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This is the town ( Altamont ) that I went to high school in :
Liquor Shack opens
By Jamie Willey - Parsons Sun
ALTAMONT - It took a little bit of legwork, but two Altamont women recently opened a liquor store in a city that had been dry for years.
Rexenna Vanderford and Mary Ann Vanderford opened the Liquor Shack, 1018 E. Fourth St., in the former Dave's Mini-Mart building.
In order to open the store, the Vanderfords, who are aunt and niece, had to get a packaged liquor ordinance passed in the city. To do that, the pair had to gather dozens of signatures on a petition calling for the question to be put on the ballot.
"We went out and got them door to door," Mary Ann Vanderford said.
It took less than a week for the two to gather 84 signatures, more than enough to force an election on the issue. The pair then had to have a lawyer write the question. The city voted 224-190 on April 5 in favor of allowing the sale of packaged liquor.
"There's a lot of people who thought about doing it, but they never took the time to do it. It wasn't easy by any means, but we just had the enthusiasm to do it," Rexenna Vanderford said.
Mary Ann Vanderford said the two wanted to open a business but didn't have any idea what type of business they should open until the idea finally came to Rexenna after hearing people talk about the need for a local liquor store. Until the Liquor Shack opened Wednesday, Altamont residents who wanted a bottle of wine or liquor had to drive to Parsons or Oswego to get it.
The vacancy of the former convenience store, which was the right size and in the right location, also spurred the two into action.
"Rex came out to the house and said, ŒI know what we're going to do, and we're going to do it now,'" Mary Ann said.
The two didn't know then what it would entail to get packaged liquor legal in the city but they were excited enough about the plan to do what they had to do after they learned about the required petition and vote.
While remodeling the former convenience store - the pair put in new carpet, shelving, counter and lights - many people stopped to look in the store and ask how soon it would open. Others just honked and waved as they drove by, they said.
"We had a gentleman the other night from Cherryvale who said he was so glad he didn't have to go all the way to Parsons or Independence," Rexenna said.
Although the shelves of the store still look sparse, the Vanderfords plan to fill in the empty spaces as they get requests for certain labels. So far, business has been good.
The Liquor Shack has no set hours yet, but the Vanderfords plan to open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. They are open Monday through Wednesday, as well.
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eter, aka 
usty 
halk
