I'm glad you sent that because I saw it in the paper and forgot to cut it out for the Elam notebook. You ARe coming to the reunion, aren't you? Marilynn ---------- > From: awetzel@juno.com > To: ELAM-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [ELAM-ROOTS-L] Elam Sues Town > Date: Tuesday, August 03, 1999 11:14 PM > > Richmond Times Dispatch, Monday, August 2, 1999, Section B, page 6 > > "Residents can now dance the night away" from the Associated Press > > Pound (VA) - Terry Boggs knows of no finer way to end the work week than > to put on a pair of cowboy boots and dance the night away to his favorite > country tunes....Dancing isn't something Boggs and other boot-scooters > take for granted in Pound, a town of about 1,000 people in the > southwestern Virginia mountains. > > Pound's churches and its elected leaders see public dancing as something > to be tightly restricted, lest it lead to cheatin' hearts and ruined > marriages. And dancing was effectively shut down until June 29 when a > federal judge struck down Pound's 18-year old dance ordinance as > unconstitutional. > > Since the ruling, couples in cowboy hats and boots have turned out in > droves to kick up their heels at the Golden Pine in defiance of Pound's > official aversion to dancing. > > It was William Elam, owner of the Golden Pine, who took Town Council to > court over its dancing strictures. He grew weary of explaining to > out-of-town patrons why they couldn't dance at his night spot. "They > would get mad and a lot of them would flat out refuse to sit down," Elam > said. > > For at least 18 years, Pound banned dancing in any place open to the > public that did not first obtain a dance hall permit from the council. > The ordinance was a way to crack down on the boozing associated with > public dances. > > No one has ever been ticketed for dancing. Neither has anyone ever > received a permit and, until Elam and the Golden Pine came along, nobody > had sought one, said town attorney Gary Gilliam. > > Elam bought the Golden Pine in 1996. Pound's proximity to a dry Kentucky > county makes it a good place for taverns and night spots. The nearest > dance club is some 20 miles away in Norton. > > Elam applied for a dance permit about a year ago, but withdrew the > application out of fear that it would be rejected. More than 200 people > showed up at the council meeting to oppose granting Elam a permit. Elam > then hired a lawyer and got the law struck down. > > "We got the court ruling on Wednesday and we were dancing on Friday," > said Elam. > > U. S. District Judge Glen Williams wrote in his ruling that the case > amounted to an unconstitutional restriction of free expression. The > council is busy drafting its ordinance more narrowly to pass > constitutional muster. Town building inspectors also say the Golden Pine > does not meet the state's fire code for dance halls and could prosecute > him and close him down because of it. > > Competing bars haven't opened their dance floors yet, but applaud Elam's > court victory.