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By STEVE CORNELIUS Record Staff Report For nearly 70 years, Pulaski County has existed without the legal sale of alcohol. On Primary Election Day, Tuesday, May 18, all that changed when the citizens of Burnside voted to legalize the sale of alcohol by the drink in restaurants seating 100 or more patrons. Burnside is the closest major town north of McCreary County. While McCreary County residents currently can conveniently purchase beer just over the border in Winfield, Tenn., the Burnside vote may be an indicator of changing times. Currently only one restaurant in Burnside � Seven Gables � would be eligible. The vote count was �Yes� � 219, �No� � 172, with 56 percent of the Burnside citizens wanting their town to allow the limited sales of alcohol. The election in Burnside over three years was won by the �No� votes by only eight votes. The total number of voters increased by only 15 voters, which doesn�t account for the 47 vote margin win by the wet forces. Therefore, it goes to reason that some of the voters might have changed their vote from a �No� to a �Yes� over the three-year period. �I wanted to be true to the promise I made to the citizens of Burnside that I would not get involved in the wet/dry election in any way,� Mayor Jim Rasnick said. �But it is obvious that the citizens of Burnside have spoken and they have said that they want the ability to enjoy an alcohol beverage with their meal. �Over the next two weeks I will work on strategies and plans for the implementation of the restaurant referendum,� Rasnick stated. �In preparation for the possibility of this outcome, I have visited a couple of cities that have recently voted to legalize the limited sale of alcohol and have went over the ordinances that have to be enacted. �I am sure there are a lot of Burnside citizens who are disappointed with the outcome and there are many who are elated with the outcome,� Rasnick added. �But I think if we can all work together, we can move forward and build a better Burnside.� One of Rasnick�s council members and an avid �dry� supporter, Don Coggins, has been one of the most outspoken on the issue over the past three years. As a matter of fact, Coggins campaigned for his seat on the Burnside City Council because of the support he received from citizens in Burnside from his work in the last wet/dry election. �I�m a little disappointed,� Coggins said. �I�ll continue to do my job as a council member and I�ll still be around.� Former three-term councilman Dean Lovins has seen firsthand the financial woes that the town of Burnside has endured over the years. He can even remember when Burnside boasted a population of over 1,200 citizens years before the impoundment of Lake Cumberland. And he sees the legalization of the limited sales of alcohol as a means by which Burnside can rebuild and become a financially vibrant town again. �I was glad to see the referendum pass in Burnside,� Lovins said. �It will be good for industry, it will be good for the restaurants, it will provide more jobs and it will help Burnside�s tax base. �Having served on the city council, I can tell you it was a constant struggle to pay the city�s bills,� Lovins recalled. �When we bought a new police cruiser, it was usually an older used car was all we could afford. �I have never looked at this as a drinking issue,� Lovins stated. �Overall, this referendum will be good for the town of Burnside.� And while everyone in the Pulaski County Courthouse was milling about prior to results coming in, the buzz around the crowded county clerk office was, �Where�s the Burnside precinct officers?� When Burnside precinct workers Eddie Jones and Bernice Young came into the County Clerk�s Office, a sense of anticipation filled the room, although everyone had already heard the unofficial results and had a sense that Burnside had already elected to legalize the sale of alcohol. As Burnside precinct worker Eddie Jones handed over the black voter kit bag to the county clerk personnel, he said, �Be careful with this bag, it�s wet.� Reader Comments SNH, (6/12/2025) Don`t all of you think you should be more aware of the drugs in your county both legal & illegal? Mr.D (6/7/2026) Hey Angel, adjust the glow on your halo!!! It's blinding your sight!!!! You cant see the bootleggers selling in this county!!! You cant see post 115 selling in this county!!! You cant see the bars at the state line!!! Keep McCreary Co Beautiful??? When was the last time you walked a roadway in McCreary County and looked in the ditches and culverts? You'd see beer cans and whiskey bottles. Angel, if you want to keep McCreary Co. beautiful you need to accept the truth that alcohol is already here. And has been illegally here for decades. If you want to clean up this county then complain to the Sheriff about the Legion selling and The bootleggars selling, and Sheriff Perrys neighbor selling. Angel, (6/4/2026) To Wanda, Jim and all the other wet people. Rather have my head in the sand than my brain clouded with alcohol. At least i know what i'm doing. don't need alcohol to give me backbone. Just hope your not a victim. Sure looks like the bootleggers of burnside came out of the closet. Don't have to hide what their doing any more. Sad but true. Good Luck to all the dry people of Burnside. To McCreary County residents. Get out there and vote when your time comes. Don't allow the bootleggers to take your County over. Keep McCreary County BEAUTIFUL Stay Dry!!!!! Wanda (6/1/2026) I'm amazed at all these comments with a "Head-in-the-sand" attitude. The warped statistics given here project ideas from a corn patch environment. There were more people killed in one big calamity on 9-11, more than McCreary County has people. The people killed in 9-11 had not had one drop of alcohol that morning. The people killed in WWII had not had one drop of alcohol. So why plead safety issues? These stats are ludicrous. Now that this subject is a done deal, we all can move out of Mccreary County and become Burnsiders. At that time, we can compare people killed by alcohol in Burnside to people killed by alcohol in Detroit, or Cincinnati, or Atlanta. Let's go to Burnside and have a drink to toast the coming-of-age in Burnside. And those "Holier-than-thou" can stay in McCreary County with their head in the sand. Mr. D (5/31/2004) you said it all jimm. jim (5/31/2004) There is no such thing as a "dry" town or county. Bootleggers abound. It's not a matter of having alcohol or not having it, but the proper management of it. The "dry" crowd need to remove their heads from the sand Jonathan Hearld (5/27/2004) I would like to respond to Donnie's as well as J.A.S,and as well as anyone-else who is misinformed about ALCOHOL.I will present FACTS about ALCOHOL in just a few moments.But first I would like to adress these folks about their opinions. Yes,while