No Big Pharma? Be Careful What You Wish For

We've recently seen several individuals state they want "Big Pharma" to go out of business. While they may mean well, we doubt they have adequately considered what they're asking for. 

First, we're not sure what these critics call Big Pharma, but assuming it's any mainstream company that produces any pharmaceuticals, they're asking for a return to a much darker time.

No Big Pharma? Then when your three year old daughter needs her appendix out, be prepared to see the medics give her an alcohol enema for pain and a cloth for her to bite on. After all, no one is going to outlaw alcohol, are they?

Arthritis? Live with it or use folk remedies as some have suggested. Cancer? Not too many folk remedies there, are there? No, Big Pharma is about much more than opioids. If you think it should be perfect, please point out one other business or government system that is. 

If you think Big Pharma is the only greedy entity at work here, have you glanced at your anesthesiologist's bill? But wait, he or she is simply paying for an education. That means UAB and other medical schools are to blame; or are the med schools simply trying to pay for the equipment they use in teaching?

In the end, we would have to outlaw the practice of medicine totally to solve these conundrums. Think about it.

Our Shoals Crime post on unsolved murders should be up soon. Don't forget to send the names of any victims that we may have missed. Similarly, we solicit posts for our Quad-Cities Cuisine. Send posts to Shoalanda.Speaks@gmail.com. Remember, if you disagree with a review, we'll be happy to post your rebuttal opinion. Calling J. Redmon or Cherry Pitts or any other reviewer vulgar names is not the most intelligent action in the world, now is it?

The Staff at Shoalanda Asking You to Stay Safe Tonight!

Thank You, Sheffield!

In case you missed it, Sheffield has a new sign. The sign proclaiming the coming of Inspiration Landing is noteworthy for several reasons. Looking at the names on the sign that are linked to the IL project, we do wonder just who paid for this little bit of advertising. 

Was it Colbert County?
Was it Capital Improvement Cooperative District?
Was it NACOLG?
Was it Sheffield Redevelopment Authority?
Was it Sheffield Utilities?
Was it TVA?
Was it John Elkington?

Still, the names listed as "brought to you by" are not the most interesting data on the sign. The name of the realty handling the leasing of shops in the retail sector is what immediately caught our eye. It's a Florence firm.

We in Florence thank the City of Sheffield for filling the tax coffers of our city, especially after Colbert County so doggedly attempted to block the new hospital. Yet we wonder why Sheffield didn't choose a firm within its own boundaries? Isn't there one? Surely there's one at least in Colbert County?

Want to know what's really wrong in Sheffield and how to fix it? The Midnight Rider has promised to reveal all in the new year!

The Strange Death of Jayla Capri Sutton

The sheriff of Lawrence County has said few things about the tragic death of 12 year-old Jayla Capri Sutton. What he has said has been refuted by her mother and her mother's friends. Who is right? In most of these cases, law enforcement is always right. Obviously anyone who might be blamed legally in a death will dispute facts.

We know that Jayla attended the Helen Keller School for the Blind. It's been said that she was mentally challenged; that has been disputed by her mother. We also know that on Thanksgiving Day of this year she was found in the backyard of a neighbor; Jayla was totally devoid of clothes and the neighbor described her as disoriented. The young girl was returned to her family, and approximately 14 hours later Jayla was dead.

The Hatton girl was found some distance from her home just after midnight on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The sheriff has said she was three miles from the house she shared with her mother and mother's boyfriend. The mother has posted on social media that it was much less - perhaps two miles? This is still a great distance for a child to walk in the cold and the dark, totally alone. 

When her body was found, Jayla was reportedly wearing dark clothing. No charges were brought against the driver who hit the child on Highway 157. Yet according to the Lawrence County Sheriff, charges could still be brought against someone. The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting an inquiry into Jayla's death.

If we're to survive as a society, we have to stand up for our weakest citizens. We have to demand justice for those without families or at least families that care. 

Jayla's story isn't over...nor should it be.

What the Sheriff Said

Sheriffs (and police chiefs) are just like the rest of us - stick a microphone in front of them and they may misspeak. We've been asked questions on two recent deaths. Can we clear anything up?

First in the death of one Joe Garcia in the parking lot of the Hamilton police station, an anonymous source who works there states that forensics does back up four shots being fired. There is CCTV which apparently shows two shots fired in the air and two at the victim.

There were comments that the shooter Andrew Cochran would be released after a Thursday or Friday arraignment. We have no idea if the hearing actually took place or not, but as of now Cochran remains in jail. In other words, if it did take place, a district judge found that there was probable cause to bring at least Felony Murder charges.

