.

Alderman Rick Hux, who voted in favor of the license, said he felt that by allowing the license to pass, it put an end to the liquor license question without actually bringing any new sales to town.

He also said he was concerned about possible legal ramifications if the board denied a license to Evans and then granted one to another proprietor later.

The store, formerly Stanfield's, is still operating under a city license issued to former owners Rick and Tina Stanfield. City attorney Yewell Lawrence stated that if the city denied the license, Evans could then apply for a state resort license that would allow him to sell alcohol by the drink.

The vote came after emotional testimony against the license by the Rev. Kenneth Biggs of First General Baptist Church and his wife Doris.

"You were entrusted with the responsibility to make Dexter a better and safer place," Biggs said. "When we vote to make these things so accessible, we share in the responsibility."