You Can Tell It's Handy Week...

...and if you can't, you didn't accidentally wander into the throngs flocking to Sax in the City or the car load of Kudzu Queens. The temperature is actually bearable, so there's no excuse not to make as many events as possible.

Here's the schedule for this year: W. C. Handy Festival 2009

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Since our column yesterday on Good Samaritan Hospice, we've been inundated with e-mails from former employees. According to most, yes, their last pay check did indeed bounce, and this was hardly the least flattering comment most had to make concerning their former employer. Obviously, accusations are just that until they've been documented, but we hope to bring you an update on the Good Samaritan bankruptcy in the future.

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Shoalanda Speaks in now on Facebook. If you haven't joined that social networking sight, we think you'll like it. We've discovered one advantage already--we get to read Jim Fisher's computer column a day early. See you there.

Hospice Wars III - Good Samaritan Bites the Dust

In a totally anticlimatic event, Good Samaritan Hospice closed its doors for the last time Tuesday. The empire that Randy Gist and Ragesh Boorgu founded in October 2003 has joined A & E Hospice on the casualty list of enterprises that ran afoul of Medicare regulations, dripping of red ink at the end. According to court documents, Good Samaritan has outstanding debts of five million dollars.

Gist, CEO of Good Samaritan, initially filed for bankruptcy earlier this year at which time the company claimed 100 patients. The hospice listed only 40 patients in its care when it closed this week. From our February 18th blog:

Gist filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Decatur Federal Court. His attorney, Stuart M. Maples of Maples & Ray PC, is asking that Good Samaritan's payments to Medicare be reduced from $84,000.00 to $25,000.00 per month. Gist claims an average monthly income of $212,000.00, making the currently scheduled payment almost 40% of the agency's gross receipts.

Stuart Maples stated this week that it was Randy Gist's decision to close the hospice doors at this time. One may infer that with a shrinking number of patients and rising debts, Good Samaritan no longer had the financial means to make payroll.

According to Maples, the company's assets will be sold to repay its debts. The salient question now has to be just what are the company's assets? The Haleyville and Madison offices were closed months ago and their assets presumably liquidated at that time. Those who have visited the company's offices on Dr. Hicks Boulevard in Florence usually came away remarking on the sparseness of furnishings, if not the outright shabbiness. How did the company accumulate five million dollars of debt in less than six years, and where did the money go?

We're sure quite a few creditors will be asking that last question at the July 28th hearing in Decatur. We're also sure there will be some surprising answers.


Reminder: Be sure to catch Sheffield native Will Stutts in the UNA Summer Theatre production of Amadeus, running today through Sunday.

Lauderdale County Deputies Battle it Out!

Lauderdale County Deputy Terry Woods is in the news again, this time accused of assaulting fellow deputy Ronnie Valentine. Deputy Woods is no stranger to notoriety; in 2001 while en route to the scene of a chase already under control, he wrecked a Lauderdale County patrol car on a straight stretch of road. For some time after the crash, Woods was assigned to child support collection, but by 2004, he was again in the field.

In June of 2004, he was accused of asking a victim of domestic abuse to "contain" her attacker, who was later killed by the woman's husband after deputies did not arrive in a timely fashion. Woods indicated he did not respond when the woman called his personal number because it was his day off. By early 2008, Woods had been assigned to the "Internet Safety for Children Program."

According to at least one local attorney, Woods has been involved in other unreported incidents over the years. Now Terry Woods is in danger of losing his job and costing Lauderdale County taxpayers what could amount to thousands of dollars over his alleged attack on fellow deputy Ronnie Valentine.

On the afternoon of July 7th, witnesses say Woods, by now an 11 year veteran of the sheriff's department, and Valentine, a relatively new hire, became involved in a war of words. Some called the verbal sparring all in jest, but others present say it was more sinister. Woods temporarily left the room where he and Valentine had talked, but soon returned and asked Valentine to accompany him to another part of the Lauderdale County Courthouse.

After the two deputies left the public area, there were no witnesses, but Valentine has charged that Terry Woods took him to the old jail, an area that has not been used for over 15 years, and repeatedly pushed him against the bars of a cell. Deputy Ronnie Valentine claims his back was seriously injured and has filed for workman's compensation, as well as privately stating his intentions of a lawsuit. Lauderdale County Sheriff Ronnie Willis has announced an internal investigation, rather than turning the matter over to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.

In order to avoid any appearance of partiality, Willis would do well to leave the investigation to another agency. Such shenanigans have been reported before under his watch and do nothing to enhance the credulity of the department or Sheriff Ronnie Willis himself.


Happy Birthday: We wish Red Bay native Mac McAnally and Shoals restauranteur Timm Glass a very happy birthday! Timm is the owner of the fantastic Pizza Marina; if you haven't eaten there yet, you're missing a marvelous treat.

Tom Magazzu - He's Our New Hero

Florence's Tom Magazzu is the editor of the Courier Journal, that ubiquitous newspaper all residents of Northwest Alabama find in their mail boxes each week. As editor, Tom writes the obligatory commentary. Usually we agree with him; on rare occasions we don't, but still enjoy his innate wit and way with words.

