MARSHALL COUNTY – In the wake of the announcement from the VOTE YES 2015 group last week that the issue of alcohol sales is officially going to be on the ballot in July, representatives of the ‘Say No Now’ group confirm they are ramping up efforts to launch their anti-alcohol awareness campaign.
Board Chairman Keith Travis says the group has been planning and contemplating their campaign for some time, but were not going to officially launch before it was confirmed that the issue was going to the ballot.
“Prior to it being called to an official vote, there was nothing to campaign against,” Travis said. The group was however active in their preparations including getting involved in the primary election sending out questionnaires to all local candidates.
Travis reports that only three of the candidates running for office responded to the questionnaires which were sent via registered mail: Melonie Chambers, Chris Freeland and Charlie Hatchett. When asked if the results of those questionnaires would be published, Travis said due to the lack of participation by all candidates, it has been decided not to release the information.
“We believed that by running the results of the few who answered that it would appear to be an endorsement of those candidates,” he said adding that “it would only be a fair comparison if all at the time or both of the candidates running at this time had answered.”
Travis further stated, “You have to have some respect for those who chose to answer this questionnaire – this is not a question of politics but of policy as that office impacts greatly the method of enforcement related to alcohol sales.”
The first organizational community meeting of the Say No Now group is set for next Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30 p.m. in the Marshall County Courthouse. Travis said anyone wanting more information or interested in helping and/or contributing is invited and encouraged to attend.
For additional information on the Say No campaign, see the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/saynonow.