Arrest in Rogersville Assault?

While we have been led to expect an arrest in a recent Rogersville assault, the above arrest doesn't appear to be it...exactly. The photo sent us was taken from the Hard Times and doesn't provide an adequate description. 

For those who may not know, approximately 10 days ago an elderly Rogersville woman and her son, a local businessman, were brutally attacked in the parking lot of the shopping plaza where Fred's Department Store is located. Also located in the same center is a business where Jacob Modas works (or worked). Witnesses have identified him as the attacker.

The description in the Hard Times lists "alias," meaning usually that one needs to pay a fine or go to jail. It also lists "bench warrant," which as we understand it is an expression for capias warrant, meaning one needs to actually appear before a judge for some reason. We are not told what type of court issued these warrants. Municipal, district, or circuit?

We should know more when this arrest appears online. As we understand it, the investigation was being handled by the Lauderdale County Sheriff's office and not the Rogersville police. An arrest for the third degree assault might take up to three weeks; it being a misdemeanor*, the case should be heard in district court.  

* We've seen some reports that the pair was assaulted with a blackjack. If true, this might qualify for second degree assault, a felony, and the case sent to circuit court. 

***** 

We've received criticism in some circles for not blogging on this incident before. Even though a name was provided, until an actual arrest was made for some cause, we could not ethically use it here. 

Colbert County School Board Hijinks

From a reader:

Ms. Gale Satchel called all 12 month employees to the Central Office on July 28, 2017 at 7:30 a.m. for a meeting to place blame, not to accept responsibility for her actions.  It would seem her little red wagon is loaded with problems!  The situation is as follows:

The week of July 4th was given to all 12 month employees as free vacation time.  Monday, July 3rd was declared a state holiday by Governor Ivey and Tuesday the 4th was a federal holiday.  However, the 5th, 6th and 7th were not recognized holidays but actual contract days for these employees.  The 7th was Friday and these employees have Fridays off during the summer due to working FOUR 10 hour days.

Upon being called out for giving 12 month employees time off without board approval by someone on Shoalanda Blogspot, Ms. Gale, has decided to ask the 12 month employees to give back 16 hours of the gift she gave them.  Why 16?  Why not 20?  If Ms. Gale knew her job or the law she would know that asking 12 month employees to “come up with” 16 hours to turn in to her is classified as FRAUD and she could then turn around and terminate them for lying about the time worked.  If employees use Sick Leave it is considered Sick Leave fraud and is also punishable by termination.  Personal Time should not be used because the 12 month employees didn’t request to be off.  It would also be against the contracts and those who are salary employees.

While explaining this situation, Ms. Gale had a photo on the screen in front of 12 month employees to show them who is to blame for this problem.  The photo was of Ed Bowman.  Mr. Bowman has no actual ties to the school system, he is just a tax payer, like me, who wants Ms. Gale to do her job as she is supposed to.  It seems Ms. Gale is having issues doing her job due to not being qualified for the job of Superintendent.  There are requirements in place for the job and she does NOT meet them.  It is a shame the local judge that signed off on her to run didn’t do a background check to see if the requirements were met.  It is also very suspicious that former Superintendent Anthony Olivis signed off saying she had the qualifications.  One would wonder why people would perjure themselves to get her on the ballot.  

Ms. Gale is flying high on the Colbert County taxpayers’ hard earned money and flying is being used literally!  In May, Ms. Gale went on a field trip to Washington DC with 5th grade students from across the county at tax payer expense and when something more fun and exciting started happening at home she jumped on a plane in Virginia to get back for the photo ops at a ballgame and concert!  How much did that ticket cost the taxpayers!  I bet the rental on the luxury car was cheaper than that last minute plane ticket!  I also hear that Ms. Gale wants a covered carport at the Central Office so she doesn’t get wet going in her office on rainy days!  I guess it’s beneath her to open an umbrella!  She needs to get over herself and come back down to earth with the rest of the taxpayers in Colbert County!

She and the board are out of control and need the same scare tactics they are using on teachers to be used on them.  They seem VERY proud of antagonizing and frightening teachers and even brag about it in public.  Again, some people need to remember the Golden Rule!  

