Sheriff Opposing Beer, Wine Permits At Kingsland Store

KINGSLAND - Sheriff Jack Rodgers was at both the Cleveland County Quorum Court and Kingsland City Council meetings over the past week asking each body to oppose a request by the Dollar General store at Kingsland to sell alcoholic beverages there.All nine members of the quorum court voted Monday night to support a letter that Rodgers was submitting to the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) board on Tuesday opposing the permits to sell beer and wine there. The Kingsland City Council took no formal action, but Mayor Sharon Crosby said the council could approve a resolution opposing the permit at its next meeting.During both meetings, Rodgers said he opposed the applications for public safety reasons, citing the increased potential for accidents at the Hwy. 79/189 intersection in Kingsland where the store is located."I as the sheriff, I have strongly objected to it," Rodgers said to the quorum court. "It's not a matter of 'if' an accident is going to happen, it's a matter of when," he said. "If this (opposing the permit) can save one person's life, it's worth it." Rodgers told the quorum court that he had been notified by the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division that Dollar General had filed retail store applications to sell both beer and wine at its new location in Kingsland.The copies of the applications that Rodgers received had a handwritten note stating it had been sent to the corporate office in Tennessee on March 6, 2024.Emily Taylor of Nashville, Tenn., is the person listed on each application as having filed for the permits on behalf of Dolgencorp, LLC. Dollar General is headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tenn.While some of the property where the store is located is within the Kingsland city limits, Rodgers said the entire store building itself is outside the city limits and is therefore within the jurisdiction of the county. Rodgers said the ABC permitting process essentially goes through two steps: fir...