it is true whoever wants to get alcohol,they will always find a way to get it.while Donnie states that a person who is buying alcohol elsewhere might being drunk and may hit you,while I agree with him 100%,it is also true that someone that can get it at their hometown,and at a restaurant such as Seven Gables Restaurant here in Burnside,could do the same.Is it all about money?Is money worth another person's life? I should hope not!How would it save lifes? Where ALCOHOL is,their won't be saving another person's life.Yes,they will get it one way or another,so how about those tourists,who they claim will bring more money to the county? Would you want them to get drunk and kill your loved ones? I hate to hear about someone killing your loved one while driving drunk J.A.s.You go ahead and state that someone could go to the store and buy their beer,while that is true,they still can get behind the wheel drunk and kill someone.Every county will always be wet,but why go to the extremes of having it wetter than what it already is?There is no since in having thousands of other people killed by having acess to more alcohol. I personally used to be hooked on alcohol.I dindn't care if it was beer,wine,or whiskey,or etc.I still struggle with the temptations of drinking.It is very hard to quit,but I have been sober for quite a few years now.Since it will be in my hometown,it will be even more of a stuggle,but I can fight this even though it will be more difficult. NOW HERE ARE FACTS ABOUT ALCOHOL: Currently here in Kentucky intoxicating beverages (beer,whiskey,wine,etc.) are involved in some extent in some 40 percent of accidents fatal to pedestrians,about 48 percent of accidents fatal to drivers,and a factor in 72 percent of the fatal accidents in which one car was involved.Nationally,thousands of people die each year in drinking-related accidents.If you even drink a small amount,your chances of having an accident are greater than if you were not drinking. When alchol enters your stomach,it goes directly into your bloodstream and then to all parts of your body.It reaches your brain in about 20 to 40 minutes.Alcohol affects those parts of your brain that controls your judgement,vision,and skill.As the amount of alcohol increases ,your judgement,vision,and skill deteriorate,you have trouble judging distances,speeds,and movements of other vehicles.Finally,you have trouble controlling your vehicle. "Under the influence" means that due to drinking alcohol beverages a person has lost(to some degree) the clearness of mind and self control that he would otherwise possess.Lost of judgement,vision,and skill may occur long before obvious sympthoms of intoxication.Even one drink will affect your driving.Experts advise that it takes your body approximately one hour to burn up one ounce of alcohol. Presumtions Of Law(krs189A.010) .00 to .02 presumed "yes" if under 21. ..08 or more presumed "yes" In TN .06 or more presumed"yes" Befor people accuse me for being crazy,I will let you know where I got these facts.No other than Kentucky's drivers manual,so you would be calling these experts crazy as well. So after hearing these facts,would you still want your county to go wet.Bootleggers will always be in business whether it goes wet or not. While it might be true by going wet,it might bring in a few more dollars,but look at the family who might have to pay thousands of dollars for funeral expenses.Will it still be worth it? Doesn't the bible state that money is the root to all evil? Don't get me wrong,money is good to have,but when people want more and more of it,then that is wrong. Sorry for being so long,but in the advent,that this would save people's lifes,it will be well worth it.I hope people will listen to someone such as me who used to be hooked on alcohol.Alcohol in any fahion or form has never brought anything good.Just ask the single parent whose husband has chosed Alchol instead of his family.Ask someone who attends A.A. meetings and see what they tell you. Thanks,for reading. donnie (5/26/2004) i think it is time for mccreary co to go forward a person who wants to go and get a beer there going to drive to tenn to get it some may stay and drank awhile but time they leave there to drunk to drive but they do and maybe down the road in mccreary co he hits a car it could be you and your family or me and mine anyways this may not happen if he could got beer up road from his house he would of went got it went home drank it not what we want its what we should do for mcceary co it will bring more money to us and save lifes think of it this way there going to get it anyway they can no matter how far they have to drive j.a.s (5/26/2004) i think mccreary co should be next to vote wet cause i had a family member who was killed be a drunk driver who was headding to tenn boarder to get more beer and ran a red light and hit his car and killing him so see if mccreary co was wet they could go to a store and get beer and go home but they go to tenn and see there buddies and have beers with them then they are to drunk and then they drive home drunk as long as the county is dry they will go where it is wet so by doing this letting mccreary co wet may save some lifes plus it will bring more money in this county so vote wet cause if you dont there going to be bootleggers who will sale or they will drive miles to get it Jonathan Hearld (5/24/2004) We tell people not to drink and drive, but we are so stupid and uneducated I guess, because we are now permitting them to do exactly that now. When Burnside voted for it to go wet, they will now be drinking and driving. The only difference is that they are drinking in a restaurant and not there car. betsy in ohio (5/23/2004) i feel the vote for the sale of alcohol in burnside will create a much different place. in the past burnside was a beautiful little quite area to come too visit. the most unique thing about the small town was the fact it was alcohol free(dry)and people, such as me and my friends could come and enjoy the beautiful scenery in a quite setting without the fear of running into situations that cause so much disturbances. now the town is like any other small town, it will soon be having all the problems other wet towns experience. i won't be coming there this year. the reason being Burnside is no longer a unique place to visit. it makes me very sad that people vote for something that will only cause them grief in the future. i feel burnside will be a ghost town in the near future. Jeff Bryant (5/23/2004) McCreary County should be next to do it, it would bring more money to the county and most importantly I think it would make the roads safer. Crystal Mitchell (5/21/2004) I think the vote for Burnside to be wet was a good chance for Burnside to build up their city and expand businesses. Add a Comment |
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