I hope and pray that the state will eventually see what is going on in Colbert County and take over her position and put someone in it that is actually qualified and not just a narcissist with too much power! 

 *****

We published the above guest editorial completely unedited. We would love for some knowledgeable reader to address the qualification issue. This is important now and in future elections. We are not familiar with much that is happening in the Colbert system, but we can say we've received many fewer complaints about Ms. Satchell than we did about her predecessor. 

And the TD Headline Read...

Tennis court complex could be smaller? Read on and you'll see that the reduction is from 31 to either 25 or 19 and that the change would have to be approved by TVA, a process that is expected to take six months. It did seem that Dick Jordan might have been just a "mite agin" it. We still wonder what happened to plans for an indoor complex that might have been more practical.

*****

We know the council is as eager as the rest of us to get on with the new animal shelter, but it does seem to have been relegated to the background amid all the kerfuffle about the tennis courts. Progress reports? 

*****

 
Colbert County has its own brouhaha over a proposed additional .5% sales tax. Someone has said "what's .5% to anyone?" To anyone who spends 2K a month in taxable goods, which includes groceries in our great state, that's $120.00 a year. Even if it's only 60.00 a year, it wouldn't seem so minuscule if a taxman appeared at your door once a year to collect it. 

Colbert County educators might do well to remember just how much may now be purchased on eBay, usually at a lower cost and tax free in most cases. An additional tax just might drive quite few Colbert shoppers in that direction.

A meeting on the proposed tax, supposedly intended for education, is fast approaching. Flies on the wall take cover.

*****

We see that PNS is the only news outlet reporting on the Franklin County prisoner who was...or wasn't...assaulted Friday. Was it a simple assault or something more? Was the alleged assault to a prisoner being held on rape charges? The rumor mill grinds it out, but if the rumors are true, we're not hearing anyone say they're sorry it happened.

Serial Abuser Ryan Kent Pollard Back to Jail?

Is so-called serial abuser Ryan Kent Pollard on his way back to jail? If you're not familiar with Pollard, here's most of what you need to know:

Serial Abuser

Now a reader tells us that Pollard is up for a probation revocation hearing, even though he claims all he lacks to be totally free is simply paying some fines. Why can't this extremely hard working man pay his fines? Well, it's like this, he says a friend stole all his money--the money he made from his highly in demand job of "deconstructing barns."

Pollard also admits to being behind for months in paying his fines; however, someone in the know tells us unless he's failed a drug test, blown off regular meetings, or been reported for new abuse, his probation officer should work with him. We know Pollard has been previously returned to jail at least three times for not making meetings/drug tests. This certainly seems a much more likely rationale for the new hearing.

What may happen now? Such revocation hearings are usually no more than a formality. Yet Pollard has been returned to jail numerous times and served no more than 60 days each time. He doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes, does he?

Why is he worth a blog? Those who read regularly know our policy on comments. In the entire history of our publication, Pollard is the only one ever to break the rule concerning promoting violence towards certain groups or individuals. He openly threatened a young woman whom he once dated and harmed physically. We unthinkingly deleted his comment before making a screen shot to send to his probation officer. We won't make that mistake again.

*****

One young lady sent us word that Pollard had not committed any of the crimes attributed to him, with the exception of second degree possession of marijuana. No, of course not. There were no arrests or convictions. The news media concocted the arrests complete with mug shots.

Young ladies, sorry to put it this way, but just how gullible (dumb) are you? If bad boys are a necessity for you, why not pick an inside trader on the stock exchange? Wake up before Ryan Kent Pollard or someone like him actually kills you.

New Florence Apartment Complex Won't Break Ground in Two Weeks

A TimesDaily article has lead its readers to believe the new college student centered apartment complex on West Irvine Avenue in Florence will break ground in two weeks. Our prediction is that it won't happen - at least within that time frame.

