Union Pacific Contract for National Alabama?

The Union Pacific Railroad is called the nation's premiere rail line, operating in 23 states in the western two-thirds of the U.S. If any railway is expanding at this time, it would be Union Pacific, and we have indeed heard it is this rail line that signed a contract with National Alabama.

Isn't this great news? Well...yes and no. Our contact tells us that work will begin in July and is scheduled to end by December of this year. There are no plans to hire any additional workers at this time. We say at least it is a contract and something to place on the plant's resume'.

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Concerning safety problems at National Alabama, we have also heard:

NAC does not..I repeat. DOES NOT have an Emergency Action Plan in place in the event of an emergency, emergency shutdown, Containment or Re-Start. Also..NAC must also have some sort of explosive chemicals/substances in site as they have (4) 'explosion containment 'boxes' '.

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Revisiting Russellville, we have been informed that one of three city police officers on the short list for two captain's positions is not named MacKay, but Johnnie McMicken. The name "McKay" was taken from a TimesDaily news article on the troubled selection of new officers. Also, it is Mike Prince who owns a photography business--not Cary Hitt.

Our informant states that Lt. McMicken filed a suit against Russellville when Chris Hargett was appointed chief a few years ago. Ergo, Hargett has no great love for McMicken. We were unaware of this suit when we suggested McMicken might have legal recourse due to Hargett's appraisal of him during a public meeting. Even if the suit is common knowledge, it is better that such concerns be addressed in private executive session.

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We have heard from the state deputy fire marshal who cited the Cherokee Town Hall with 35 violations. His comments should be of great importance to anyone opening or remodeling an older building:

You may want to inform your readers of the changes in the adopted building and fire codes. There are also new laws that address issues such the installation, maintenance, inspection and service of both fire sprinkler systems and fire alarm systems. There are also new regulations that stipulate when the services of an architect are required.

It can save them a lot of potential problems.

Jimmy Collier, CFI/Fire Inspector II

Deputy State Fire Marshal

Shoalanda