The city of Lakeside goes Dry

By Erica Rush, KCBY News Published: Jan 5, 2011 at 2:42 PM PDT Last Updated: Jan 5, 2011 at 7:16 PM PDT

LAKESIDE, Ore. -Spirits are low in Lakeside, and it's not just because the city's long time liquor store owner agreed to retire before the new year.  Some residents are in an uproar, after the Oregon Liquor Control Commission chose to rehire from outside their community.

After 29 years of service, Bob Edwards retired from the Lakeside Liquor Store.  But what he thought he was leaving to long time employee, Tina Ross, didn't work out, when the OLCC chose not to appoint her as the new Liquor Agent.

According to Edwards, "They have never before not given a small town a qualified candidate that was trained.  This is a first precedent that has been set for small town liquor stores."

Mayor Ed Gowan says some members of the community are banding together to basically, ban the new liquor store.

"The community is so bound up about this, I really don't see that there is going to be much of a chance.  They're already making plans to go to other cities to buy liquor for the bars in town, they already got a system to take care of everybody in town."

Edwards says more than 2,000 phone calls have been made to the OLCC in opposition of their agent approval.
    
Now, to be fair, not everyone in Lakeside feels this way about the newly appointed OLCC Liquor Agent, Heidi Heller.  You can find public comments online at http://www.lakesideinfo.com/2010/12/a-new-liquor-store-agent-comes-to-lakeside/ that say otherwise.
    
Meanwhile, OLCC Spokesperson, Christie Scott says Ross was a good candidate, but that the commission simply felt Heller was better suited for the job.