A reader who attended the last meeting regarding the complex reported:

*The planning department has questions about the traffic study.
*It appears those can be answered, but the commission wasn't willing to bend due to the potential impact. 
*The developer promised to have the questions answered within two weeks. 
*The commission seemed upset that no representative from city engineering was present, with several members making comments to the absence.

So where were representatives from the city engineering department? We can't answer that for our reader, but we do believe that Murphy was in attendance. 

*****

Now on to the pressing question of who pulls Dan Barger's strings? Barger recently introduced a new plan for Veterans Park which would be financed by a 5% increase in lodging tax, not 3% as previously suggested. Is the city accountant, whom we believe was employed to count city funds, so to speak, empowered to revamp city plans so totally? If he didn't suggest the changes, who did? Why has the public no right to know where these ideas are coming from? Can we say "Tourism Board?"

*****

BTW, we just purchased a very nice used Bentley for 1,000.00, it just needs a little motor work. Yes, there's no motor in the luxury car which means we're going to be out another 49K. So how much did we actually pay for the vehicle?

Saying we shouldn't include the cost of new ball fields in the cost of tennis courts is like that. If the tennis court complex can't be approved without the new ball fields, then the cost of the fields is totally a part of the cost of the complex.

Comments always welcome...

 

Hotter Than a Hershey Bar at the Dollar Tree?

For those who may not be Facebook junkies, you may have missed some hot times at local Dollar Trees. A Colbert County woman now finds herself banned from the Muscle Shoals store after reporting the retail chain for not doing the right thing by employees.

The air conditioning unit at the Muscle Shoals Dollar Tree has been out for almost four weeks, and no end is in sight for its employees. Several customers have called OSHA; however, we're not sure the federal watchdog is the correct governing body to take care of the situation. We're not sure there are any real legal violations, but we are sure there are some moral ones.

We also know that at least one of the two Dollar Tree outlets in Florence has problems with the A/C. It runs, but just barely. Late afternoon is not the time to shop there. Why is the chain refusing to invest in upkeep for the stores?

*****

Speaking of cutting back, Lauderdale McDonald's stores are again cutting hours. This makes the second time in the past six months. If you're out late at night, you'd better like Krystal.

*****

An arrest in the Rogersville attack? That's what we're hearing, but still have no definite information. Stay tuned...

Jason Dewayne Green Should Rot in Prison

There's a lot of pond scum out there. Then there are those who are below pond scum--those who make decomp smell good. Jason Dewayne Green falls into that category. Now he's lied to get a new trial.

A Quick Look at Pond Scum

Cold-Blooded Murderer

 
He's tried to damage the reputations of Billy Underwood and Jeff Bowling. We don't know Bowling. We do know Mr. Underwood and cannot imagine a more competent attorney. There is no way in Hades that Billy gave Green bad advice, but now the citizens of Franklin County will have to pay for a new trial.

Now Shay Ledlow's family will again have to go through the ordeal of reliving her death. We hope Green see's his victim's face in his sleep, but we doubt it. Men like him have no conscience. Lying and stealing are ways of life for them...and so is murder.

*****

Speaking of Franklin County tax dollars at work, no one seems to know where Hershel Dale Graham is. On medical furlough, he doesn't have to report to a probation officer. Really? The smell of decomp permeates Red Bay as well.

*****

There seems to be a great deal of confusion about the ownership of certain stores in the Shoals area. The Big Steve's liquor store in Rogersville has no connection with Lil Steve's chain of mini-marts. For those who wish to boycott Big Steve's, that's your prerogative. Just remember that throwing mud at his older son serves no purpose.

The Truth About Colbert County School Spending

JUNE 24, 2016 - TIMES DAILY:

Muscle Shoals - City school employees will get a 7 percent increase this year.

The school board added a 3 percent local raise on top of a state raise (recommendation by Lindsey). School finance officer said the RAISES WOULD COST THE SCHOOL SYSTEM (aka TAXPAYERS) $850,000.00 PER YEAR.

Lindsey declined the raise - after all, he received a 5 year contract and an increase in salary to $150,000.00 plus benefits and perks. “We went through some tough times when proration hit and really had to tighten our belts to make it through those years,” Lindsey said.  - COACH - NEWSFLASH !- It’s been more than 6 years since proration.

