SCAMMON ? Sunday sales of beer and liquor in this small southeast Kansas town won approval by just a six-vote margin Tuesday.

On the ballot question asking whether sales should be prohibited on Sunday, 57 people voted “yes” and 63 “no,” according to complete but unofficial returns from the Cherokee County clerk’s office.

After the City Council approved Sunday sales on a 5-1 vote in August, a pastor’s wife who opposed Sunday sales started a petition drive to put the issue on the ballot.

“Aw, shucks,” Leah Knight said after hearing the results. “Well, that’s OK.”

Knight has said the issue was a moral one for her. She said it didn’t make her feel any better that nearly half of those who voted agreed with her, since the drive to ban Sunday sales still fell short of victory.

“I’m disappointed, but I’m glad the citizens of the town got to vote on the issue,” she said. “I felt like I did my best. I would do it all over again. If that’s the way the people want it, you have to go with that.”

The election results will allow the town’s only liquor store to be open on Sundays, as well as the sale of full-strength beer at convenience stores and groceries.