SHARP COUNTY: Funding of lawsuit called into question

Missouri alcohol helped pay for suit that nixed issue

— Financial reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission show that Yota Shaw, who filed a lawsuit that kept a wet/dry vote off the ballot inSharp County, received $13,000 from Missouri alcohol distributors and businesses.

"If I had had the money, I would have been up there instantly," Shaw said. "We don't have that kind of money to start a lawsuit. So when someone said, 'Hey, are you willing?' I said, 'Absolutely.'"

When asked if that meant that the Missouri alcohol companies had approached her, asking her to be a face for the lawsuit, Shaw said: "I've got agirlfriend who's involved in all that, so I probably shouldn't go into it."

Shaw's financial report showed that she spent $3,525 for a petition analysis by a Richardson, Texas, based investigative firm and $225 for a telephone investigation by a Melbourne resident, totaling $3,750 and leaving a $9,250 balance. She did not list costs for her lawyer, David Blair of Batesville, a handwriting expert who testified at the trial or several subpoenas, although the report was labeled as final.

An Izard County bank employee who has been helping Shaw with her financial report paperwork said that there will be another financial report listing these expenditures once all the bills are in.

Shaw has a Strawberry address but said she lives in Sharp County, three miles from the county line. She has a 15-year-old son and a daughter who is in college. She said that as her songrows older and more independent, she worries about the idea of liquor stores going up along the county line if Sharp County goes wet.

"I know that the wet/dry issue was a pretty heated issue for a lot of people," Shaw said. "I did it for my kids. I told my kids that you're not supposed to do drugs and you're not supposed to drink. I can't expect them to say no if Momma's not willing to try to keep the county dry. I know a lot of other people have a lot of other issues. I tried not to get emotionally involved in it. I know they spent a lot of time, and I feel bad for them, because they did so much work."

Save Energy Reap Taxes was the group that gathered signatures to get the wet/dry option on the ballot. They had to gather signatures from 38 percent of the registered voters in Sharp County as of June 1, 2008, which was 4,369. They gathered 4,620 signatures, but 461 were invalidated by Circuit Judge Phil Smith during the trail, leaving them 210 signatures short.

Two hundred and twenty-three of the signatures were invalidated because Ruth Reynolds of Cherokee Village, who gathered the most signatures during the petition drive, signed some of her paperwork before going to the notary clerk's office. The law requires that she sign the papers in front of the clerk. Another 238 signatures were invalidated because of the signatures the handwriting expert testified showed evidence of common authorship. On the pages where these contested signatures appeared, the signatures on the whole page were invalidated.

SERT appealed the ruling, but it was upheld by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The appeal lingered close enough to the election that early voters had the option on their ballots.

Reynolds said that during her efforts to get the wet/dry option on the ballot, she's been told all kinds of things about how powerful alcohol money can be. She said she's not sure how much of it is true, but thinks the information on Shaw's report was pretty revealing.

"It's interesting," Reynolds said. "I guess it really goes to show just how much money Missouri would stand to lose. And that's just the folks who live up that way. I wouldn't imagine the folks in Cave City drive all the way up there, although some of them do, to play the lottery, buy their gas, cigarettes and beer."

SERT treasurer Stewart Freigy is a certified public accountant. He looked into Shaw's financial reports and has spread the word about their contents. He said the reason he got involved was originally all economic, but that has changed.

"I think the fact that Missouri is willing to put up that much money proves we're losing a lot of revenue," Freigy said. "And right now, frankly, I wasn't going to get involved again, but I got ticked off that the citizens were denied the right to vote. Since that has happened, we've gotten [about $1,100 in pledges and $100 in actual donations] from people who have said, 'We're going to vote against you, but here's some help to get it on the ballot so people can vote on it.'"

SERT's financial reports show contributions from about 10 individuals, several of whom are associated directly with the group (listed as members on the group's registration form, volunteered labor or canvassing time, etc.). All had Sharp County addresses, except for one donor from Little Rock.