ONE YEAR LATER -  7/19/17 - TIMES DAILY

Superintendents MSCS Coach Lindsey, Colbert County Satchel, Tuscumbia Aiken told county commissioners they need MORE MONEY - and ask them to RAISE YOUR COUNTY SALES TAX..

The 3 spoke about several things:

Colbert County’s loss of students & declining tests scores because of bunsen burners.

Muscle Shoals has capital needs and more buildings. (more athletic facilities on top of the 10 million dollar complex?)

Tuscumbia has outdated buildings and needed repairs.

Each of them asserted their board members and city officials were in favor of the tax and even said ALL the superintendents supported the additional tax  (Sheffield Superintendent was not in attendance).

Times Daily reported in the same article: Sheffield Superintendent said his Board of Education does NOT support an increase in sales taxes.

4 DAYS LATER - 7/23/17 - TIMES DAILY

Tuscumbia mayor said he HAS NOT BEEN approached by the Tuscumbia Superintendent or members of the school board.

Muscle Shoals councilman Chris Hall said NO ONE HAS CALLED HIM about the proposed tax.

Sheffield mayor said “someone would have to do some convincing” to make him support a tax increase.

Lindsey said MSCS is facing roof repairs at McBride where a storm blew off a temporary roof (Insurance claim?) Chiller at the High School (been repaired and replaced how many times?) A new elementary school because of infrastructure problems with the two old schools. 

Those “old” buildings were "old" 12 months ago when he gave $850,000.00 a year in raises.  $850,000.00 a year would have gone a long way for the CHILDREN.

Satchel “needs” a new building to store records while renting a luxury vehicle at the taxpayers expense to go out of state. She also gave a whole week vacation to the employees at taxpayers expense as she went on a week of vacation. She has hired more central office employees.(That should make the total employees in CC schools close to 400 while less than half that number are teachers in the classroom.)

These 3 superintendents do not understand capital improvements planning and budgeting. A LACK OF FINANCIAL UNDERSTANDING and BUDGETING ON THEIR PART DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY ON OUR PART OR TAXPAYERS FOOTING THEIR BILLS!

This job is more than these superintendents are qualified for when they deem these everyday issues an  “emergency”. 

http://www.timesdaily.com/news/education/muscle-shoals-school-workers-get-pay-hike/article_bb1445fb-c3d8-5748-bcfd-15531dfc4a41.html

http://www.timesdaily.com/news/local/commission-wants-public-meetings-to-discuss-school-tax-request/article_d8c5e70a-00af-5abe-b059-5e0bdad4db45.html

http://www.timesdaily.com/news/public-input-needed-in-colbert-tax-increase-request/article_006c7afc-ab0e-5ed0-b616-2a1e2369a0c2.html

 

 

Leslie M. Shoals

Rob & Susan MIA/Do You Really Know Who Did It?

Nigel checks in:

Ridin' His Thumb to Canada?

I know for a fact that Rob Carnegie has left town this week to visit his native Canada. This would not be so strange but as we ALL know and have known for a very long time, this is HANDY WEEK!!!  The busiest tourism week of the year for the Shoals area. Does this sound like a good time for the so called Tourism Leader to be in another country?????

I looked thru every single photo that QCD took (or at least posted on their website) from the ribbon cutting that Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and Susann Hamlin, the director of Colbert County Tourism, was no where to be found. Now why would no one from Colbert County Tourism be present at this momentous occasion that is clearly a tourism attraction in said county???  Sounds like neither Lauderdale nor Colbert counties is fairing very well right now with their current tourism directors. Should we now seriously consider another direction and combine these two counties and stop duplicating services, thus saving a WHOLE lotta money and using that money to bring more tourism dollars into the Shoals???

*****

In October, we will have been publishing this blog for nine years and have never before gotten the amount of mail we have received concerning the attack that occurred in Rogersville last Friday. In case you're the only person in the Western Hemisphere who hasn't heard, someone waylaid a Lauderdale County businessman and his elderly (and reportedly disabled) mother at Fred's, attacking them from behind.

