DEADLINE SET FOR LIQUOR PETITION

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

 

The group of local voters behind the petition for liquor sales met at the Taqueria Mexicano Grill in the Cove Terrace Shopping Center one last time Wednesday night to go over important information before the signature collection period begins.

 

This is the third time the group has filed for a petition to place the sale of liquor on the ballot. The first time, in 2014, signatures or addresses were illegible or dates were mixed up, according to group leader Mitch Lofton. The next year, 300 signatures were invalid with 166 due to not being registered to vote in Cove.

 

At the meeting, Lofton instructed the group members on how to collect signatures and interact with the people signing, including those who may be against allowing the sale of alcohol inside city limits.

 

Getting the signatures is only part of the effort, Lofton said. If the petition gets enough signatures and the issue is placed on the ballot, it is still up to citizens to vote for or against it.

 

“All we ask the citizens to do is give Copperas Cove the opportunity to vote on it,” Lofton said.

 

To the people who may be apprehensive about it, Lofton explained how alcohol is already sold in Copperas Cove – in the form of beer and wine or through a club system.

 

“The sales tax dollars can stay here, instead of people going to Harker Heights, Killeen, Lampasas, Salado, Burnet,” Lofton said. “All these places around us can sell alcohol and they’re benefiting from it.”

 

The group has 60 days, from March 30 to May 28, to collect the 1,467 signatures needed. That number represents 35 percent of registered voters in Copperas Cove from the last Governor’s election.

 

Last year, petitioners used the signees’ voter registration numbers to look up their addresses on spreadsheets. According to Lofton, this made a huge difference and allowed them to weed out ineligible signatures.

 

To sign the petition, a person must be a registered voter who lives in Copperas Cove city limits or a registered voter of Copperas Cove who lives in Lampasas County near the city border.

 

Lofton recommends that people bring their voter registration card, if they have it, with them to sign the petition to help signing go faster.

 

If a person signed previous years’ petitions, they will still need to sign this year’s as it is a brand new petition.

 

The petition is available for signing at the following locations:

 

Copperas Cove Banner – 200 Terrace Shopping Center

 

Donlie McMullin Real Estate- 202 1st Street

 

Frames & Things- 216 Cove Terrace Shopping Center

 

Heart of Texas Vapors-2520 E. Hwy 190

 

Operation Stand Down-303 Cove Terrace Shopping Center

 

More locations will be announced on The Network Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheNetworkCove/