The Stanley Common Council met pursuant to adjournment this past Monday June 15th at 7:00 p.m., with the on-site meeting located at the Stanley Fire Hall for those not dialing in. Among the items up for the council’s approval was the annual application and/or renewal of beer and liquor licenses, along with the upgrading of the service at the Chapman Park Campground to meet current electrical output needs. Meanwhile, among the more noteworthy or else seemingly unusual items up for council consideration was a Class B Combination fermented malt beverage and liquor license, was the Stanley Theater—more on that in a second.

First though, the full listing. Applying to the City for a class A fermented malt beverage and intoxicating liquor license were all four of the gas stations in town, while Gary Oemig of Oemig’s Sport Shop applied for a Class A fermented malt beverage only license. Among

Staff photo. those applying for a Class B (Combo) fermented malt beverage-liquor license were the owners and operators of the American Pride Pub; Broadway Home Floral and Design; Deano’s Big Ten Pub; Martino’s; the Twilite Zone bar; Kelly Grill; and the Stanley Theater. Alongside the alcohol sales permits were the cigarette licenses, being applied for respectively by D.J’s Mart; Express Mart; Hansen’s IGA Inc; the Stanley Travel Stop; Twilite Zone; Family Dollar Store; Kwik Trip, plus 60 separate operator’s licenses for those whose jobs entailed the sale of such items (alcohol and liquor), although too numerous to list here. Prior to adjournment, the Common Council unanimously approved all the above along with the other consent items, the motion being made by Jacob Huff and seconded by Rick Hodowanic.

But back to the fact of the Stanley Theater and its presence among the many local establishments on the list applying for a Class B Combination fermented malt beverage/liquor license. Dude, ‘sup with that?

To find out just what was going on with the seemingly unusual application request (we don’t necessarily get out like we should, movie-wise), we sought out Stanley Theater manager Theresa Pries, who had a relatively simple explanation for the application question: response to patron request and also coming in line with other movie venues, as a way to compete.

“I get asked so often, ‘why don’t you sell wine? Why don’t you sell…,” she related of the application for an alcohol sales permit. Pledging to exercise moderation (“I’m not going to get them intoxicated”), theater manager Pries said that offering the option of fermented beverages at the Stanley Theater was a way to work together the “dinner and a movie experience,” with the relaxed atmosphere of a night out. In terms of specifics to not get patrons intoxicated, Pries said that she would “probably limit it to two,” saying that offering alcoholic beverages wasn’t uncommon to other theaters, which were trying not to lose people to the T.V. experience.

For those who might be interested in a more general theater update in the meantime, Pries shared that the curbside popcorn sales were still going on, and that she hoped to open back up the inside of the theater for showing old movies sometime in early July, possibly as early as July 7th. Pries said that she was hoping to get the new live action Disney movie ‘Mulan’ in from among the different movie choices offered by studios, as the Stanley Theater navigates to continue changing to better compete and adapt with the times and into the future.

Having finished it was back to the council proceedings, and to still more necessary changes within the City. Case in point: the local campground! It was past due to have a new electrical service put in, as the present outdoor service wasn’t quite up to grade. The changing trend toward air conditioned campers had thrown a slight wrench into campground operations it seemed.

“The service is in rough shape at the Campground,” Mayor Al Haas announced of the Chapman Park get away. Breakers were getting blown regularly, as the demands placed on the system weren’t quite up to present needs for power. Moreover, the issue would have to be fixed before any planned expansion to the local camping area could be carried out, as there just weren’t enough spots on the current electrical panel to meet future site needs. Put before the council were two bids, of which there was a many thousand dollars’ worth of difference. One company had bid the project at $7,000, the other at just $2,200. Ordinarily the council would have gone with the company that bid $7,000 on account of the work they had done in the past, but not at such a steep price difference.

“I guess it’s a no brainer,” Alderman Jacob Huff said of approving the bid for $2,200 from Schrock Electric for putting in a new service at the local campground. Financed with $4,100 from the Parks Account which could be used to fix electric, the race was on to try and have it completed in time for the July 4th weekend, leading to the best of both worlds: Affirming outdoor independence, together with the capacity for maintaining some basic twenty-first century indoor comforts—like air conditioning.