There were heated moments at a Nebraska Liquor Commission meeting this week from those who want to close down four liquor stores located in the unincorporated town of Whiteclay. The community has about a dozen residents and four liquor stores. Whiteclay borders South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and their annual beer sales total about 4-million cans a year. Advocates want those liquor stores closed. Commissioner Bob Batt says their hands are tied.

Batt admits Whiteclay is a problem but says without proof they cannot act.

Batt says the Liquor Control Commission cannot bring people in. That is the job of the Attorney General’s office. He says they must bring forward the charges from local law enforcement agencies. It is then the Commission’s job to decide the appropriate penalties.