If ANY of This is True, Deshler Needs 100% New Staff

 

Deshler is an old and, we thought, respected school. When a reader asked a few years ago if the name shouldn't be changed, we received a ton of mail opposing such a plan.

Do we believe the above is 100% correct? NDAs signed by children are worthless, and Deshler staff would surely know this. Was it a bear hug or a choke hold? Big difference. Are authorities doing their best? We believe they are (that's police, not school staff). Chief Logan has said the Colbert County Sheriff's office would double check the police findings. That doesn't sound like trying to hide anything.

Yet it shouldn't take police to make Deshler admins/staff tell the truth. For those calling the alleged perp a pedophile, remember that dating doesn't always involve sex. There's nothing illegal about a 17 year-old simply dating a 14 year-old.

However, there is something highly illegal about this 17 year-old slamming the head of a 15 year-old into the concrete. If that's what really happened, the school should stand firmly behind the victim...not the perp.

Congratulations, Chapel King!

 

Several months ago, someone was heard to have asked Jimmy Oliver if he had any competition in the upcoming council race. He was reported to have said "Only that crazy woman."

Oliver had already 90% lost us when he kept pushing for Jackie Hendrix to take Jordan's seat. That remark sealed the deal. While some other elections could have turned out better for the City, we can now be assured Oliver and Hendrix will no longer be in collusion on major deals affecting Florence. 

We believe in Chapel, and she will have our 100% support!

William Foster Plays Detective

 

Today, Tuscumbia mayor William Foster stated that "we" are going to get to the bottom of August Borden's injuries. Is this the same man who supposedly told his wife he didn't think she was illegally parked?

So far in the past seven days, we've seen Steve Stanley almost single-handedly doom Town Plaza, Mike Lockhart continue to play the misunderstood victim, and now this. Isn't it time for new leadership...all the way around?

BTW, if Billy Hudson doesn't want a second term as mayor of Muscle Shoals, we believe Jennifer Underwood would make a great successor.

You Have 24 Hours to Decide Your Future

 

Thanks to the Alabama Legislature, most of our towns have just survived unprecedented five year terms of municipal leaders, many who have proved utterly incompetent - see Andy Betterton. Your vote tomorrow may be one of the most important you've ever cast.

We're now close to completing one-fourth of the 21st Century; have you advanced in your life during the past 25 years? How has your hometown advanced? Has it advanced at all?

Florence has suffered through the past five years with Napping Nancy as a "leader." District 2 has been turned into a chess piece. District 6 has become merely a podium for its representative to castigate the citizens of Florence.

Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia are facing similar challenges. No candidate is perfect or in agreement with you 100% of the time. You still need to vote.

If you won't do it for Shoalanda, do it for Randolph Scott.

This Is Not Right!

 

If you follow our blog, you know we've read Howard Blum's reports on the Idaho student murders. He wrote that you don't expect to send your child off to college to see him/her come back in a box.

Similarly, no one sends their young high school student off to a day in a Southern public school to see him leave there in an ambulance. What happened?

This is August Van Dervender:

He's young. He's healthy. By all reports, he's popular. How did he come to be severely injured with no witnesses, no video, and no one within Deshler's staff speaking up? (We realize that a lawsuit will be involved here.)

Thank you, Tony Logan, for making sure this is investigated. If there is anyone who is guilty of any crime, we know you'll make sure he is prosecuted...as an adult, we hope.

Amended at 3:00 p.m. that August's legal surname is Borden.

Town Plaza to be Sold?

 

Westgate Investments LLC acquired Town Plaza around December 2022. The company touted its relationship with the town of Sheffield and Mayor Steve Stanley. Now the company wants to leave. Will it be able to find a buyer for the aging shopping center?

Again, we express our surprise that Steve Stanley is running for mayor after his disastrous current term. This letter also roasts candidate Tori Bailey.

For those who say Muscle Shoals and Tuscumbia should divvy up Sheffield, we say what would those two towns want with the icon of ineptness?

A Word from Tori Bailey

 

Great to see Shoalanda Speaks highlighting some of the many challenges we have in Sheffield. I will not speak for any other candidate, but the owner of this particular property said that I could put a sign there. (At the time, there was also a political sign on that very corner for the other female mayoral candidate which has apparently since been removed.) It is always a good idea to show where our problems are, so that we can see what needs to be fixed. Those sidewalks have needed repair for many years. 

The sidewalks by the Boxcar Restaurant, and several others around our City, are also in terrible condition. All of our residents in ALL of our districts deserve decent sidewalks. That is only one challenge that we face. The problems in my District Four neighborhood date back for many years.

When I was elected as a County Commissioner in 2018, my area included portions of Leighton, Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, the County, and Sheffield's District Four. People that I know and care about - constituents who live in Sheffield - began to call me because their needs were not being met and no one was advocating for them. As Commissioner, we deal primarily with matters outside municipal limits. In other words, folks who live within the city limits should be able to rely on their mayor and especially their district's council member. But when people told me that their calls were going unanswered, I would meet with them anyway and try to work with city officials to help resolve their problems. 

Sometimes there was nothing I could do, but as the Mayor I will be able to finally help fix what is broken. Sheffield is a good place to live already, but it can be much better. We've got flooding, overgrown right of ways, potholes, and businesses that have closed or moved to other cities because we've made it too hard for them to stay in Sheffield. We have an opportunity to turn things around and expand on the good parts. And it's past time to shine a light on our issues then work together to resolve them. 

So we can talk, complain, and even laugh at our challenges, or we can roll up our sleeves and go to work. Hope you will all go to the polls and vote for a worker who has shown that she gets the job done: Tori Bailey for Mayor of Sheffield. Put me to work for you.