8.24.22 — PHEBA, Miss. (WTVA) – A Clay County bar owner said his business was open for only a week before the sheriff’s department shut it down.
Herschel Moss owns Miss Loni’s Bar in Pheba. He opened the bar last week.
“They’ve [county] got some new ordinance that you’ve got to have a bonded security guard,” Moss explained. “A bonded security guard that you got to pay $20 an hour; and they say you’ve got to have one on the premises when I open my doors every time.”
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said the county passed the ordinance in 2021. He said the ordinance is for the public’s safety.
Moss said his bar has everything it needs for public safety — except a security guard.
“I’ve got my emergency lights, exit signs over doors — I’ve got my cameras updated. But this is the only part of the ordinance that I disagree with.”
Scott said the solution is simple.
“In his case, all he needs is someone at the door: if it’s less than a hundred, if he’s got one person. These security guards, if they are armed, have to be bonded. You can’t go out here and just hire somebody, put a gun on, and so they are going to stand at the door and be security.”
Moss said he’s never heard of having a security guard at a bar in Clay County.
“But I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
The sheriff said security guards have to be bonded through his department or the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.