I'll leave you with some parting words:

Hello darkness my old friend.
The construction industry is slow again.
No more sounds of saws singing.
No more echoes of hammers ringing.
And the vision of all the money in their brains
No longer remains
With the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked through all
The empty streets with no alcohol.
In the stores I find empty racks.
I looked at the decaying railroad tracks,
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a hotel light.
There's "Vacancy" tonight.
Rooms filled with the sound of silence.

In the Commission Meetings I saw
A hundred people, maybe more.
Some people talking without thinking.
What Would Jesus Do about all the drinking?
Campaign promises, in which, nobody cared.
But no one dared
To break the sound of silence.

And the people bowed and prayed
To the Longhorn's steak that was just made.
And all the spirits were pouring.
The Bacchanalian revelry was roaring.
And the signs said, "East Ellijay" was just "15 miles" away,
And here you can stay.
And Fannin lives on with the sound of silence.

Peace I'm Out!!!

>>I want to thank everyone who participated in the vote regardless of how you feel.

We did too. Mercier Orchards donated a case of sparkling apple cider for the victory celebration. The Vote Yes! folks set them up on a table in the courthouse, and yes, the local LEOs did have an obligatory look-see. Don't get me wrong, they were 110% professional, courteous and really helped set a relaxing mood. They rolled in the results, and we waited for the nice lady to walk into the 'briefing room' to announce the official results. Frankly, it was the most interesting public 'thing' I've ever participated in, and as objectively as I can see it, Fannin County did an A+ job.

Of course it wasn't without drama. After the final results were read, Bruce Hansen asked one of the 'chiefs' from the other side if he would join him in a toast to their victory. He yelled, "You just can't wait to get out on that road and kill somebody with your liquor, blah blah blah...".

Hey, at least I walked away with a smile for the future. Idiots usually, eventually, are replaced. Look at it this way: not many of us really wanted liquor thrown into the fight, but we didn't have a choice. The push will once again be for beer & wine only. Time to vote out a bozo or two. Re-elect Tommy Ledford and vote out just one of two clowns and we're where we wanted to be in the first place.

Please be on the lookout for our new business venture:

A & A Brown Bag Emporium: For the AA member in all of us!

Remember we deliver but we don't pick up!

I am glad that the church people voted to keep the prisoners in orange jumpsuits busy picking up all of the alcohol containers and packaging on the side of the road. Nice touch.

Man it is dead at work! I think that the only work thats been going on in this county in recent weeks has been putting up and taking down those Vote "Yes" and "No" signs!

I'm a Fannin half timer, spending the rest of my year in sinful S. Florida. I don't consume any kind of alcohol on a regular basis, so having a drink with dinner is not an issue for me.

I have owned homes in N. Georgia since the early 80s and have always found the local gentry to be more than welcoming to us 'flatlanders'. However, this whole alcohol brouhaha has revealed a side of the 'locals' that we, who happily pay tax dollars for services we don't use, rarely see. To me, it is clearly a 'them vs. us' issue. It seems that many of the natives resent like hell the non-natives who have invaded 'their' county and this is their way of taking a stand. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you...

I find it humorous that those who had big 'vote no' signs in their yards still shop at Ingles, where there is a beer/wine cooler bigger than my cabin's first floor. And, that there is a drive-through package store in Blue Ridge! Talk about making it convenient to drink and drive...

The battle for a glass of wine in Fannin restaurants is over for this year, but be prepared for another round. Like it or not, Fannin locals will eventually be dragged - kicking and screaming - into the 21st century.

I personally think that there should be campaign to develop a website that displays pictures of the ministers, parishioners, and any others that voted no that show them engaged in buying or dining at establishments that sell or serve alcohol of any kind. www.critcal-hypocritical.com hahaha.

What a shame to miss a golden opportunity to drag Fannin kicking & screaming into the 21st century. I guess the self-righteous are happy with high real estate taxes, no industry, and no jobs. Oh, I forgot, those meth labs will keep on as the top industry in the county. You have to generate revenue somehow.

How many of the NO voters are obese and/or smokers? They're so concerned with what Jesus wants them to drink, as if he cares, while they are eating and smoking themselves to death. I guess if they want to indulge in a "vice", it's all right. Freedom to choose is OK so long as it's something they want to choose. They should remember that obesity and smoking kill far more people every year than alcohol.

What is absurd is that these people think they are keeping alcohol out of the county. It's already here. This was simply a missed opportunity to realize some much needed revenue and jobs.

As comedian Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid."

Well I think that we can all be rest assured that there will most likely be major changes in make-up of the Fannin County Commission Board. One commission member has been at best in-effective and at worst a complete waste of space. I do not believe that anyone in the right state of mind would willingly vote for a person who is constantly absent from any commission meeting that has the least hint of controversy. I bet he looks like a Twinkie running away with that yellow streak on his back. And as for another commission member, I believe he may find himself a lonely man after distancing himself from the promises he made to his major campaign contributers. Now I'll be the first to admitt that there are several people in this county who do not like the 3rd commission member. I'm not one of those people. I actually respect a man who will at least take a stand on something regardless of how popular or unpopular an issue is. That is the definition of true leadership. See you at the polls again soon.