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Petition filed to block Sunday liquor

By Shawn Linenberger - | Nov 26, 2003

It’s almost official.

On Monday, a group of five Tonganoxie residents submitted a petition against allowing Sunday sales of liquor in the city. The petition, which contained 93 signatures, is being scrutinized by workers in the Leavenworth County clerk’s office to determine whether it contains 48 valid signatures. Some signatures will be rejected because they’re from people who live outside the city limits, according to Kathy Bard, assistant to the city administrator.

Bard said she planned to drive the petition to the courthouse in Leaven-worth Monday, and she was hopeful the clerk’s staff could make a deter-mination by Tuesday.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, The Mirror went to press on Monday night, so next week’s edition will include a story about the validity of the petition.

Mike Weston led the petitioners against Sunday sales, while Jim Truesdell, Marilyn Bundy, Carol Heywood, Karen Daniels and Carol Bradbury also gathered petitions.

Bundy said she volunteered to gather signatures.

“People were very willing,” Bundy said. “I only encountered one person who wouldn’t sign.”

Weston initially asked Heywood to sign, which led Heywood to gather signatures herself. She said it took her about two weeks to acquire her signatures.

“I went to different stores to people I knew and to neighbors,” Heywood said.

If the petition is valid, the city has 30 days to schedule an election on Sunday sales. If no election is scheduled, the charter ordinance that the city council passed in September dies, Bard said.

“The next general election is in November 2004, so we would have to call a special election, which would cost about $1,500,” Bard said.