This person initiated contact as the pair entered Fred's, and bystanders identified the man to the victims at that time. Were these bystanders correct? 

As far as we can ascertain, no one has yet been arrested in the attack. There were supposedly five witnesses and CCTV. Surely the attacker will be arrested at some point, but until he is, it's certainly best not to point fingers. It's been suggested that some of us here are friends with this young man and his father. We've never met either one of them and have no interest in meeting either one of them. We can say the same thing about the two victims.

We will also say that whoever perpetrated this attack is beneath contempt. When he's arrested, as we firmly believe he will be, we will certainly have a great deal to say, be it someone who's a Facebook friend or the president's son. There can be no excuse for his actions, and he should be punished to the maximum allowed by the law. Will he be? Probably not, but we can make sure whoever thinks it's acceptable first to verbally accost, then physically attack, two people (one termed elderly and disabled) is shamed for his actions. 

Colbert County Sales Tax Increase?

Click to Enlarge

There's a lot of one said, another said, etc. in information about the proposed sales tax increase to benefit Colbert County schools. Someone is working on this for us (it's already given us a migraine). We should have some interesting facts and contrasts to report later.

The Great Reddit Carnegie Caper...& More!

A few weeks ago, a reader suggested we go to Reddit to look at a post about our blog. It wasn't unusual in some ways since it sought to identify some or all of those who write here. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the post was that it identified the chief writer as someone who at one time worked with local tourism. Not only that, it vilified this woman as being unfit to hold a job and glorified Rob Carnegie. That in itself should tell you something about the person who posted the topic. Not only was he out to settle some imagined score against this woman, he didn't get anything right.

The poster went on to quote a registered sex offender who counts a Killen woman as an enemy. We've always been amazed at the number of people who love to quote this pervert who likes 11 year-old girls and thinks that anyone who fights against his agenda must blog here. Not true!

Yet, the above referenced post isn't the main thrust of today's blog. As we looked over all the Reddit topics (we had never been to that particular sub-group before), we couldn't help but notice that many were extremely racist. We counted three that definitely filled that bill. Then a few days ago the three topics were removed by a moderator - a wise decision as we saw it.

While we may have missed some events on the timeline, shortly thereafter a poster who was apparently impersonating another contributor offered up two articles on individuals wanted in the Shoals. We'll name the quoted publication - the Quad-Cities Daily. The QCD had posted only a press release from the Florence police and had not offered up any additional comment either good or bad. In other words, there was nothing racist about what the QCD published.

Yet both the wanted men are black, and the moderator seemed to see racism from the poster (which certainly may have been there since he was dishonest as to his identity). The mod mentioned that both posts came from the same source as one reason for removing them, as well as some very real ones.

The unfortunate thing about the whole debacle is that anyone not familiar with the QCD would have believed it to be some kind of racist publication. We hope the owners will contact the mod and ask him to reword his rationale for removing the posts. The imposter poster could just have easily linked PNS which had its own extended version of the BOLOs. In fact, we did link the PNS versions to our FB page and saw absolutely no racism there. If anyone sees racism, we suggest you contact the Florence Police Department which issued the alerts.

Tourism Board Driving City of Florence Agenda?

We took a look back at the planning for the proposed 31-court tennis complex at Veterans Park. It goes back at least three years, probably longer. Almost every news article concerning the complex mentions the Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Board.

The tourism board ostensibly paid for plans for the courts. Board member Larry McCoy has referred to the courts as a done deal. Apparently it very well may be after the so-called second phase of park rejuvenation was added/expanded.  

McCoy originally predicted the project would be bid in August. We assume this bid refers to only the tennis court phase and doesn't reflect the new ball fields. We have to wonder just what the final bid will be. Recent bidding on several local projects has been much higher than anticipated. 

Of the four Florence City Council members reported to oppose the project, we also have to wonder just how many will change their vote. It will take two changes to give the complex the go-ahead; however, if the vote should be hopelessly locked at 3-3, the mayor could provide the tie-breaker. The latter scenario is rare, and we're sure Mayor Holt doesn't want to be placed in this position.

