Battlin' Betty Belts Tyrannical Tina? Or Was It the Other Way Around?

Let us return now to that idyllic town of Cherokee. No, wait, that was Camelot. Cherokee is hardly idyllic; in fact, it's hardly a town, but more of a group of motley miscreants attempting to win their own reality show.

First, let us consider Mayor Chuck Lansdell, pictured at right. Look closely and you, dear readers, will note that Lansdell is a man in uniform. That's right--he's also the town's fire chief. How he governs himself is a question worthy of any ethics class final, not to mention those worrisome words--double dipping.

It seems that Lansdell's wife Tina suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, a debilitating disease, but also an ailment that often goes into remission. In other words, your best friend may suffer from this condition without your ever knowing about it. The gravity of Tina Lansdell's condition has been debated, but in recent years she has taken to riding up and down her narrow suburban street in a neighbor's golf cart--an illegal action similar to riding on a public street in a four-wheeler and dangerous to both her and her driver.

Enter Betty McKinney, a neighbor and critic of Mayor Lansdell. McKinney reported Mrs. Lansdell's illegal activities to the authorities and brought the small town of Cherokee more publicity of a type the rural community didn't need. Now, Tina Lansdell, who is apparently in a state of remission, has accused McKinney of attacking her after a town council meeting. McKinney has countered that Mrs. Lansdell called her a bitch, claiming her only action was to touch her detractor's arm while chastising her for such unladylike behavior in public. Both women agree that at some point the Lansdell's sixteen year-old son joined in the melee, attacking McKinney and receiving some injuries of his own. All three were treated and released at local hospitals.

Betty McKinney has retained Tuscumbia attorney Billy Underwood, who has called Tina Lansdell "potty mouthed." We agree that it is best for the mayor's wife to describe her enemies in the privacy of her own home, but using the b-word in public may not qualify in 2010 as potty-mouthed.

Chuck Lansdell has so far not commented. Regular readers will remember that Lansdell was partially responsible for the hiring of Paige McWilliams as the town's librarian. Mrs. McWilliams is currently under indictment for theft and forgery, and the town clerk has faced questions as to her supposedly blindly notarizing a document for McWilliams that has not as yet been identified, but was worthy of Lansdell and the town suing the former librarian for 40K.

Who needs the real housewives of Washington, D.C., when we can have the real shrews of Cherokee, Alabama?


For more on Cherokee and Mayor Lansdell: Link

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