Public hearings have been set for four stores seeking to continue selling beer in the troubled village of Whiteclay.
Sheridan County Commissioners will hear public testimony on the liquor license applications Jan. 5 beginning at 11 a.m. The hearings will take place at the American Legion club in Rushville, 206 Sprague St.
County commissioners will then decide whether to recommend approval or denial of the licenses, decisions which will ultimately be made by the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.
Arrowhead Inn, State Line Liquor, D&S Pioneer Service and Jumping Eagle Inn were ordered to reapply for their state liquor licenses after a Sheridan County official complained of struggles with law enforcement in Whiteclay.
The tiny village sits just across the state line from South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned. Critics say Whiteclay beer sales have contributed to the epidemic of alcoholism on the reservation, and made Whiteclay itself a hub for vagrants and violence.