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The Meade County
Commission voted Friday to approve a full liquor license for a bar
north of Bear Butte.
And once again,
the approval came over the objections of nearby rural residents and
Native Americans who believe the mountain is a sacred place.
The liquor license
is for the Sturgis County Line bar and campground which is just two
miles from the base of Bear Butte. Owner Jay Allen has already been
awarded a malt beverage license for the 640-acre site, and now has a
liquor license as well.
Attorney Bruce
Ellison told the commissioners Friday that Jay Allen has been
advertising the bar as a place for bikers to get away from the law.
"So if he represented to you that there was going to be close
coordination between law enforcement and what goes on out at bear
butte," said Ellison, "he lied to you."
But Commissioner
Bob Mallow thought Allen made his case. "By statute there's just
a couple things you can deny it for and one is character the other is
location. And the background check is good as far as character, and
we felt it was a suitable location."
The malt beverage
license for Allen is being challenged in court. The Meade County
commissioners rejected a petition to put the license on the November
ballot. Attorneys for the groups opposed to the license hope to
challenge the rejection before the South Dakota Supreme Court.
Meade
County Approves Liquor License Transfer
Amber
Schatz
KOTA
TV
June
9, 2006
Meade County
commissioners met this morning amid increased security to decide
whether to grant another alcohol license to the owner of a campground
near Bear Butte.
The commissioners
unanimously approved the transfer of an on-sale liquor license from
Mad Mary's in Piedmont to Jay Allen for his new campground and bike
rally venue near Bear Butte.
Despite security
concerns, the meeting was less heated than the last liquor license
hearing with Glencoe Campground owner Gary Lippold last month.
Lippold says he
was pleased with the meeting, and the progress that has been made.
"You could see a spark of cooperation today, I think the
discussion was a lot more positive and dealing with the issues as
opposed to dealing with things that happened 150 years ago that's not
relevant today, not getting us anywhere." says Lippold.
But Native
Americans argue the impact of another liquor license on Bear Butte
would be the same and would deprive them of their religious rights
and damage sacred land.
We're not speaking
Lakota, we're speaking English and we're talking about sacredness,
respect, and integrity even for Sturgis community, we're saying what
we've heard." says a member of Bear Butte International Alliance
Rosalie Little Thunder.
Bear Butte is
considered a sacred site by Native Americans. |