*****

From Nigel Knorr:

If this small group of citizens who are in favor of building a big tennis complex in Florence are so adamant that this project will be SO successful, why don’t they build it themselves? Kinda puts a different swing (no pun intended) on things.

*****

We've had so many e-mails asking about Poodle's heath, we're considering a new blog called How's Poodles?

Two-Way Race for Senate...or Three-Way?/How Many Times Did Deputy Shoot?

 

Mo Brooks After Congressional Shooting

Many Montgomery pundits are saying it will be a Luther Strange-Roy Moore Republican runoff for U.S. Senate. Others are saying it could possibly be Luther Strange-Mo Brooks. Really?

Let's see, pick the most dishonest politician you can think of in Alabama. Yep, that would be Luther Strange. Next, pick the kookiest. Yep, that would be Roy Moore who once called Mad Cow Disease a political plot. Is this what Alabama deserves?

Perhaps these two men are what the state deserves if the majority of voters support them. Why do they support them? Mo Brooks may not be perfect, but he's not a nut-job and he's not dishonest (that we know of; we welcome comments). 

Mo Brooks is the state's best bet. Let's give him a chance.

*****

This is just a random thought: A man, with presumed mental problems, attempted to back over a Lauderdale County Sheriff's deputy last week. How many times did the deputy shoot him? Take you time...

Kudos to the deputy for keeping his head. No one was hurt, James Allen Burbank was arrested, and the D.A. has one less case to consider. 

Florence Hoteliers Sing "Too Little, Too Late" Blues

As it stands now, we don't support the tennis complex; however, we are amused by one of the arguments of Florence hoteliers against it. Yes, the proposed complex aids the Marriott more than other hotels. That's what the attraction is designed to do. That's what it was designed to do ten years ago. Why didn't you protest then?

It's rather like UNA objecting to a new Florence middle school when it had almost ten years to do so and didn't. No matter how anyone feels about the viability of a tennis complex, that particular argument against it holds no water.

*****

We've had one reader ask if the contract reference to the attraction could be changed, as was the law on the termination of the two-cent gasoline tax. Unlike our legislature which can change laws on whim, it would take both sides to change the contract, so basically the answer is no.

While we supported the ag-center, we did have qualms about the law being changed by our representatives after a promise was made to the residents of Lauderdale County. This is certainly something to remember the next time such a promise is made.

*****

Speaking of UNA, at least two of our readers have asked why the name of the officer who shot Poodles hasn't been published. We have no idea supported by anything the university has said, but it probably boils down to the fact officials don't legally have to identify the officer. Or perhaps the university is concerned that Poodles may have friends of the type who would retaliate against the officer.

We have heard a name, but we doubt what we heard is correct or spelled even close to correctly. In the end, unless he's indicted for some reason, we don't see it being released, at least by UNA.

Ping, Ping, Telephone Ping - Sachiko Basden

The latest on the mobile belonging to missing Tuscumbia woman Sachiko Basden is that it's on; she's just not answering. In such cases, it's very easy for law enforcement to get a court order to ping the phone, showing its location within meters. Some phone companies will do this for whoever pays the bill; in other words if there are four phones on a Verizon account, the account holder may have any one of them pinged and located. We have no idea how Ms. Basden's phone is set up, but surely authorities know where it is...if it's indeed on. 

Richmond Hills, a Tuscumbia subdivision where the Basdens live, is close to the Valdosta Highway. Surely the police wanted to ensure she hadn't been hit in busy traffic. Surely the police know the last person she called and who called her last and got an answer. 

Ms. Basden doesn't seem to have any family here with the exception of her husband and children. Her children (or at least some of them) use a different last name, so we may assume there's an ex-husband out there somewhere. Why would she have left four children behind? She has no money, no identification, and no vehicle. There have been no search parties or tracking dogs. Someone obviously knows something.

The whole thing is troubling since so many are thinking the worst. If Sachiko Basden wanted to embarrass her family, she's done it. If her family wanted to embarrass her, they've certainly done it.

