For a while, it looked like the Island County Commissioners would take a strong stand against the sale of alcoholic beverages on the Washington State Ferries.

In November, the commissioners delayed action on a liquor license for ferry beer and wine sales, and made several unequivocal comments expressing concerns about such sales.

After all, commissioners Mike Shelton and Mac McDowell agreed, it makes no sense for the state to be promoting the use of alcohol aboard the ferries, which are part of the state highway system. It would make just as much sense for the Department of Transportation to put a keg of beer next to the coffee pots at Interstate 5 rest areas, just to make a few extra bucks for state coffers already overflowing with money from the new 10 cent a gallon gas tax hike, which followed a 5 cent a gallon hike just two years ago.

But last week, when the commissioners took action on the liquor license application, they decided to make no recommendation to the state Liquor Control Board. A “no” recommendation might have carried some weight, but the lack of a recommendation means the license will sail through without a second thought. The motion was accompanied by a polite request that the state board hold a public hearing on the issue, but that was destined for the round file in Olympia.

The commissioners were apparently scared away from taking a strong stand by letters from the concessionaire and the state Department of Transportation supporting the sale of alcoholic beverages on ferries. The threat was made that stopping alcohol sales would end all food sales, and that ferry riders would have to go hungry thanks to the Island County commissioners.

We’re not for ending food and coffee sales on ferries, but there is a third way. The state could give the concessionaire a better deal by taking less of a cut of total sales to make up for the loss of revenue from alcohol sales. This would be a minor loss of dollars in light of the massive infusion of money provided by the recent gas tax increases.

The state should not be selling alcohol on the highway system. It’s too bad the Island County commissioners were afraid to take a clear stand on such a simple issue, especially since it happened at the time of year when drunk driving is such a concern to everyone. Happy holidays, but watch out for those cars weaving erratically off the ferries.