We received the July 15th edition in our mailbox this afternoon and were pleasantly shocked at Tom's choice of subject this week: Steve McNair. Since McNair's July 4th murder, we've read endless media spins on his death and the suicide of his girlfriend. We have seen this backstreet affair termed a romance, and few if any comments on how all this has affected McNair's wife and children. Certainly there have been no in depth looks into what kind of young woman dates a married man and brags about it to her family--a family that included a nephew who said she "had it made" with McNair.

When we think the world has sold out to political correct drivel, someone comes along and tells it like it is. That someone in the McNair death is Tom Magazzu. We sincerely hope everyone will read Tom's insightful commentary on this murder-suicide. He manages to say what should have been said by all the other writers who have covered this crime, but have lacked the courage or, sadly, the morals. Thanks, Tom, for what you do for this area.


What's up with this: Lauderdale County law enforcement has made headlines twice already this week, and not in the good way. Isn't it time the citizens of this county demanded accountability from both elected and appointed officials?

Tommy D. Arthur - Life Without Parole?

The DNA evidence, or what's left of it, has been examined and doesn't match that of Thomas Douglas Arthur. Specifically, the semen collected from Judy Wicker's underwear matches that of her husband Troy. Judy Wicker, who now uses the name Mary Turner, has changed her story many times; the facts of her husband's execution style murder may never be known. Does that mean Arthur will soon gain his freedom?

At the time of his arrest for Wicker's murder, Arthur was serving a life sentence at the Decatur Work Release Center for the 1977 murder of Eloise West, the sister of his girlfriend/common-law wife Shirley Dodd, a crime he freely admitted. Arthur also admits that on the day of Troy Wicker's murder he was not at his assigned job, a disciplinary offense that would hinder his chance of parole for West's murder.

After Arthur's arrest for the 1982 murder of Wicker, he escaped the Colbert County Jail while awaiting a second trial. During the escape, Arthur used a gun his daughter Sherrie Arthur Stone ostensibly smuggled to him in a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Arthur wounded a jailer in the neck while escaping.

Once free, Arthur fled to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he robbed a bank of $9,000.00, abducted a hostage, and stole two cars. He still faces a 30-year sentence for those crimes should he ever be released from the Alabama Prison System.

Tommy Arthur's chances of release are seemingly nil. Even if the Wicker conviction is overturned, Arthur faces charges in Alabama of escape and attempted murder, for which he would be tried as a violent habitual offender. If convicted, he would be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Is his conviction for these crimes a given? Considering his track record, nothing seems a certainty for Arthur. For over thirty years, he's provided the public with more thrills and chills than a Saturday matinee. Stay tuned.


Tommy Arthur trivia: According to one source, Eloise West and Shirley Dodd are sisters to Donald Bray, father of convicted Russellville murderess Christie Bray Scott. It's a small world.

Please Check Back Tomorrow

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Tina Parker Announces Candidacy for Colbert District Judge

For those who weren't able to attend the kick-off picnic today, here's the official announcement we've been waiting for. Several of us here have known Tina Parker for quite some time and have seen her intelligence and compassion first hand.

If any of our readers have specific questions for Tina or the other announced candidates, please feel free to relay them via this column. We will be publishing and comparing platforms later in the election season.


Tina Miller Parker is a Shoals attorney who was born and raised in Colbert County, and she is a candidate for District Court Judge in 2010. Tina’s family roots in the county go back over a century. She was taught by her family that she has a moral responsibility to help others in need, and she fosters that belief both in her law practice and by volunteering for worthwhile local organizations in her spare time.


Tina grew up in Muscle Shoals, where she still lives. She graduated from Muscle Shoals High School in 1989 and from the University of North Alabama in 1993. She fell in love with the law at an early age while working for a small law firm during college, and it was then that she knew she wanted to become a lawyer. She obtained her law degree in 2001 from the Birmingham School of Law while working full time as a paralegal. She practices law throughout northwest Alabama with offices in Muscle Shoals and Florence, and she spends the bulk of her professional time helping people who are injured both on and off the job. She also offers advice to Shoals area residents who are struggling in the economic downturn, and she has handled a wide array of other types of cases. Tina served as Women’s Caucus Chair for the Alabama Association for Justice last year, and she has been recognized in “Who’s Who of American Law”. She taught business law at her alma mater, the University of North Alabama, in 2007 and 2008.


A strong advocate for victims’ rights, Tina volunteers and raises money for local organizations such as Safeplace, PAWS, and the Colbert County Animal Control Association, and she has helped build a Habitat for Humanity home. She also serves on the Board of Directors for C.A.S.A. of Colbert County, an organization that supports abused and neglected children who have been removed from their homes for their protection. As a former child care center owner and director, Tina holds a certification in early childhood development from Northwest-Shoals Community College.


Tina is excited about the opportunity to serve the people of Colbert County as District Court Judge and will maintain integrity in that office. She looks forward to reconnecting with old friends and meeting new people in the months leading up to the June 2010 primary and would be happy to speak to any interested groups. She may be reached at 386-5590 or by e-mail at tina@tplawgroup.com , and her campaign website address is www.tparkerforjudge.com .


"Be a good American; be an informed American." Dick Biddle