Fundraiser for Norgard Children

So in the number of shots fired, or in 90% of the other details, we can't find that the police chief actually misspoke. That brings us to e-mails we've received about the 12 year-old Lawrence County girl who died in November. We'll have more on her death tomorrow.

The Year to Come at the Lauderdale County BOE

At present, we have two or three individuals who have insight into the problems at the Lauderdale County Board of Education. At least one of our experts has promised to hang with us in the coming two years, and we hope the others do as well.

If you care about Lauderdale schools, now is the time to arm yourself with information about the board's plans. We're predicting that only a few will. When the actual school closings and other cut backs are announced, we're also predicting a huge backlash. Citizens will ask why weren't they told? Sad, isn't it?

A reader commented on our Stutts/Coffee blog:

The young lady was supposed to be 17, so why wasn't she in school? She wasn't of voting age, so couldn't have been a republican voter as her sign stated. The Morrow campaign had agree to cover up the elephant logo, and the state election officer when told they hadn't told them to send him a picture. Stutts stopped and did that. The Police was called by one of the workers. He was sitting sending the picture to the state when the police showed up.

We can't answer all the questions. If any readers can provide the information, please contact us: Shoalanda.Speaks@gmail.com.

What If He Hadn't Brought His Gun?

There are always "what ifs" in life. Certainly there are many what ifs concerning the Christmas shooting of an unarmed Hamilton man. Andrew Cochran is now in jail for that shooting and facing a Capital Murder charge. What if Cochran hadn't brought his gun to the police station hand off?

Yes, Cochran's victim could have had a gun himself, but he didn't. That's all the prosecution needs to point out to a jury. You can be sure the district attorney will also point out how much Cochran loved guns. 

We wonder how Cochran feels now about his gun collection?

From J. Redmon:

I just finished watching '13 Hrs: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'. If there isn't a special place in Hell for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, then I volunteer to go there and create one especially for them.

You ever get the feeling that J. doesn't like Hillary?

Merry Christmas 2018

Your assignment for the next 365 days: Think of your warmest, coziest feeling from this holiday, smile, then go out and attempt to make at least one person feel as good as you felt while you were actually living your Christmas memory.

Merry Christmas!

The Staff at Shoalanda Speaks

How "Civil" Is Sheffield Utilities?

A Sheffield reader writes:

Leave it to Sheffield Utilities to deliver their latest utility bills on Christmas Eve, complete with their traditional '$100 December mark up'.

Our utility bill is $124 HIGHER than last month. Our home insulation EXCEEDS the recommended 'R factor' for this region. Even our garage door is new and is insulated. Our HVAC system is only 5 years old and gets checked 2x/yr. Our windows and exterior doors are new 'energy efficient' type, and our thermostat stays set on 65° during winter. Arrrrggggg!

So how does Sheffield Utilities compare with Florence? Check out their rates below:

Sheffield 

Florence

Two interesting points we noticed while reading up on Sheffield Utilities and its counterpart across the river:

1. Florence rates are higher in the winter. A transition rate and a winter rate are listed on the rate page. We can see having to purchase extra power at a higher rate during extremely cold winters, but not every winter. There must be another variable to this formula. Any utility rate experts out there?

2. Six years ago, Sheffield had a management shake up. At that time, not only did Steve Hargrove take over the position of department manager, the "civil manager" was reassigned to the wastewater department. What is a civil manager? Was he a civil engineer? If so, it would seem the former department manager wasn't the only one stabbed in the back. Sheffield Utilities must be one heckuva place to work.

That Polling Place Incident

We're always glad to see young people take an interest in politics. Yet, there's one young lady who may not be quite so eager next time. This particular young woman was both attacked physically and presumably accused of violating polling laws - she wasn't.

On the day of the election, this campaigner was standing the required 30 feet from the polling place when a car drove by and an occupant threw hot coffee at her; she was holding a sign promoting the candidacy of Johnny Mack Morrow for the state senate.

Then Larry Stutts himself showed up and began to take photos of her. Police who were present told him to cease. Yep, that's our state senator. Before you make any assumption, no, we didn't draw the above cartoon. One of our talented readers did. 

We here at Shoalanda also learned something during the past election. If you support someone on moral grounds instead of party affiliation, you're a liberal. We look forward to a Hitler/Khomeini Republican presidential ticket in two years...

Satire...or Just Plain Fake News?

