Voters reject proposal to allow alcohol sales at resort near Cumberland Falls

Less than 20 votes separated those that wanted to allow alcohol to be sold at a Cumberland Falls resort motel and those who did not during a special referendum election on the issue Tuesday.

Voters in the "Eagle" precinct of northeaster McCreary County rejected a measure that would have allowed Eagle Falls Resort to sell wine and beer to its customers by a margin of 74-55. It is the second time in three years that precinct voters have rebuffed the idea. It was defeated in 2005 by a 116-68 vote.

Eagle Falls Resort is owned by Corbin real estate developer Jim Vance and is located just across the Cumberland River in McCreary County near Cumberland Falls. He purchased the resort six years ago. It had been abandoned for two years and was becoming decrepit. He spent $1.5 million remodeling the facility which features luxury suites, a general store and gift shop, an ice cream bar, a restaurant and a spacious RV park with a fishing lake.

Vance has obtained a license from the state Alcohol Beverage Control Board in 2005 to start a small winery operation at Eagle Falls Resort, but state law would only allow him to sell wine on the wholesale market. He could make up to 50,000 gallons of wine a year with the license. Vance said he wanted to offer wine and beer at the resort’s restaurant and through a room service menu before opening the winery. The law also allows the owner of a resort or bed-and-breakfast and a working winery operation or one in the works to sell alcohol retail if voters approve. Eagle Falls Resort is the only place in the precinct that qualifies to take advantage of the law.

State law requires a waiting period of three years between local option votes on alcohol. Also, petitioners must provide signatures equal to a certain percentage of those that voted in the last election on the issue to vote again. Earlier this year, 58 legitimate signatures were provided to the McCreary County Clerk, enough to bring the issue up again.

The precinct has about 400 registered voters, less than half of whom showed up at the polls Tuesday. Vance, who still owns the resort, said little publicly about the election. Attempts to contact either he or his wife Donna were unsuccessful at press time.

Vance suffered a stroke last year and was hospitalized for other medical problems before Tuesday’s vote. Friends say he was resting at home when the results were reported last night.

A coalition of several churches in the precinct, which snakes up about six miles of Hwy. 90 from the Whitley County border into McCreary County, opposed allowing alcohol sales. Signs dotted the roadway encouraging a ‘no’ vote on the issue. David Coleman, a resident who has lived in the are since 1977, said was against the measure because there is already "enough alcohol here in the county."

"There’s quite a few bootleggers in the county so wherever you go you are going to find it," he said. "I don’t know how it would help the economy of the county but I just don’t think we need it."

Coleman echoed the sentiment of other residents who say they were concerned about people leaving the resort and driving drunk near their homes.