Fort Yukon keeping its liquor store
Published Thursday, October 22, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — State regulators are letting Fort Yukon re-open its city-run liquor store, which was shut down Friday amid confusion about whether voters had given the city permission to be in the booze business.
The Alcohol Beverage Control Board doesn’t have a record of a public vote allowing the city to hold a community-owned liquor license. The liquor store was closed last week when Fort Yukon officials were unable to find evidence of such a vote taking place.
ABC Director Shirley Gifford allowed the liquor store to continue operating on Wednesday, while the city works to find the documentation of such an election. She said the city has 45 days to find evidence of a vote or hold a special election giving Fort Yukon authority to sell alcohol.
“I just feel like it’s in everyone’s best interest to let them try,” Gifford said.
Gifford said the problem involves confusion about regulations rather than criminal behavior. The city has shuffled between wet and dry status five times since 1961, but a separate vote is required for the city to conduct its own alcohol sales.
“There’s no criminal intent on the part of the city or city leaders,” she said.
Fannie Carroll, a special projects coordinator at Fort Yukon, said turnover among administrators and clerks has resulted in a cloudy paperwork trail at City Hall. She said city officials are working to locate evidence that will satisfy the ABC Board, but that the search involves sorting through three rooms worth of files dating back to 1985.
Carroll said the liquor store generates a majority of city revenues, and that its closure briefly resulted in layoffs among liquor store staff and a custodian. She said the city budget will be in bad shape if the store vanishes.
“If we don’t resolve this soon, we’ll need to lay off a significant portion of our staff,” Carroll said.
Gifford said the ABC Board is working with Fort Yukon officials to address the situation.
“Everyone is working cooperatively, and I think we’ll get it straightened out,” she said.
Community Discussion
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The House of Pane. Guaranteed to keep the Natives broke. What can we do to replace the revenue? Without keeping our people broke? And the related domesetic violence and alcohol related deaths?
I absolutely agree, Curt. Total stupidity.
i agree too,
that liquor store effects all the villages in the yukon flats.
How about a nice Library?
How about the right to have a beer?
Seems like a possible solution to the social problems associated with these sales would be to sell something else. Think about it. Why make money to have street lights on and hire police to enforce laws broken by broke drunken people who spill into our well lighted community? Could food be sold instead? Start a grocery store! YES!!!
Some folks can't stand that alcohol being sold, but it is the ONLY city function that actually makes money.
How many folks remember the summer in the 90s, that the city decided to shut down the liquor store? I remember it well. There was a reason that some felt that the store should close, but in fact, it was the bootleggers that were providing some people their booze. It resulted in a big problem that year, but at any rate, the liquor store was closed, and immediately the city had to start closing down services. Remember the notices from the elders that were stuck up in the store and the post office about opening the liquor store? It had names and signatures of the elders that wanted that store opened immediately!! I know people may bash alcohol on here, but there are some grim realities of shutting the liquor store at the Fort. Most here in town have no clue about those realities.
Realities? Give me a friggen break! Yeah sell'em heroin so we can fuel the big ole SUV cop rigs. Phttttt. So the demon alcohol is the govt's savior in "the Fort"? SAD SAD SAD That's no subsistance lifestyle in my book.
Sounds like the whole town has an addiction problem. Either to alcohol or the money is generates. Has anyone asked themselves, "What would it be like here if thier never was a liquor store?".
People have to get out of the gimme mentality. If you want services provided to you, you are going to pay for them one way or another. You can get rid of the liquor store and start a new buisness. Or maybe you can charge a city tax. Now, before everyone starts screaming about taxes just think.
You can keep things the way they are, sit back and get city services for nothing (assuming you don't buy alcohol), but there is a price.
You have just put yourself and your loved ones at risk of everone else who abuses alcohol. Whether it be domestic violence, DUI, etc.
Or everyone can pitch in with a new buisness or tax to generate a safe income to provide the services needed.
Now, some will say "The alcohol problem will stay the same and only the bootleggers will profit from it". That's where community envolement comes in. If people want the alcohol problem gone they can make it happen. Help your VPSO, talk to your friends and family. There is power in numbers.