Yesterday we published an article by the Midnight Rider; at the beginning we asked readers to be sure to read to the end. Many didn't. 

At the end of the story, MR points out that the entire weird tale was satire, yet it was believed by a Nashville television station which did a story on the non-story. Satire and fake news are two entirely different things, but when a non-satirical medium republishes the satire, what does it become?

One quick way to tell satire is humor. Yes, satire is supposed to have an element of humor, but much today seemingly misses the mark by a great deal. As we initially read the story written about a supposedly pro-adiposity group, we noticed the mythical radio station was called the Pig. That's when bells went off.

Another marker of a satirical story is often the status of the main character. Is he/she no longer with us? One can't libel a dead person. In other words, the writer of the radio ban story wouldn't have written it about Willie Nelson or any similar living artist for fear he just might get a letter from Nelson's attorney.

Fake news? These news stories are often about living people. There's no humor in these fake stories which are written to cause discord or to make the author money. 

It's sad that it was a Fox network station that was taken in. It didn't help that network's image.

Mr. Russ Corey was kind enough to point out to us that the Colbert County Commission is not paying for the "Sontaran" monument destined for the court house lawn. All funding is coming from Colbert firefighters.

That brings up an excellent point. Why doesn't the commission match the 7,000.00 in order to upgrade the statue? Many of our readers thought the monument looked like a "pile of dog ****." Again we say that fallen firefighters deserve more than this. 

You can give a Kindle book for Christmas that arrives in seconds:

A Walk Through the Past - William Lindsey McDonald

Waylon Jennings Banned?

Please read entire post before responding:

Waylon Jennings Banned

By: The Midnight Rider

I was sitting eating breakfast this morning in Moulton when an interesting article came on Fox News. Sitting back in my chair, I could not believe what I was hearing. After the article finished, I knew I was going to have to write a story about it.

Here we go. Radio Stations are banning Waylon Jennings' music because of some groups that find his music offensive. What? Have you lost your mind?

So that we are all on the same page, I found the article on another news site. Here it is so you can read it…

Waylon Jennings banned from several country radio stations

Maureen Rextit - Nashville Fox-69 News (EWN)

December 5th, 2018 04:56 PM EST

Radio stations in Nashville Tennessee are removing all songs performed by one time country music legend Waylon Jennings after being bombarded by email from two human rights groups. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and the State Wide Suicide Prevention of Tennessee (SWSPT) are working together to get radio stations to ban the artist.

The lyrics to "Luckenbach, Texas" are the issue with these two groups.

Nancy Bugelward of the N.A.A.F.A. told EWN Fox-69 News; "Just listen to what Jennings wrote, it's fat shaming and it needs to be dead and buried like he is!"

The lyric that has upset so many is "The only two things in life that make it worth livin', is guitars that are tuned good and firm feelin' women."

Bugelward went on to say "Jennings is telling people, he'd rather die than touch a woman that isn't firm. Well, I'm very soft, even sort of squishy. Should my husband kill himself because I'm not firm?" she asked. Bugelward continued; "That is just sad. Shame on you Waylon Jennings. You should be forgotten."

Two Nashville radio stations have pulled all the music recorded by Waylon Jennings after receiving over 200 emails from the S.W.S.P.T. which supports suicide prevention in greater Nashville. Carl Drake, Vice President of S.W.S.P.T. said; "Waylon Jennings telling people that there are only two things that make life worth living is irresponsible. A horrible message like that can only make people want to take their lives, that is not okay. That is not the world we want to live in."

Country radio stations WSOX-FM and WNIPQ-FM have pulled all songs by Jennings. The program director of 103.9 FAT PIG COUNTRY said; "Man, I couldn't take all those negative emails. I got almost 160 of them! I have to answer all those. It's easier to just pull the songs. Hell, people don't ask for Waylon that much anymore anyway. Nobody is going to miss "Luckenbach, Texas" and I don't have to fight the NAAFA and the SWSPT."

At last report many other radio stations are considering following suit by monitoring text messages, emails and twitter feeds. This will let them see what songs they can play without upsetting social media and taking the path of least resistance.


Ok we are all on the same page now. Let me start this rant by saying “Have you lost your mind?’ You are offended about a lyric that says “firm feeling women?” So let me get this straight, it’s ok to have modern music that refers to women as b$%&$#s or Hoes, but it is not ok to talk about firm feeling women.

