Body of Lotus House Patient Found

 

Laci Whitson was a resident of Fayette, but had been living at the Lotus Recovery House located on East Mobile Street in Florence. According to her father, Laci left her job at a local Walmart with a male friend. Her companion's name is known to law enforcement, but he has not been charged with anything at this time.

Laci's family became concerned about her and contacted law enforcement in the Fayette area. Unfortunately, this weekend her body was found wrapped in a blanket in a wooded area. Her companion has stated she left his home walking.

If you have any information about this case, please call the Fayette County Sheriff's Office at 205-932-3206.

*****

This is all too similar to the Jessica Hamby case. Let's all pray for justice for Laci and peace for her family.

Not a Christian Document?

 

Due to a comment on the meaning of our criticism of the editorial, for those who aren't Bible scholars, the Ten Commandments are not Christian at all - they are Jewish. Nine of the commandments are reiterated in the New Testament.

Often when reading the 1819 News, we have to check to be sure it's not really The Babylon Bee. A recent article on the Ten Commandments by Lt. Col. John Eidsmoe stated: ...the 10 Commandments are not exclusively a Christian document. (June 26th opinion column)

He goes on to say that everyone in the United States should follow the law God gave Moses. Perhaps he's a Seventh Day Adventist...or perhaps he simply wouldn't know Shabbat from Halloween.

Someone please send him a copy of Dumbth.

****

There's an interesting take on our current president. A neuropsychiatrist has theorized that Biden has a form of Parkinson's. That would explain a lot, but what about Andy?

Look What I Got at the Betterton's Yard Sale!

"TimesDaily" Motto? "Our Priorities Are Always Skewed"

 

A critic of Florence government has also recently been highly critical of our local rag the TimesDaily. We agree; we've never seen the news outlet question those in control of local governments or institutions. Since we've been writing this blog, we've seen two writers quickly leave the scene when they wrote something that didn't reflect well on the area.

When citizens should be encouraged to attend the next Florence Council meeting, what do we get? A fluff piece on a group that wants to kill gays, demean women, and create a vast financial empire both here and across the pond while the poor suffer. Yes, TD readers have just been treated to another article on the woes and wonders of the Salvationists.

****

We used to worry about Mitt Romney becoming president because he wore Mormon "holy" underwear. Ahhh, those were the days...

Florence District 2 Needs Its Own Attorney

 

Mail from our readers is indicating a "No" to the possibility of Jackie Hendrix as Rep. Jordan's replacement by four to one. Could this happen legally? We believe it could not, but District 2 obviously needs its own attorney to sort through this.

First, Florence is a Class 5 municipality. Cities with over 12K residents do things differently from smaller towns. Looking at the Alabama Code, it appears an election is called for.

While that should be the definitive answer to the problem of replacing District 2 councilman Dick Jordan, some suggested consulting the handbook for Alabama municipalities. The handbook was updated in 2020; however, part of the entry on replacing a Class 5 council member refers to a 1957 court ruling. This does not inspire confidence in its interpretation of the law.

Surely there are a number of legal eagles living in District 2 who would be willing to attend the Tuesday, July 2nd meeting where fireworks are expected. No one should want Tricky Dicky v. 2.0 as a replacement for Mr. Nepotism. 

Don't say "Let George do it." George left with the brain drain three decades ago.

Look into my eyes. I know what's best for you.

Who's On "OnlyFans?"

 

Someone recently asked us if we would take an ad for an OnlyFans page. We were a little taken aback by the question, but decided to find out more.

Apparently not all pages are, shall we say, pin-ups. Probably the majority are, but here are the categories the site lists:

Have a page that isn't risque? Then, sure, we'd love to advertise your cooking videos. That goes for YouTube as well.

Have a page that qualifies as porn? Go back to college!

Important: City Council Mtg July 2nd

 

Will Dick Jordan really be gone by the July 2nd Florence City Council meeting? 

Will nefarious individuals attempt to circumvent the law on council member replacements for a city the size of Florence?

If you want the answers to these questions and to make a difference in Florence District 2, you need to be at the 5:00 p.m. meeting!