Ms. Basden, if you're out there, it's time to come home. Please.

*****

A few years ago, a single man from Tuscaloosa married a woman with two children. Apparently he wasn't accustomed to the chaos, and arguments often ensued. One Friday night, there was a knock-down, drag-out (at least figuratively), and the man drove away, leaving his phone and billfold behind. When he hadn't returned by Saturday morning, his wife did the most logical thing - she took to Facebook.

Everyone felt sure the young husband would return by Sunday night and make it to work on Monday morning, but he didn't. At that point, everyone then thought he was probably dead or halfway to California. Then on Monday night he showed up as if nothing had happened.

He hadn't eaten in four days and had been sleeping in his vehicle in a parking garage. If a divorce or murder followed, we never read about it...

Missing, Missing, Missing, Missing!

Police report that as of three days ago the Shoals and its surrounding areas have a new missing person to add to the list. There have been conflicting reports about the status of the Tuscumbia woman's phone; we can hope she will return soon and all will be well with her and her family. What about the other three?

Susie Lanier - Mrs. Lanier has been gone five weeks. Her purse and cell phone were left behind. Lanier may return to her family, but we'll be honest enough to comment that the odds are pretty long on that and get longer each day. If there was a crime committed, things are complicated by authorities not knowing if the event took place in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, or Colbert County, Alabama. 

Shawn Childers - Mr. Childers has been missing from Lauderdale County since September 2016, or roughly 10 months. Childers' family believes he was the victim of foul play and have incriminated his roommate David Randall Nix who has been caught out in several lies. Without more than circumstantial evidence, authorities have not been able to make an arrest.  

Janson Brewer - Mr. Brewer has been missing from Lawrence County, Tennessee, since August 2016, or roughly 11 months. It's entirely possible that Brewer and his companion simply left the area in an attempt to start a new life, but his family desperately wants to know where he is. 

Perhaps you have a small piece of information that you feel has no value. Let authorities judge. Contact them at the numbers listed. We all need help from time to time. How would you feel if this was your family?

Puddles Probably Sans Pity for Poodles

From a reader:

Do you think "Poodles" has a chance to win a lawsuit?

Our answer: We may be off on some of the details of this similar incident, but not many...

The officer saw the man driving erratically in his attempt to beat the traffic. He turned on his blue lights and stopped the black male driver. The driver then saw that the officer was a game warden and drove off. The game warden again gave pursuit until the driver stopped a second time. As the driver attempted to retrieve his license, the game warden felt threatened and shot the man dead. The driver's family portrayed him as the injured party and eventually won some kind of lawsuit.

Wrongful death lawsuits are civil and are usually heard by a jury. So, yes, anything is possible in these cases. Yet even if Poodles should win, she will still be facing legal consequences for her actions. A Florence man was recently sentenced to life in prison for attempting to murder a police officer; Poodles may fare no better

***** 

From another reader:

Your blog is not only informative but a source of entertainment for me. I have really enjoyed reading about poodles lately. I don't know if you know this or not but there is actually a band called puddles pity party. I'm not joking. They're going to be in Birmingham sometime this year and I saw it on Ticketmasters website. I just thought that you might want to use that tidbit in your blog some time. Maybe they're trying to raise money for her to defense!

SAT JUL 29 8PM Puddles Pity Party Iron City Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 

 

Our answer:

 

Yes, we've certainly heard of Puddles, in fact due to another member of our blog. Perhaps Puddles would do a show for Poodles...uh, no, we're guessing no. 

*****

 

What's Deaf, Dumb, & Blind and Costs 3.5 Million Dollars?

 

 

 

 

Police Officers Not Doing Their Jobs?

As a former law enforcement officer, it bothers me that I no longer see law enforcement officers in The Shoals conducting traffic stops.  We love to gripe and complain about Shoals drivers, but often fail to make the connection between poor driving characteristics of area drivers with the lack of traffic laws enforcement.  Some local LEOs that I have mentioned my concerns to offer up the following 'excuses':

* We're too busy responding to criminal activity.