Then comes the "Right to have a beer". Two things.
1.Too many have ruined that right for you! Get mad at them not the people trying to help the community.
2.A small sacrifice by few for the good of all is not only honorable but invaluable.
I'm surprised tey even closed her down? We once had a chief in our village (who had once been the worst drunk the village ever had seen quit the booze completely, 17 years) A few more of the local Indians died from the booze, one frose to death on way back from store. The chief twice went to Juneau attempting to close the store which was outta community's limit; board refused. The chief had VPSO pouring bottles of booze on dirt road when he 'd catch the Indians bringing it back in. Finally, the village became so mad at the chief, they voted him out, and shunned him; hurt him bad inside.
Impossible to stop the booze, even though it's the same as genocide to Ak Natives. You can have Whites making the money killing them off one by one as one liquor store owner use to brag. You can have any entity making the profits for any reason. You can have a bunch of local bootleggers selling booze for 4X the price. OR You can have the village leadership sell & control the booze. Not about profits then and they seem to have more control over the situation when people go on benders. Just get one thing clear: You ain't going to stop the flow of booze, not in the cards; better to have somewhat a handle on it.
if you want city services something is going to pay for it. that means the people living there or state welfare to a city who has no means of support thoese are the choices. and it would seem to me that if the state supported one city they would be obligated to support all. or descrimination is rearing its ugly head
If "the only business that makes money" in the village is a liquor store, take a hard step back, and ask yourself why.
Definately not a cash flow problem. I agree with Zhurh --> Lets put a handle on it. You have to realize that the cash is going to channel to the City, if they re-open; or, to the bootlegges, if they decide closure. Of course, this revenue pays for much needed services the city needs, such as law enforcement. There are the opposers that wants the liquor store closed because they believe the money from sales is not going to services, and if it is, they don't see it. I suggest if they close, that the City tax all the bootleggers to pay for law enforcement- they won't respond to anybody else when help is needed. You pay for what you get. I say open the liquore store and don't tax the citizens that are not getting police services when they dial 911. I'm getting my own booze out of Fairbanks.
At least the members of the Fort Yukon Community won't be driving on our streets and roads!
Yukonjohn, To my mind, the Number 1 greatest menace in the Alaska Native community today is alcohol. It is at the root of virtually every other problem that one can identify. Now, needless to say, the folks in FYU can fly into town to have their fix, but the cost and logistical element does serve as a disincentive, at least for some. And yes, bootlegging is also an issue. None of this is easy. But I have to agree with the others here--the very fact that the store is one of if not the only successful income generating businesses in town must give everyone pause (I assume this isnt including the store, the B&B, etc).
No, we can't really "save people from themselves." I realize Prohibition died out for a reason. But to my mind, the Venetie Reservation's prohibition works far better than what you have in FYU. Do folks get smashed in ARC and VEE? Absolutely. Do they waste what little cash they have on booze? Again, yes. But most (no, not all) of the drinking goes on in town So yes, Fbnks ends up dealing with the fallout, DUIs all over the place and all the other probs that are often reported here. But to my mind, better that they drink in town (if they must drink at all), than in the village. At least there, there's a bit more policing and control of their behaviors. Though yes, that means that Faibanksans end up paying for it--which I am sure doesnt sit well with many.
this so called process goes round n round,its a spilt of good n bad,we
have problems like any other race in this world,some folks just find it easier to point their fingers at us,you know the ones with the perfect lives,whole family is spotless,not even a speck of dust,theres
alot you don't know,theres both folks here,when things get bad,we back up one another,you ought to stay for a year,blend in,but like most folks,now thats anyone,you'll be out on the last flight,lord help
you would have to spend a night here,we are all in the same boat,skin color different same problems,as for my outdoor life,i live it,meat hangs in the cache,my wife and kids can't go to mcdonalds and get a mcmooseburger and frybread with a camp fire medium tea,you get the idea,someones mother once said,HAVE NOTHING GOOD TO SAY,SHUT YOUR MOUTH.
no, it seems to better if we all talk things out. And we all know that we certainly don't live the life of the Cleavers here, that's just fantasy and television.