This is not just about being skinny or plus size. Can a plus size female not be firm feeling also? I think that they can. Is this what our country and society as a whole have came to? So much is based on looks these days. I’ll be the first one to tell you (and she will to), my wife Harley is a plus size lady. I stress the word “lady.” She is firm to me and I would not take anything for her or trade her in for a younger version. I told Harley about this article and after reading the above about the ban, she stated “that’s a bunch of Horses$%^t.” You have got to love women that speak her mind.

Now, let’s talk about the underlying aspect of this article. This is a country music legend. His music pioneered the way for several artists after him. What is today’s country music? Country Rap. More like Country Crap. You have performers like Luke Bryan with his skinny jeans that would make Johnny Cash roll over in his grave. Thankfully artists like Chris Stapleton, Jamey Johnson and Cody Jinks are trying to bring back the “roots” of Country Music.

Lastly, I want to say this. I am offended also. I am offended that no one has stood up for the “Guitars that aren’t tuned good.” Someone needs to make a stand for them. See if you can figure that one out.

***Update: When I submitted this article for publication, Shoalanda herself emailed me and told me that the article on Fox News was fake. Now, I am offended again. I am offended that someone that was supposed to be offended, made up fake news and now we are offended. So I guess everyone is offended now.****

As a Christmas Present to the Shoals Area, in my next article, I am going to tell you how to fix Sheffield.

*****************

If I don’t talk to you before that special date of December 25th, The Rider Family wishes you a very Merry Christmas.

******************

That’s it for now. But remember that the Midnight Rider will always be around to voice his/her/their (?) opinion.

I am and always will be, the Midnight Rider...

Lauderdale BOE/256 Racing

A reader wishes the Lauderdale County BOE a Merry Christmas:

At this time of year I’m mostly into the spirit of “Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Mankind”, except when it comes to the LCBOE. Owens, Fulmer, Holden, Cornelius, & Patterson all are semi-literate buffoons and profligate wastes of the oxygen they breathe. Oxygen that could be better used by people who actually know what the heck they are doing. And Hatton is a ridiculous clown who thinks donning a bow tie somehow makes him professorial. Unfortunately they are all quite accurate reflections of their inbred mouth-breather constituencies. I weep for the future if this is what passes for leadership in education. 

We're a firm believer in looking on the bright side. If Lauderdale County Schools do hit financial bottom, at least they'll have one bus driver to work for free. It's going to be a long route for Larry J. Hill.

Another reader has a question: Whatever happened to the proposed 256 Call Out television show? The Facebook page representing this organization is too cluttered to invite any meaningful digging, but it appears one episode is on video. There is a YouTube channel for 256, but no actual cable network showing this singular episode that we can find. If any readers know otherwise, please send us a correction.

For those who may not have been regular readers during the Rogersville/256 controversy over two years ago, there were complaints concerning the town of Rogersville issuing the 256 producers a drag racing permit. Mayor Richard Herston replied to us that the town had issued no such permit. No, he really wasn't lying; the town had issued 256 a parade permit knowing that the "parade" would be a drag race.

And they say Richard Herston isn't much of a politician...

It's not too late to receive for Christmas if you pay a little extra shipping:

A Walk Through Town

This is a must for Tuscumbia historians.

Cherokee Businessman Accused of Shooting Alsatian

It's understood that a complaint has been lodged in this incident:

Our dog Zeus was shot yesterday by Delmer Bailey. He is the owner of the new hunting club on Mill Road in Cherokee. A police report has been made and charges are being filed. Please be extra vigilant watching your fur babies. Not only does he shoot deer for sport he also will shoot your pets for fun!

As many of you know I adopted Zeus from Florence animal shelter on my birthday this year. He's supposed to be my dog but he chose to stay at my mom's.

All of her animal's stay in the house unless they are going out to potty or going out with her. Yesterday at around 1 pm she went out to check the mail and of course all the dogs followed.

Zeus ran past her and down the road about 40 yards , when this lunatic shot at him twice. Zeus was hit once in the leg.

Zeus was very lucky the bullet went through the inside of his leg without breaking the bone. By some miracle he wasn't killed and should make a complete recovery.

But this sorry S.O.B. could have very easily shot my mother. She was still walking down the driveway unbeknownst to him.

So I ask everyone PLEASE be very watchful of your animals if you live in this area. And if you are an avid hunter and have been using this hunting club I beg you PLEASE DON'T DO ANY MORE BUSINESS WITH HIM!

We don't know Delmer Bailey, but we feel he may have a great future in some police departments. 

Colbert County Gets Hip (Monument to Honor Sontarans Coming Soon)

In a daring yet calculated move, the Colbert County Commission has voted to place a monument honoring Sontarans on the court house lawn. One commissioner was even rumored to have claimed direct descent from this legendary race. 

