PRINCETON, KY - Like residents of Marshall County did recently, residents of Princeton will be going to the polls on Tuesday to decide if alcohol sales should be allowed there.

As one might expect, there are those who believe alcohol sales should be allowed, and those who don't.
 
Attorney Sereita Jaggers is part of Progress for Princeton. She says alcohol is already in Princeton and is often sold to minors, so it's time it was regulated.

"...The fact is we have bootleggers who sell to underage drinkers and that makes it already easily available. What the legalization of the sale of alcohol in Princeton would do is get some control over it, some regulation. And that's what we're seeking."

She adds that residents of Princeton and Caldwell County who go to other counties to purchase alcohol are not only giving their tax dollars to others, but their discretionary income as well, as they will often eat and shop in those places.

"...Simply because we don't have legal alcohol sales in Princeton doesn't mean that people don't buy it. What they do now is go out of town to buy it...So the local communities that have alcohol sales legally are benefitting from our tax dollars."

On the other side of the issue is Justin Ramey, who says the human toll will not be worth it if alcohol becomes more easily accessible.

"Our stance is that it will, first, lower the price, because you won't have to travel out of town to get it anymore. And let's face it, gas prices are high right now and time is money...Also, you will have an increase in availability. And when those two things happen, you don't have to have a PhD in economics to understand that there's going to be an increase in consumption."

Ramey likens it to having a vending machine with his favorite soft drink outside his office door.

"With a discounted price and easier availability, I would probably be drinking quite a bit more. And alcohol, unlike soft drinks, causes costs in human life and suffering, and I'm afraid those are gonna go up in our town if it passes."