Special: Sign Ups & Downs Petition, but Use Your Head

There is a petition circulating to audit/investigate the Ups & Downs Thrift Store (We had mistakenly been identifying it as Ups N Downs). We encourage you to sign the petition, but want to address one issue with it: The petition is non-specific on whom will receive it. Will it be the IRS? The Alabama Department of Revenue? The Attorney General of Alabama? Someone else?

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Now a very important second issue. Many who have signed the petition have stated reasons, most of which have been unrelated to the petition and some of which have been downright vulgar. This does not help getting anyone to read the petition. Think about this: You receive a petition asking you to investigate theft by deception, but the first five or ten reasons you see are personal attacks on the alleged thief, what would you do? We would probably set it aside as being the ramblings of ill-educated or deranged minds.

Some of the "reasons" people gave for wanting an investigation:

* Mgr is overweight
* Mgr is promiscuous
* Mgr is an alcoholic
* Mgr is rude
* Mgr says what she thinks
* Mgr refused to give back a donation - operative word there being "donation" 
* Two members of board are attorneys (Not true)

Does anyone, anyone at all, think these are reasons to investigate for theft? Why would anyone think this makes the mgr a bad businesswoman, as was also stated (other than she's not a people person)?

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There were two we noted who thought the board should also be investigated. There was no logic for this other than "two are attorneys." No, they're not.

The board consists of the manager, one attorney, and one realtor. A second attorney is the agent of record, for which we're sure he's paid. His name is Willson Jenkins (usually misspelled by those who mentioned him in the petition). An agent for a corporation, whether charity or not, is totally separate from the board. We hope someone has contacted Mr. Jenkins already about this whole debacle.

The board for Shoals Area Families Foundation probably meets four times a year and approves large expenses, etc. We sincerely doubt that either of the other two members had any idea there were problems with this charity. After all, the manager made the reports at the meetings. Would she have said, "Oh, by the way, I've been stealing the charity blind?"

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One final thought; we noticed those who called the mgr a fat, drunk whore were all men. Ex-boyfriends?

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Sign the Petition