Pictured below is an actual Sontaran:

Pictured here is an artist's conception of what the proposed monument will look like:

When asked how the Shoalanda blog uncovered the scoop, one writer allegedly quoted Hans Gruber's remarks on a classical education...

Disclaimer: We at SS greatly admire all public safety officers and feel they deserve more honor and respect than they usually receive. Firefighters should be more than a tourist joke.

Can't the Colbert Commission come up with something just a little more dignified?

Could Sheffield Go Bankrupt?

We had a reader ask us if Inspiration Landing could, should it fizzle, bankrupt the town? According to banking websites, cities go bankrupt over lawsuits and catastrophes. We're thinking Inspiration Landing could fall into the latter category.

What would that mean for the inhabitants? Reduced services in most areas with police and fire protection being the possible exceptions. Or...

Some smaller towns elect to unincorporate. We can see the area north of the railroad tracks joining Muscle Shoals, while the parcel to the south will become part of Tuscumbia. 

So if you like living in Sheffield, you'd better hope Inspiration Landing is a win-win!

Need a unique Christmas gift? Here it is:

Only 25.00 for these beautiful cutting boards at the Colbert Shelter on Missouri Street in Tuscumbia. No tax on these one of a kind gifts, and all proceeds benefit the shelter's medical fund.

If you need something for out-of-towners, there's always:

Murder in Muscle Shoals

New Inspiration Landing Groundbreaking: February 15th?

The City of Sheffield plans to borrow $5,583,000.00 for Inspiration Landing accoutrement. The city says the three loans may be paid off in four or five years. Okay, sure.

Mayor Ian Sanford has stated, according to the TimesDaily, groundbreaking should be somewhere between January 15th and February 15th. This is the third date presented for the initial groundbreaking on the first component of the project. 

We would like to see Inspiration Landing succeed; however, we're not holding our breaths. Did any citizens speak against these three loans? No. Did any ask questions. Only one. 

We often think of a quote concerning the UNA-China partnership debacle: They wouldn't have fallen for this in Zip City. 

Perfect Christmas Gift:

The Muscle Shoals: First Frontier of these United States

Questions about Recent Elections

Intimidation. It's a two-edged sword. Campaign workers standing outside polling places often intimidate voters, but sometimes they can become the intimidated. It happened last month in a local state senate race, and we'll have more on that later. First a little background on our state's possibly inadequate law.

If you're not familiar with Alabama's law on election day campaigners you may not be alone. Google tells us that all states mandate campaigners stand a certain distance from the actual polling place. The average distance is 142 feet; in Alabama it's only 30. Secretary of State John Merrill would like to see this distance lengthened, and a few state legislators have attempted to change the law over the years. One law maker who opposed modifying the current distance requirement stated he didn't want the state to waste time on frivolous bills. Would you like us to retype that last sentence just in case you thought you must have misread it?

We're pretty sure that many individuals are like us when it comes to measuring distance by sight alone. We can see them standing in front of a polling location thinking: Hmmm, my cousin Jack is exactly six feet tall, so if I pictured five of him lying in a straight line, that's as close as a campaigner may come to the building. In other words, it's not an exact science for most of us.

In the November election, at least one local campaign worker was attacked. We have only the basic information on the incident and have not seen the police report. If you have any specifics on this or any other attack on campaigners, we'd like to hear from you. Contact us at Shoalanda.Speaks@gmail.com.

To be continued...

Lauderdale BOE Hires School Consolidation Consultant

From a scholar who knows what cooks:

The Lauderdale County Board of Education has now signed a contract to pay $20,000 to a consultant from the Alabama Association of School Boards for a “Facilities Assessment & Strategic Plan”. Basically, the Board is paying $20,000 for someone to tell them how to consolidate schools – something they should already know how to do since they are all so richly experienced and so very well qualified in public school management.

So there you have a perfect example of the essential defect, that if anyone on this Board or in the district’s executive management had aptitude or intelligence equal to his responsibilities, the Board could have saved the district $20,000 for classroom use. I’m quite sure the many teachers who buy classroom materials out of their own pockets could make much better use of $20,000.

So let’s look at a summary of all the unnecessary expenditures made by this gaggle of incompetents we call a “board of education” in Lauderdale County:

$36,000+ for consultants to help the district transition to a new CFO, because the Board didn’t want to hear the truths the former CFO was giving them.

$610,000 to purchase land for an unneeded expansion of the the Board’s central office campus.

