SUNDAY LIQUOR SALES POSITIONS MIXED

A bill on Gov. John Ashcroft's desk that would allow Sunday sales of packaged liquor has supporters and opponents in Cape Girardeau.

It's no surprise that convenience store owners and managers favor the bill and that many against lifting the ban on Sunday liquor sales are opposed to alcohol in general.

Indeed, the teetotaling Republican governor has said he won't sign the bill unless the legislature also approves a drug bill that's pending in the Missouri House.

Ashcroft has until midnight Friday the day the legislature adjourns at 6 p.m. to decide whether to sign the Sunday liquor bill into law.

The measure allows liquor stores and other establishments, such as convenience and grocery stores, to sell alcohol on Sunday if they are already licensed to sell liquor during the week.

James Maurer, general manager of Rhodes 101 Stop in Cape Girardeau, said his company favors the bill.

He said liquor laws, which now allow restaurants and resorts to sell liquor on Sunday, are unfair to convenience stores. Maurer said liquor sales are an appreciable part of the stores' revenue.

"We would like to see it go through, if for no other reason than it's unfair the way it's set up now," he said.

Maurer said those who want to buy alcohol on Sunday can simply drive to Illinois and buy it. Also, some of the restaurants and resorts raise prices on Sunday when competition is restricted.

"We don't see that it's a fair thing for them to limit who's allowed to sell liquor on Sunday or any other day," he said. "Now, if it's an issue of selling liquor at all on Sunday if you're going to keep everyone from selling liquor then sure, we don't want Sunday liquor sales.

"But I think it needs to be the same for one as it is for packaged liquor."

Joe McCullough, a board member of the American Family Association, a conservative religious group in Cape Girardeau, is against Sunday liquor sales and consumption of alcohol in general.

He said the push to allow Sunday liquor sales is fueled by greed on the part of store owners.

"When store owners say they think they should be allowed to sell alcohol on Sunday, they're saying it because it's money in their pocket," he said.

McCullough said he would like to see Sunday again become a day when stores are closed and people spend the day with their families. Allowing Sunday alcohol sales in the state would be "detrimental to family life," he said.

"I don't think it's censorship; I think it's common sense," he said. "If you start selling alcohol on Sunday, you're just opening the door for more disrespect of the Lord's day."

The bill would allow packaged liquor sales from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday. Licenseholders will have to pay an additional $200 fee annually to the state and up to $300 for a local license fee.

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. said that if passed, he doubted the measure would have much impact locally.

He said Sunday has the lowest accident rate of any day and he didn't expect Sunday liquor sales to alter that significantly.

"My personal opinion is it will not have an effect on the accident rate," Boyd said. "If a person's predisposed to drink on Sunday, they'll either go across the river and buy it or they'll warehouse it buy it on Saturday and keep it until Sunday."

Boyd said the number of driving-while-intoxicated arrests and other "alcohol-related incidents" have declined in the city during the past four years. He said he didn't think Sunday liquor sales would change that trend, and that it could actually help the city and state in terms of sales tax revenue.

Sue Gibson, a spokesperson for Schnucks Markets Inc. of St. Louis, said that Sunday typically is the busiest shopping day of the week, and liquor sales would add to customers' shopping convenience.

"We would like our customers to be able to purchase on Sunday whatever they can purchase throughout the week," Gibson said. "I think the bottom line is that Sunday has become a major shopping day for a lot of people.

"For that reason, it would be much more convenient for our customers to be able to purchase anything they want on that day."

David Barklage, who owns Spanky's convenience stores in Cape Girardeau, said the liquor sales industry already is closely regulated and he doubted Sunday sales would create problems.

"I don't think it will necessarily increase consumption of liquor," he said. "I've never seen any evidence of that. All it does now is hurt our sales tax base because people just go across the river."

Barklage said probably 10 percent of his revenue is derived from liquor sales. He also echoed Maurer's concerns that loopholes in current state liquor laws would be closed with passage of the Sunday sales bill.

"The law's already a little bit confusing," Barklage said. "You can buy a drink in a restaurant; you can go to Illinois; if you're declared a resort, you can buy liquor.

"There are all kinds of holes in it. I just don't really see any reason why there shouldn't be liquor sales on Sunday. I think our industry would logically be in favor of it."

McCullough said despite his objections to allowing Sunday liquor sales, he expects the measure to pass, "unless there is a great outcry from the Christian community."