Luke: I just joined this forum (although I've been viewing the "blog" for over a year. I tend to agree that there are a lot of people around the county that are remaining silent on this issue but will indeed vote Yes. My Dad used to tell the pollsters when then called to ask what candidate he was voting for that it was none of their da@*ed business and that this country ensured him the right to cast his vote without letting anyone else know who he voted for! I believe that we stand a strong chance of getting it passed. I truly hope so. But, if not, then at least we will really know how our county stands, and in the long run that cannot be a bad thing. This is democracy at it's best in my eyes, and it's good that everyone has such a strong opinion and hopefully will be a good citizen and get out and vote, whether for or against. That's what it's all about. No one wants to be on the losing side, but in this case I do believe the majority will win, whatever that shall be.

Several thoughts I've wanted to interject:

re: The "Vote No" signs: When they first started appearing, one evening my hubby stopped to put down one of the signs that was on public property at the base of a stop sign (he did not steal it, he just pulled it up and laid it down on the ground because he objects to them being put on public property.) He was curious about the strip of duct tape that was on the bottom of the signs. Removing it, he discovered that the signs had a July date on them! I believe that initially that minister from Union County that rallied the troops up in Epworth brought along all their leftover signs from last year and passed them out to jump-start the movement. I don't know how many signs there were initially, but I know there were several dozen in my neck of the woods in Mineral Bluff with pieces of duct tape covering old dates. And, many of those old signs have now disappeared, because they were placed on the right-of-way and the county mowed over them! I find it interesting that many old-time local people will put down the part-timers or "foreigners" and poo-poo their opinions as garbage, but they allowed a minister from another county who doesn't even have the right to vote in Fannin County to come in and get involved in business that ain't his! Anyway, the Vote Yes dollars are being spent more wisely by placing ads in the newspaper and on radio - the signs will just be stolen or destroyed (plus, in my eyes, they are all garbage eyesores).

Re: Why alcohol by the drink referendum in the first place: We (the citizens of Fannin) essentially ran Doc Vollrath out of town this past election because we were all sick and tired of his political crap. Randy Collins also did not make it back as a Post Commissioner. It was high time for a change. I know for a fact that had Lane Bishop been elected as one of our Post Commissioners, we would not be having this referendum at all. Tommy Ledford's motion would have been seconded by Lane, and then the vote would have shaken down to 2 against 1 (assuming Chairman Bruce would have voted no). My hubby and I attended the Vote Yes fundraising dinner at Toccoa Riverside Restaurant and sat at the table and had dinner that evening with Lane. While he is a very devoutely religious man, he knows that this referendum needs to pass. It was interesting to hear him say that we are wasting our time trying to fight the religious beliefs of the Vote No group. What these people believe they believe with all their hearts, and whether their belief is totally misconstrued has nothing to do with it. The only way he said we will win this is by appealing to the pocketbooks of citizens. Stick with the hard facts and statistics regarding the money, and what this county is losing and stands to gain. Challenging a person's religious beliefs will only make them angrier. So true.

So, I brought away from that fundraising dinner my list of 10 people to contact to talk up support for the referendum. I also brought home a stack of absentee ballot requests and have made sure that my neighbors that work out of town have them. I'm making my calls, and thus far everyone I've spoken with is telling me they plan to vote yes also. (I intend to call them again next week.) I then ask them to call their friends and neighbors and ask them to vote yes. Just spread the word. That's what we all need to be doing if we hope to win this. GET ON YOUR PHONE and make a few calls to your friends (maybe someone you haven't touched base with in a while) and remind them to get out and vote, and hopefully support the referendum. Ask your friends to make calls to their friends. GET THE WORD OUT - next week is prime week for those phone call reminders! This will probably do more to spread the word than any paid advertising.