$250,000 annual and ongoing forfeiture of TVA In Lieu of Taxes revenues to the ill-conceived AG Center Consortium.

And tens of thousands of dollars in ongoing legal fees to stubbornly defend against an EEOC “equal pay” lawsuit that the Board is too obtuse to realize it is going to lose, not to mention the back-pay and penalties the school district will have to pay to the plaintiffs, which could easily top $1,000,000.

But alas, this is what the good people of Lauderdale County deserve, unless and until they decide to elect a higher caliber of leaders.

We trust everyone is happy with the school board, knowledgeable individuals that they are. Each elected because of the "R" after their name; as we all know that letter trumps an "I" or a "D" any day no matter how little education and expertise the person behind the "R" may actually have.

We urge all interested Lauderdale County citizens to attend the next school board meeting and ask questions. You elected these yahoos - let them know they can be unelected.

Life with the Canalers - Nick Winn

After Offending the Salvationists, Let's Try for the Satanists

Satanists? We're pretty sure that 99.99% of those who use the name simply like to spout that appellation to shock. They're young, they're atheists, they're whatever. Even the founding member of the Miami Church of Satan admits he merely wants to mock religion. That .01% of self-proclaimed Satanists who actually worship Old Scratch? They have some serious mental problems.

But maybe those who just like to shock have some very troubling problems as well. If a young person you know is constantly talking about how great Satan is and posting links to Satanic sites, he may not be a true Satanist, but he obviously has some problems. Sadly these problems often end in suicide.

If you know someone like that, please try to get them some help. You may make him mad, but you may also save his life.

Christmas is almost upon us. Last year we linked some John W. Morgan prints, and almost all of them sold immediately. Here's four more:

The Fisherman

The Medicine Man

Sunday Afternoon at Riverton Depot

Rogers Department Store

The Judge Was Wrong - No Trial for Chip Dillard This Year

In August of this year, the combined trial of Edward Ray (Chip) Dillard and Timothy Wylie Staggs was postponed until December 10th. At that time, Judge Mark Craig set the new date and stated the trial would definitely begin before the end of 2018. Craig seems to have erred in his calculations.

On November 30th, Dillard was transferred back to the Lauderdale County Detention Center, presumably for the start of the trial. Staggs was already in residence. Now Dillard has been transferred out of the LCDC.

According to court records, the new trial date is February 11th, with a motion hearing scheduled January 22nd. In May, it will be three years since Dillard and Staggs were arrested on human trafficking charges.

Will we finally have a trial in February? That's anyone's guess at this point. By that time, Chip Dillard will have been incarcerated 33 months. He no longer has a license to practice law in Alabama. We have no firm idea how many, if any, states would allow Dillard to take the bar exam should he be found not guilty of the charges against him. His future isn't that bright, so why not have the trial and get it over with?

Keith Lankford Moves on...Again/SA Donations?

Dr. Keith Lankford left Sheffield City Schools in mid-August to become an assistant superintendent in Mobile. Now he's on the move again. On November 14th, he was chosen to become the superintendent of Alexander City Schools. Many in Sheffield preferred him in Mobile which was much farther away.

Those who read our blog regularly know that we have always said readers should donate their money to whomever they wish, but that they should also be informed about the recipients of their donations. Earlier today we published a link about the Salvation Army Church. The main reasoning for the article would seem to be Christmas giving, but we received several mentions of the Red Cross as well. We'll stick with the SA for now since this is the time of year most individuals give to that organization.

Giving toys and money are two different things. Presumably, the local SA church doesn't have to send any portion of toys collected to its headquarters in Virginia. How much of the money donated locally goes to administrative costs? One reader sent us documentation that it was only seven cents on the dollar while a second reader sent documentation that it was 18 cents. So what is it really?

From our cursory research, only 82% of donations go to helping others. There is a separate charity called "Feed the Children;" if you give directly to that, 92% reaches the intended recipients.

So basically, if you send a $100.00 check to the SA, $18.00 of it will wind up in Alexandria, Virginia, to cover administrative costs. This is certainly lower than many charities, but you should be aware of this.

But wait...there's more. Of the $82.00 of your donation used to help others, there's no guarantee that it will be used locally. Is there anything wrong with the money being used to help wildfire victims in California? No. Yet most of us want our money to be used locally.

Such local charities as Room in the Inn utilize church workers to perform the administrative tasks. In other words, if you donate $100.00, the entire amount is used locally for the purpose you intended.

Isn't it a no-brainer?