Will beer-and-wine sales vote spur other action in Pittsylvania county?

Pittsylvania County officials say they respect Callands-Gretna voters’ Tuesday decision to allow Sunday beer-and-wine sales, but they’re still uncertain whether that would prompt the rest of the county to follow suit.

Dan River Supervisor James Snead said he was surprised by the decision to allow Sunday sales and said he would have to talk to his constituents to determine whether to propose a similar question for his district. Snead opposes Sunday beer-and-wine sales.

“I don’t care for it myself, but I’m here to represent the district,” Snead said Wednesday.

Chatham-Blairs Supervisor Hank Davis said constituents in his district haven’t expressed strong opinions one way or another to him on the issue. But they’ve voted against Sunday sales referenda in the past, he said.

“If they don’t want it, far be it from me to force it on them,” Davis said.

Sunday beer-and-wine sales passed in Gretna and the sprawling, mostly rural Callands-Gretna district in northwestern Pittsylvania County. Gretna voters also approved liquor by the drink, according to numbers from the Pittsylvania County registrar’s office. Sunday beer and wine sales passed by a 1,217-1,054 vote in the district and by 161-108 in the town of Gretna, according to results made official Wednesday.

Liquor by the drink passed in Gretna with 156 voting “yes” and 114 voting “no,” according to unofficial numbers. 

The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors narrowly approved Callands-Gretna Supervisor Fred Ingram’s motion in July to put the Sunday sales question on the Callands-Gretna ballot by a 4-3 vote.

Ingram, Staunton River Supervisor Marshall Ecker, Banister Supervisor William Pritchett and Davis voted in favor, while Westover Supervisor and Board Chairman Coy Harville, Snead and Tunstall Supervisor Tim Barber were opposed.

An earlier attempt by Ingram to get the question on a countywide ballot failed because no one seconded the motion. However, Tuesday’s vote in Callands-Gretna may mean a future ballot question for the rest of the county or a portion of it by next year, Ingram said Tuesday night.

Pittsylvania County voters have rejected lifting the ban on Sunday beer-and-wine twice since 1992. However, state law allows the board to bypass a referendum and reverse the ban with a vote among supervisors.

As for Gretna’s Sunday beer-and-wine question, the town council voted unanimously in May to approve the referendum, while the liquor-by-the-drink question had to be approved via resident petitions. McBride submitted petitions — which had to have signatures from at least 10 percent of the town’s 723 voters — in Pittsylvania County Circuit Court in August to get the question on the town’s ballot.

Pritchett said Sunday sales wouldn’t pass in his district, but said he would support putting the question on the ballot if another supervisor proposed it. He would not propose it himself right now, Pritchett said. 

Surrounding communities allow Sunday beer-and-wine sales, and those who want the beverages on Sunday will drive to Danville, Martinsville or Campbell County to get it, Pritchett said.

“We don’t have it (Sunday sales),” he said. “It doesn’t stop it (beer and wine) from being used.”

Barber said he’s not sure what the vote portends for the rest of the county. The board will have to examine Sunday beer-and-wine sales when the time comes, he said.

Harville said he respects Callands-Gretna voters’ decision and is open to getting the question on the ballot, depending on how county residents respond to Tuesday’s vote.

Ecker said he has no strong opinion on Sunday sales and said a ban on Sunday beer-and-wine sales doesn’t stop residents from driving to another county to buy alcoholic beverages on Sunday. He said he would seek constituents’ viewpoints before deciding how to vote whether to put the question on the ballot.

One county resident who has pushed to get a referendum on Sunday beer-and-wine sales said she was glad voters in Callands-Gretna approved it. The change will bring more revenue and more businesses to the county, said Gracie Gunnell, a part-time host of Crossing Pittsylvania, a television show focusing on local politics. Gunnell hopes the board takes note of Tuesday’s vote.

“I hope it opens up the eyes (of) the other six supervisors,” Gunnell said.