<img src=" http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/election.gif " Border=0> 8:55 p.m. Cabaret tax passes in Lawrence County

April 08, 2008 09:54 pm

— MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, voters in Lawrence County overwhelmingly approved a special tax on cabarets in the county.
The cabaret ordinance received 2,220 “yes’’ votes to 996 “no’’ votes.
Fearing that a strip club being fought in Jasper County might wind up in Lawrence County, the Lawrence County Commission asked voters to endorse a special tax on adult cabarets to make it more costly for them to set up shop in Lawrence County.
The commission has received permission to levy a special tax of 10 percent on a cabaret’s gross receipts. The special taxation would last for a period not to exceed four years. The money would be used to investigate the backgrounds of the employees of the business and for general law-enforcement use of the Sheriff’s Department.