This certainly is a look into our current drug problem in Fairbanks though. Would it be better to have some control over the junkies in town by eliminating the criminal element (bootleggers=gangbangers) by having a legal "drugstore"?
How hard can it be to stop bootlegging in a village that small? If someone gets trashed, interrogate them as to where they got the booze. Be brutal, and get the answers you need. A few public lashings later...problem solved.
2 separate issues here, interwoven.
1. the problem financing city gov't services [a problem the Fbk area population is well familiar with]
2. alcohol use and control [a problem Fbk area is also very familiar with, esp if one considers that alcohol is just one of many drug 'vices']
Personally I hate to see gov't, any govt, dependent on selling 'vice'. BUT I think it would be a disaster to close down the liquor store there. for a variety of issues under #2. Perhaps the city could diversify by initiating a co-op grocery, eliminating the huge profits many bush groceries charge, and instead having a small sales tax [also charged on liquor] and/or annual membership fee? I'm sure Ft Yukon residents and their gov't officials have given this much more thought than I, though.
As for alcohol, I think it wiser to have a controlled outlet, than to leave it to smugglers and boot-leggers. It's NOT good to put that much money and power [because of the need of addicted people] in the hands of criminals [people with no respect for the laws and community].
People may think that there shouldn't be any problem rooting out the illegals in a community that small, but that's not true. It's not like it's a fenced compound or authoritarian controlled. There's always 'outside of city limits' [and city authority/enforcement], and there's always the problem of getting people to testify against their addiction supplier.
AND there's always the problem of violent reprisals and 'shunning' [a far greater injury in a small isolated community, than people in a large diverse community like Fbk can conceive of], from bootleggers, from deprived addicts in the community, and from people who just want to keep the commumity peaceful and undivided.
By the way, Ft Yukon has their own PD, not State funded VPSOs.
Ultimately, Ft Yukon people know Ft Yukon's situation best. The best thing for the rest of us to do, is to let them decide what works best for them. And do what we [and the State Alcohol Board, Troopers, etc, etc] can to ensure they have the means to act, unimpeded, upon their decisions.
we live our lives like everyone else lives in this world,through good or bad,we are what we are,we still pick ourselves up,as well as those who also fell,whoever that may be,help one another,ain't that what's it's all about,as you bad mouth us and come up with your perfect solutions to our problems and sit in your perfect lil world and judge those of us who are so less to you,so high on your throne,please look down,ask yourself,am i ignoring my own problems and those of my own people,whether you people know it,your also in the same boat,your sitting in the crows nest,pointing,saying go this way,go that way,help your people,make a difference,stop adding to our problems,we are as anyone else in this world is,trying to make right what is wrong in a screwed up world,god bless to you all.
And BTW, villages are very diverse, no 2 have exactly the same combination of factors and situations. What works well in one community, may be an absolute disaster in another.
"Rulings" from the top down, applied across the board to all, will not be able to satisfactorily address the problems, with either alcohol use and availability, or with the structure and support of local governance.
It's by far the most workable, to allow each community to work out the solutions that are best for them, and to maintain enough tolerance at the State level to support the local decisions.
Well said Pearl.
The city of Fort Yukon does have more options that is should explore to gain more revenue. It seems to me the city is lacking good leadership and the people running it aren't doing a very well job. Maybe it's because the same family has been working there for how many years?
Yukonjohn
Did you ever notice self righteousness has a certain smell in the morning? It’s that or I must live next to a cattle ranch.
About making money off a vice, people seemed to love the tobacco tax, and of course the all monies gotten from this are , ONLY used to address the perceived evils. Yeah this is Sarcasm.
The neatest thing is that they can claim it reduces smoking. Just don’t consider smoking was on its way out before the tax.
Also I would really love for the opponents of this store to recite a list of all the alcohol treatment centers in the community of Fort Yukon.
Of this list
How many are in house
How many are based on scientific knowledge of addiction
How many are dual diagnosis
How many of these centers are run by differing people allowing the addict to find the best one for them.