* We've been told NOT to issue too many traffic citations.

* Working traffic is boring.

My responses to the above excuses have been:

* The crime reports in the TD don't support this response.  Either the officer isn't being truthful, the local LE agencies are under-reporting crime stats, or the TD isn't reporting all criminal activity.

* The various city councils and/or mayors issuing these edicts should be removed from office at the next election.

* WHY are you wearing a badge?  Are you a REAL law enforcement officer, or are you simply wearing a badge because you think it's 'cool'?  DO YOUR JOB! Please.

*****

We'll be looking at Sheffield police in the next few days. Do they single out certain individuals? If you have any experience with Sheffield officers, let us hear.

Jason Dewayne Green: Liar, Drunk, Thief, Murderer

First, Shoalanda hasn't made any plans to murder anyone...well, at least any that she would really carry out. Yet if accused of murder or any other serious crime, she would make a bee-line to Billy Underwood's office. Billy always tells it like it is and he has integrity.

 

 

Jason Dewayne Green

What does Jason Dewayne Green have? An AIS number and a bunk at a medium security prison. 

When Green was free, he ran a junk business with his father. He also stole cars - a nice sideline if you own a place that sells scrap metal. We guess he needed the money to buy the alcohol that fueled his drunken rages against an innocent woman whose only crime was loving and trusting him. 

Of course Green denies killing Shay Ledlow. He claims he only gave her the gun and told her to use it. Did Shay actually kill herself? Forensics proved it was impossible for the shooting to have played out as Green claims. 

Green received some excellent advice from Billy Underwood and took a manslaughter plea, avoiding a life sentence for Felony Murder. For those who may not know, manslaughter is punishable by 10 to 15 years, or up to 20 years if it involves a gun. There is no Correctional Incentive Time (Good Time) on sentences above 15 years.

Now all that information is available online at the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles site. It's also something that Mr. Underwood carefully explained to Green, but now Shay Ledlow's murderer is claiming it wasn't adequately explained. He's maintaining that he thought he would do only eight years. The bottom line is that Jason Dewayne Green wants a new trial.  

We're sure that if Shay Ledlow could speak, she would say she wanted to live...but Jason Dewayne Green robbed her of that chance.

A Colbert-Lauderdale Detention Center?

Colbert County wants and needs a new jail before some state agency takes over the old one, or more to the point closes down the current dilapidated one. Lauderdale County needs more room. Are the two needs compatible?

Juvenile penal facilities have been combined for some time, so it's legally possible to merge the two detention centers. What are the chances this will happen? We'd say two, and our readers know what those two are.

Now that the Lauderdale County Commission has instituted a program allowing inmates with chronic illnesses to serve their time at home with electronic monitoring, the jail population should be reduced to at least a small degree. More and more sentences are being served in community corrections, further reducing the Lauderdale jail population. 

What of Lauderdale County population in general? Between the years of 2010 and 2014, the population increased by only 400. We're sure business leaders hope this trend changes, but county officials need to consider every alternative to add room to Lauderdale's facilities before they commit to a multi-million dollar project with Colbert County. 

*****

Forgive our humor here, but Poodles has a hard head in more ways than one. The official verdict is now six shots: Two to head (neither penetrated her skull), one to right arm, three to chest. That's not counting that some bullets splintered and left fragments in various places, probably causing the conflicting reports as to how many times the Florence woman was shot.

Jessica LaShae Dye's mother has said that in her "confusion," Poodles perceived the UNA shooter to be an assailant. She was trying to escape and get to the ER at ECM Hospital when she failed to negotiate the corner of Pine and College Streets. 

Poodles' mom also informed press that most of her daughter's previous arrests were for drugs and not violent crimes. Perhaps it slipped her mind that Poodles had been arrested in Sheffield for assaulting her younger brother...the one who has now ostensibly hired an attorney. 

It also seems that Poodles went to prison for eight months for cocaine possession in 2014. You mean that wasn't enough to teach her a lesson? She's currently facing new cocaine possession charges from September 2016. Things don't always go better with coke.