Bruce Board of Alderman voted to allow beer sales, more rules to come

BRUCE, Miss. (WCBI) – Bruce residents soon won’t have to leave town if they want to grab a cold one.

Voters in the Calhoun County town went to the polls Tuesday to decide whether or not they want to allow beer and light wine sales in the city limits.

The answer was a resounding yes.

The referendum passed on an almost 4 to 1 vote.

A bill passed by the legislature last session allowed towns with populations of 1,500 or more to vote on allowing beer sales, whether the county was wet or dry.

Bruce Mayor Rudy Pope says previous county-wide petition drives fell flat, so they concentrated their efforts.

“My whole thing was, I wanted to give the people a choice to decide what they wanted. You know, so, they expressed themselves 174 or 47. Showed me that a lot of people in Bruce wanted it,” said Mayor Rudy Pope.

The Board of Aldermen will have to pass an ordinance to set rules for beer and light wine sales, such as hours of sale, and whether it will be sold cold or hot.