The Huntsville Item;   March 24, 2005

By Kurt Allen/Assistant Managing Editor

Call it a return to roots or going back to basics. Whatever you decide, Ron Kolb knows it's something that has to be done.

The past president of the New Waverly Public Library said the group's annual barbecue cook-off and fund-raiser will go on as planned this fall. The only difference is it'll happen without alcohol, the way it did in the event's early years.

Signaling a major shift from recent years, the library board made the decision earlier this month. But it was a decision made out of necessity, not desire.

Because the cook-off is held next to the library building on Highway 75, just south of downtown, it's done on school property. State law explicitly prohibits the possession or consumption of alcohol on school property.

In the past several years, especially as the cook-off has grown, alcohol has become more and more present. There had been few reported incidents, and it's not clear if district officials were even aware of the rule and how it applied to them.

But in the wake of the 2004 cook-off, in which a handful of students were ticketed, New Waverly ISD's new superintendent Clay Webb was forced to act.

"We had quite a few students get some tickets out there," Webb said last week. "That's really where the concern is."

The incident went quiet for a while, then resurfaced again in December, and school district officials were forced to tell library supporters things had to change.

"Law or no law, if the school board indicates no alcohol, then we're not going to do otherwise," Kolb said.

Being forced to make a decision put Webb in a tough spot, especially since he recognizes the enormous benefit his own students will get from the library. Because the cook-off's fund-raising efforts directly affect the ability to construct the new library, Webb knew the potential of the decision.

"We recognize it is an important event to the community," he said. "(The board) wants to continue having it, but our position is to abide by the rules."

So Kolb and the library board presented three options to the cook-off teams: Move the event to the Walker County Fairgrounds, move it to another location in New Waverly, or hold it at its current site without alcohol. The fourth option, canceling the event outright, hovered in the background, too.

To the relief of most library officials, a majority of the teams agreed to hold the cook-off without alcohol.

"I'm proud of them for respecting the no-alcohol law, but also for their continuing support of the library," Webb said.

The fairgrounds option was turned down because of the distance from the library, and the lack of other suitable facilities around New Waverly prohibited moving it anyplace else.

"We didn't have the manpower and resources to move," Kolb said. "Additionally, parking would be a problem. We finally decided to continue on an alcohol-free basis."

The change in policy, which has the potential to reduce from 67 the number of teams that attend the cook-off, may actually have a positive benefit, aside from bringing the school and library into compliance with the law.

"This is a library function, which is one of the reasons we're changing to an alcohol-free situation," said Kolb, who added having alcohol so closely tied to the facility made some people uncomfortable.

"This is an excellent opportunity to return to the family-oriented event it used to be," he said. "It evolved over the last few years, and while it's financially good for us, maybe morally it's not."

Even if the drop in teams is significant, Kolb said he thinks it will still be enough to keep the event alive.

"Even if we have a drop in half, it will be more than the first year," he said with a laugh.

Kolb has already started informing all teams from last year about the change in policy, and he said law enforcement officers will be on hand to make sure no alcohol makes it onto the grounds. However, the cooperation of the teams is critical to making the change a success.

"It's just a point of staying in compliance with the law," Webb said. "We don't want to send a mixed message to our students, that drinking on school property is permissible."

Kolb, meanwhile, is equally supportive of the school board's decision.

"We are hand-in-hand with them on this. We're one team," he said. "We would not do anything contrary to their well-being. We are in no way upset with the district over this decision."