SHERIFF: DRUGS MORE PREVALENT, DANGEROUS THAN MOONSHINE

Residents Criticize Investigators

Franklin County Residents Say A Federal Operation Attacking Moonshine Is
Overzealous And Unneeded.

ROCKY MOUNT - Franklin County residents' criticism of a federal liquor
investigation flowed Wednesday the way white lightning once did in the
moonshine capital of the world.

Operation Lightning Strike produced 78 moonshine-related felony charges
against 20 people this week, more than a year after Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms agents raided suspected bootleggers and seized their
property.

Franklin County Sheriff W.Q. "Quint" Overton said the raids last year
practically shut down whiskey making in Franklin County. Their long-term
results will depend on the outcome of the federal trials, he said.

But Overton and other Franklin County residents said the enforcement
efforts would have been more valuable in fighting drugs.

"To me, we don't have a moonshine problem in Franklin County," Overton
said. "We do have a drug problem in Franklin County. There's no comparison."

Overton said he would continue to assist state Alcoholic Beverage Control
officers with information he receives about stills. But, "I don't think
they'll put a stop to it. The man hours would be better spent fighting
drugs," he said.

"Moonshine is not the top of my priority," the sheriff said. "I've never
heard of kids drinking moonshine, but we do have kids smoking crack and
marijuana."

In Ferrum, mechanic Troy Midkiff echoed the anti-drug rationale expressed
by several residents.

"There's a lot worse stuff going on than moonshine," he said.

The indictments unsealed Wednesday carried maximum punishments much more
severe than the typical charges of moonshining. They ranged from perjury,
which carries a five-year prison term, to money laundering, which can carry
a 20-year sentence.

Those would be stiff penalties in the world of blackpot stills and Mason jars.

The indictments named at least five members of Ralph Hale Sr.'s family.

Also indicted was William L. Helms, who, with his brother Ramsey Helms,
operated Helms' Farmers Exchange. Ramsey Helms committed suicide last year
after agents seized nearly all of the store's inventory and forced its closing.

Other indictments named two more Rocky Mount men often associated with
whiskey arrests: William Gray " Dee " Stanley and Jason Stanley.

The charges did not go over well in the rural county that's full of
out-of-the-way spots perfect for hiding hootch .

"They talk like a man making a drop of liquor is the worst thing in the
world," said Jay Lynch, a farmer.

"People don't realize moonshine brings money into the county. When you
can't get a job, and there's no other way to feed your family, you'll go to
the holler and make some liquor and that beats stealing," Lynch said while
selling produce Wednesday afternoon at the Rocky Mount Farmer's Market.

Lynch said he had been a friend of Ralph Hale since childhood and that
Hale, a cattle farmer, never had any trouble with the law except concerning
moonshine.

"Liquor's been in this county since I was a kid. It's going to be here
until I'm gone," he said.

Lynch said he felt the moonshine investigation wasn't spurred by any
problem in Franklin County. Instead, he viewed it as the product of a
federal government eager to overstep its rightful authority and agents who
wanted to promote their careers.

"Ramsey Helms is in the grave. The man was thought a lot of in this town,"
Lynch said. "Ralph Hale is one of the finer boys to walk this earth. They
went up and took all his farm machinery. I can't believe the law's got that
much authority."

In Ferrum, Midkiff said: "It's about taxes. That's the only reason."

Leaning on a black-primed pickup in the garage of Midkiff Grocery on
Virginia 40, Midkiff said it's not right to make moonshine but it's wrong
to treat moonshiners like gangsters.

"Most are hard-working people. A real bootlegger is as good as his word,"
Midkiff said. "They're making a living and not stealing anything.
Everything they bought to make it, they paid for, paid taxes on. So they're
not robbing the government - not completely anyway."

Not all county residents were critical of the federal authorities.

Jock Overfelt runs the Overfelt Garage and Snack Bar in the Dugwell
community near Callaway. He said he has never tasted moonshine, never seen
a still and could really care less about it.

"If they get caught, they get caught," he said. "Most of the time I just
sit back and laugh about it."

Overfelt's abstention from moonshine isn't a moral conviction. He said he
just never had a taste for liquor. He also doesn't believe there is a
moonshine problem in Franklin County.

A waitress at The Hub restaurant in Rocky Mount said the federal
indictments should have come a long time ago.

The waitress, citing the county's ingrained support of the illicit trade,
asked not to be named because she said most of her customers probably would
disagree with her opinion.

"I have to make a living," she said, leaning on the lunch counter across
from a yellowed, framed photo of still displayed prominently.

"It's just become a way of life in Franklin County. People just let it go,"
she said of the trade. "I don't like people going around saying Franklin
County is the moonshine capital of the world. It's a reputation I don't
think Franklin County should have."

Overton said the name was firmly in place when he arrived as a state
trooper in 1959.

"We had the name then, and we still got the name after 40 years. I guess
we'll keep that name," he said.