Gov. Ricketts pledges in letter to address problems stemming from Whiteclay liquor sales

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/gov-ricketts-pledges-in-letter-to-address-problems-stemming-from/article_42ce2b68-6edd-11e5-a5e6-ff5298456d77.html

POSTED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015 6:27 PM | UPDATED: 7:54 PM, FRI OCT 9, 2015.
By Paul Hammel / World-Herald bureau

LINCOLN — Gov. Pete Ricketts has pledged to take action to address problems related to the sales of beer from the Nebraska village of Whiteclay to residents of an officially dry Indian reservation across the border in South Dakota.

“I am determined to address this important set of problems during my administration,” wrote Ricketts in a July 30 letter to a constituent.

The letter, obtained by The World-Herald, came to light as a group of activists, led by Native American activist Frank LaMere of South Sioux City, sought to meet with the first-year governor at his office Friday morning.

Ricketts was not available, but the group met with a representative of his administration.

FULL story at link.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

1. Thanks for posting!

I doubt Gov. Voldemort will do much more than pay lip service to the problem, but hope springs eternal.

My humble opinion: the beer industry (by which I mostly mean the brewers and somewhat mean the distributors) at a minimum need to be called upon to kick in with funds for schools on the Pine Ridge rez, as well as alcohol treatment programs. They sell a million cans of beer year in Whiteclay -- they can give back something.

Suggestion: you might want to x-post this in the Native American group.

[Omaha Steve]

5. I did the x post right after I did this post

[Nye Bevan]

2. "LaMere has worked for more than 15 years to close the beer stores at Whiteclay"

Why should legal liquor stores be closed just because someone thinks Native Americans are using them too much?

[Algernon Moncrieff]

4. Have you been to Whiteclay?

That's not asked with acrimony -- it's a question. I've been there. It's skid row on steroids. And it's not an actual town per-se, so there's not much in the way of patrolling.

Across the border in SD is the Pine Ridge rez, which was legally dry, until the liquor ban was repealed. However, no rules on how liquor is to be sold have been passed AFAIK.

Legally, there probably is no way to close the stores, and even if you did, the problem would just move 2, 5, 10, 20 miles down the road. OTOH, there is the power of shaming. The presence of Whiteclay is clearly exploitative and harmful. It does not give brewers a good name.

Now, if I were Governor, I might make certain that stores selling this much beer (reportedly: 1,000,000 cans per year) with people passed out on sidewalks outside were frequently audited -- you know -- to ensure that the taxes are correct. And I might make a point to identify any underage buyers or procurers for kids -- in fact, I might run frequent stings. Health inspectors could appear at any moment. Distributors might have their trucks pulled over for frequent safety checks. The finances of all involved business owners might be closely scrutinized. If prostitution was found to be occurring on your property, charges would be filed. You might beat the charges, but I'd make the point to the State's Attorney that I want you and your attorneys to spend a long time fighting the charges. OR -- all parties involved could admit that the situation is unacceptable, and take certain common sense steps -- like not serving the obviously drunk; building a heated indoor place so the drinkers don't freeze to death; agreeing to immediately and unfailingly report anything that remotely resembles underage girls and boys being pedaled for sex so that their dads/moms/aunts/uncles/brothers/sisters can get their drink on; contribute to the Red Cloud Indian School, Pine Ridge High, and local institutions like KILI; and contributing toward local detox and rehab programs.

[hatrack]

3. "I care!" sez clown who wants to spend however much to bring back death penalty.

Right, Guv. Show us more of just how committed you are to the poor and dispossessed.

Buffoon.