Morris Street of Cherokee Village and his group, the Committee to Keep Sharp County Dry, also filed suit against the wet/dry option, and his suit was combined with Shaw's for the trial. However, Street's financial reports show his donations came from local individuals and churches, and he doesn't want his group to be associated with Shaw's alcohol money.

"I didn't even know Yota was going to file," Street said. "The day I went down there, she beat me by 30 minutes. I don't even know the lady."

Street's final report listed $14,479 in total contributions, $13,116 in total expenditures and a $1,363 balance. Lawyer fees areincluded on the report.

Street said that taking money from alcohol interests was always out of the question and that rumors associating churches or his group with alcohol money are false. People are just grasping at straws to make his group look dirty, Street said.

"I've got to live with myself for the rest of my life," Street said. "I wouldn't even take it if nobody would find out about it, because the county may become wet one of these days. Then I'd have to fight the alcohol people. It doesn't make sense for us to take their money. ... I'm going to be fighting them. I'm always going to be fighting them."

Jerry Adams of Cherokee Village was one of SERT's chief canvassers. He was second only to Reynolds in number of signatures gathered. His original reason for getting involved was economic - more businesses, job creation, etc. He said the revelation that Shaw was backed by alcohol money is pretty incredible, but he's more upset by the church money behind Street's efforts.

"My feeling about Street is - that he accepted all this money from various churches - the problem I have with that is that I personally don't think a church should be funding any type of political issue," Adams said. "Why don't they help out some of the poor people around here?

"This is a poor county, like so many counties in Arkansas. There are people around here that don't have enough money to fill up their propane tanks or put food on the table. Money can be much better spent than on Street's lawyer.

"Do the people that he goes to church with, are they aware that the money they put in the collection plate went to pay for Street's lawyer bills? It's just incredible."

When asked if he was out to get Street personally, Adams said: "I am. I don't think what he did was right, and I think people should be aware of it. I think his efforts were wrong. I took my money out of the bank he works for, and I've encouraged other people to do the same."

Street said the churches collected money by asking for offerings specifically for the cause,by taking it from their general funds or some mixture of the two. According to the Internal Revenue Service's Tax Guide For Churches And Religious Organizations, such groups are allowed to contribute to or lobby for political issues, amendments or referendums so long as such action is not deemed to be a substantial part of the organization's overall activity.

Street said rumors that there are lots of people closing out their accounts at his bank are not true. He guessed that less that five people have taken their business elsewhere as a result of his involvement in the lawsuit.

"Yes, my involvement has lost us a few accounts, but they've been very few in number, and our deposits have grown, and we're OK," Street said.

Street said that not all of the response to his involvement in the wet/dry issue has been negative.

"Our committee has gotten a lot of thanks, too," Street said. "From individuals, when you see them out and about at Walmart or church or wherever. Just little, private thanks. They give you a pat on the back or a 'Thanks for what you did,' little notes in the mail. They're the silent majority. They aren't like the few who are out there hollering. They help make it all worthwhile."

SERT members said they are gearing up for the next fight. Reynolds, for whom the wet/dry option is about the environment - saving gas and encouraging people to shop locally - has worked up a global warming todo list that she hopes will facilitate discussion as she goes around canvassing for signatures.

"It gives me a chance to have a one-on-one discussion with almost everybody in the county," Reynolds said. "We're waiting now for the lawyer to get the petition certified, then I'll be ready to go."

Freigy said that Reynolds' notary clerk mistake won't be repeated, and they plan to do things differently this time.

"Every signature is going to be on its own individual page," Freigy said. "It's going to cost us extra money, but it'll be worth it. This time, when the handwriting expert said a signature wasquestionable, they threw out the whole page. That's not going to happen again."

Street said in an article earlier this month that he is ready to fight the wet/dry vote again as well.

Arkansas law limits the number of liquor stores to one per every 4,000 residents of a county - in Sharp County, that would have been four stores. There would have been no limit on restaurants and convenience stores that serve alcohol.

Financial reports are public information and are available by contacting the Arkansas Ethics Commission at (501) 324-9600. More information is available at www.arkansasethics.com.

- awidner@ arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 47, 48 on 11/20/2008

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