Breathitt County voters choose to allow alcohol sales

Breathitt County is going wet.

Voters Tuesday chose to allow alcohol sales in the county, 58 percent to 42 percent.

Most voters did agree on one thing, however. They want Breathitt County to become a better place.

Trevor Terry told WYMT he thinks going wet would help the economy. "I think Breathitt County is a great place where a lot of people want to raise their families, and all we're trying to do is make it an even better place by fixing some of the crumbling infrastructure with some tax revenue," he said.

Bill Scott, pastor of Jackson Community Church, who is against alcohol sales agreed on making the community a better place, but not with the same method. "What can we do together?" He asked, "we obviously have the same goals, we're just going about it different ways."

With so many churches in Breathitt County, County Clerk Mary Lois Stevens thought the county would remain dry after the vote. She said she believes voter turnout is what made the difference.

Vote totals were:

Wet - 2,323

Dry - 1,717

Folks won't be able to buy or sell alcohol immediately. Businesses will need to acquire liquor licenses through the state.