The former pastor of Selma Baptist Church says he was known to throw back a brew or two in his earlier days. And he recognizes that people are free to make their own choices. But the idea that his hometown of 31 years would support the sale of alcohol in the middle of uptown is hard for him to swallow.

“I feel very strongly that we have enough outlets in Selma where people can go to drink their alcohol if they want to,” Allen told the Town Council last week. “I have a real problem allowing people to do so on public property.”

Allen’s comments came as the Town Council debated repealing the law that bars drinking in public areas of town. Town Attorney Chip Hewett had told the council it would have to repeal the law if it wanted to allow a local restaurant to hold an Oktoberfest celebration in September.

Last Tuesday, a majority of the council canned the old law in favor of a new one. (Councilman Eric Sellers, on vacation with his family in Alaska, wasn’t present for the vote.)

Mayor Charles Hester cast the lone vote against the new ordinance, which allows for the sale and drinking of alcohol in public places with a special-events permit. Hester seized the opportunity to express his personal disdain for alcohol and any place that sells it.

“When you create something that’s good for Selma, that’s a good thing,” he said of new cultural events. “From what I’m seeing, Steve [Reed, owner of Edelweiss Bakery and Cafe] is a great person — he’s retired military, a good patriot and has done a lot for this country and still does.”

“But I just think we need to give [the ordinance] a lot of consideration,” Hester added. “My personal vendetta is to get rid of everything that might be construed as ... trouble.”

Others disagreed with Hester. Lewis Mullen of Dixie Drive said the festival, a celebration of German culture and cuisine, “would be great for the town and merchants.”

“I support it, and I hope you’ll support it,” he said.

And while some festival patrons might become unruly after too much to drink, the benefits of a cultural event in Selma outweigh such risks, said Roger Root of Poole Drive.

“I think the Town of Selma is growing, not only physically but mentally, and I think a lot of people can adjust to the situation of drinking,” he said.

“There are a lot of people that can’t control their alcoholism and act out,” Root added. “We would like to never have that on our streets. But I don’t think that will come about with the Oktoberfest. Beer is just a portion of the celebration, so we shouldn’t do away with it just because there’s beer.”

For her part, Councilwoman Cheryl Oliver said she favored the festival because it would be “a logical extension of a very reputable business in Selma.”

“We have a good track record with events,” she said. “This is an international event we’ve never tried before. For the sake of enhancing Selma’s image, this would be good to launch. It’s very controlled. This is an opportunity to support one of our good businesses and let Selma shine.”