Not living there I don’t know if Fort Yukon has any treatment centers,
Either care about the problems that a substance causes or in reality you don’t.
last but not least,iam a native from ft yukon,iam what iam,my life has alot of up's & downs,like everyone else in this world,my wife,kids and the advice of elders past and present, past on traditions of our people keep me going,gives me hope,lets me know where iam going and how far i can go,as we go around & around in our own problems as you well know,we still keep on going,i thank those of you who had a positive thing to say,and those who haven't,well for one thing,you sound like the folks who also live here,cry about how bad it is and how there is nothing good here,i for one try to make good out of bad and get booted out or laughed at,when all iam trying to do is help point a way out of this problem,won't give up,something good will come of this,its a hurry up and wait thing,i have time.
Extreme 10-56 in the 49th state! LOL!
Myself being a resident of the Yukon Flats I would have rather have seen the liquor store closed and not re-opened. And besides that the ABC board gave the city the authority to leave it open regardless of the missing documentation. I would recommend they leave it closed until the documentation is registered with the ABC board. The ABC director also stated this whole matter involves confusion over regulastions rather than criminal behavior - the whole City of Nepotism are criminals, alot of criminal activity going on with this family of one. The city is run and benefiting one family and that is the Carroll family of Fort Yukon.
The Water & Sewer Superintendent is a Carroll, the Mayor is a Carroll, the City Manager is a Carroll, the water plant operator is a Carroll (not licensed), the liquor store clerk is a Carroll, the Special Projects Coordinator is a Carroll, the city clerk is a Carroll
and the Advisor for the city is Richard Carroll, the godfather of all the corruption.
The mismanagement of State and Federal funds here at the City is not the only mismanagement of funds here in city. The President of the GZ Corporation is a Jerry Carroll, the Mayor of Fort Yukon and he appointed himself President of the Utilities and also appointed his neice who is the wife of the Utililities manager.
The village of Fort Yukon got a 20 million dollare airport project run by Cruz Construction and the only people working on that multi million dollar job is Jerry Carroll and his son Derrik. MIND YOU THIS IS A UNION JOB.
We the concerned citizens of Fort Yukon would like help from anyone that is willing to see we get things straight in our village.
Interestingly, the Anchorage Daily News ran an article on the booze wars in the villages yesterday by Elise Patkotak:
http://www.adn.com/opinion/comment/patko...
She's one of Alaska's better authors. Even when I disagree with her I find her writing thoughtful, and she does try to maintain a balanced perspective. On this issue she addresses the intractability of the dispute, as well as the fact that all sides (wet, damp, dry) have legitimate arguments. Unfortunately, as she points out, none of the solutions coming from any side have been able to resolve the alcohol problem. We just still don't really know what to do.
Fort Yukon has never been dry and probably never will be. As for the Carrolls, Fort Yukon will have to fix that problem themselves. The people have the power to vote them out, or demand they follow the policies of nepotism
It seem to me that anytime anyone or a group of people try to institute change within their community people are afraid to either step up or say anything that go against the grain that is why it all gets swept under.
Unfortunately this is what appears to be happening in Ft Yukon. This whole business of nepotism is happening all over where the almighty dollar is sought after especially when they try to keep it in one family like organized crime.
What the ABC board fail to realize is that this community is run like an organized family enterprise or shall i say organized crime.
How is a high turnover rate and lost paper trails defined in a organized crime organization? Somebody gets bumped off in this case fired if they don't like the job your doing.
Lost paperwork or paper trail, easy get rid of it to cover your trail make excuses later or come up with a good lie.
People of Ft Yukon it is time to get together and let your voice be heard UNITED WE STAND + DIVIDED WE FALL
That's the best way to deal with that kind of problem, frdmospeech. Outsiders try to step it, and it just gets all balled up and wrong, because they can't understand the local issues and circumstances, no matter that they're trying to help.
The State isn't going to be much help, because generally speaking, the same type of problem exists there, just on a bigger scale. And too, 'good ole boys' on the State level like to work with familiar 'good ole boys', locally.
Just get *united* on your common goals; set your differences aside for the time being. You can always come back to the lesser issues later, and resolve them. But you have to get, and stay, united, to make any progress, and to protect each other. As individuals, each is pretty vulnerable speaking out alone.
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