EXCLUSIVE — A bill passed Thursday by the Alabama Senate should be the final word in the legal battle over alcohol sales in Cedar Bluff, the town's attorney told The Post last week.

The bill, originally vetoed by Gov. Bob Riley, will lower the state's requirements for towns in dry counties to hold a municipal option election from 7,000 residents to 1,000. The House overrode Riley's veto on April 29; the state Senate voted 18-11 on Thursday to override, meaning the bill is now state law.

Huntsville-based Dagnal Rowe, who represents Cedar Bluff in its ongoing battle against William Geral Greene, said the matter is over as far as he is concerned.

“I would hope that Mr. Greene and the attorney general's office would agree to a dismissal of the case,” Rowe said. “They could do so voluntarily, but if not then we will file a motion and we will ask for a dismissal.”

Rowe indicated he could file the motion as early as this week.

Attorney General Troy King filed a motion to intervene in the case on behalf of Greene in March 2008, but Circuit Judge David Rains has not issued a ruling on that request.

Birmingham attorney Eric Johnston, who represents Greene and others fighting to stop alcohol sales in Cherokee County, said it was too early to say what his clients' next action might be.

“We would have to talk to our clients first,” Johnston told The Post Thursday afternoon. “But as a practical matter, that bill will now become law.”

Johnston admitted there are parties other than Greene that are interested in emptying beer coolers in Cedar Bluff.

“Mr. Greene is the only client I have contact with, but there are others,” Johnston said. “They are people in the area who have been involved in the [anti-alcohol] campaign there for several years.”

In the months leading up to town's August 2003 wet-dry vote, a group called Citizens Caring for Children (CCC), the local First Baptist Church and others fought against the “Cedar Bluff Deserves a Yes Vote!” campaign led by then-mayor Robert M. Davis. The final vote was 649 for and 232 against allowing alcohol sales inside the municipality of 1,450.

After the vote the CCC filed a lawsuit to prevent sales from beginning, which delayed implementation of the election results. The group agreed to dismiss the lawsuit in December 2004 after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that CCC lacked legal standing to challenge the election.

Greene filed his lawsuit in December 2005, eight months after alcohol sales began in Cedar Bluff. Over three years later, the matter appears to finally be resolved.

Or is it?

Two weeks ago in The Post, Johnston cited the same concerns voiced by Gov. Riley when he vetoed House Bill 175.

“The bill deals with two separate issues, which is forbidden by the Alabama constitution,” Johnston said in the May 4 issue. “You can do that in Washington but you can't do it in Montgomery.”

Last week, Johnston said he doesn't know what the future might hold for the state's newest alcohol-related law.

“I don't have any plans to do it, but I believe it would be wise for everyone to wait a few days and see if anyone challenges the law, because it is unconstitutional,” he said. “If someone were to challenge it I think it would happen pretty soon.”

Cedar Bluff Mayor Martha Baker said she's tired of fighting legal battles and hopes alcohol opponents will accept the Legislature's wishes.

“We've got money that we can't spend because we're worried about having to pay all the lawyer's fees,” she said. “I hope this will be the final word and we can all move ahead for the benefit of Cedar Bluff.”

Sen. Larry Means, who voted for the veto override on May 14, said he has already heard from local citizens who are upset alcohol sales could now spread.

“I'm not for it or against it, and no city or county should ever expect alcohol sales to be some type of economic savior,” Means told The Post. “But I believe people deserve the right to vote on the issues, and that's why I voted the way I did.”