*****

What the law says for a town of at least 40K:

VACATED TERM OF ONE (1) YEAR OR MORE. If the vacated term of the council member has one (1) year or more remaining, the council shall call for a special election to be held in the district of the vacated council position, within thirty (30) days of the occurrence of the vacancy. The election shall be held not less than sixty (60) days, nor more than ninety (90) days from the date the council called the special election. Special elections called pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted as provided by the general election laws of the state regarding municipal elections.

Casey White Parole?

 

The positive identification of the body of Casey White's half-brother in Town Creek has pointed out another weakness in our state's administrative ability. Right hand - left hand and all that.

According to a statement from the Lauderdale District Attorney's office, Casey will be eligible for parole in 2081 when he's 98. That doesn't mean his parole is automatic, just that he's eligible for a hearing.

What does the DOC say? That site indicates Casey will be eligible in January 2061 when he's approximately 77 or 78. 

How much damage could Casey do at 78, assuming he lives that long? It might depend on how many female jailers he has helping him..

Poll in Florence Mayoral Race

 

Florence District 3 Councilman Bill Griffin, currently the only announced candidate for mayor of the Renaissance City. 

The mayoral election of 2020 was perhaps the most important election Florence had seen in fifty years, if ever. Andy Betterton, pushed by certain interests, has proved inept and, in many cases, completely changed the course of the city's direction.

In a little over a year, we have a chance to right the ship of state in Florence. Let's make sure we get it right this time.

Want to express your opinion now? Vote here:

VOTE

Thirty Arrests in Nine Years...Now This

 

Note: This parasite on society once broke into a home belonging to a friend. This commentary will in no way be without bias.

Michael Joe Kirkland Jr. - He's had 30 separate arrests in Florence/Lauderdale since 2015. That's arrests; he's had well over 100 charges. Now he's back in the news.

On Saturday, he broke into the home of two women. One was 76; the other was 79. We don't know their health status, but at 34, Kirkland could have easily overpowered them. He likes to prey on women. Perhaps there are those at the LCDC who like to prey on men like Kirkland.

Now he's specifically charged with Burglary, Theft, Assault, and Sodomy, all in the first degree. He's being held without bond at this time. 

As we've mentioned before, indictments often up First Degree Assault charges to Attempted Murder. We sincerely hope that's the case here. This man does not deserve to see the light of day for the next seventy-five years or so.

We don't have any updates on the conditions of Kirkland's two victims. The older woman is at UAB, and we're sure both will have hospital bills that Kirkland will never be able to reimburse. If anyone starts a GoFundMe for the victims, please let us know.

When the Night Comes Falling

 

Love a good murder? If you answered yes and have an extra thirty bucks, you definitely need to purchase Howard Blum's newest work. Most murders are sad, but the death of four young people at the hands of a monster defies words. 

We'll give you one hint: Blum thinks Kohberger did it, and many are comparing him to Ted Bundy. Yet many others think the Moscow, Idaho, police chose to make an arrest while under pressure and believe the doctoral student will be found not guilty.

The true crime best-seller will be released on Tuesday. If you purchase it, be sure to send us a review:

Order on Amazon

 

Florence District 2 Special Election?

 

While Dick Jordan has indicated his successor will be appointed, that is not the law. Three things can now happen:

1. There will be a special election.

2. Jordan can remain in office for two extra months, and his replacement can be appointed legally.

3. The council can flout the law and appoint a new representative (there are at least two who would then sue the city).

This will be interesting to watch...

*****

Thanks to Vote Em All Out and River Zurinsky for their input. According to Mr. Zurinsky, this issue may affect at least 2,811 who voted in the previous district election.

The law for a city of 40,000:

(2) VACATED TERM OF ONE (1) YEAR OR MORE. If the vacated term of the council member has one (1) year or more remaining, the council shall call for a special election to be held in the district of the vacated council position, within thirty (30) days of the occurrence of the vacancy. The election shall be held not less than sixty (60) days, nor more than ninety (90) days from the date the council called the special election. Special elections called pursuant to this subsection shall be conducted as provided by the general election laws of the state regarding municipal elections.

Jordan to Step Down July 1st

 

Florence Council member Dick Jordan has announced that he's stepping down on July 1st, over one year before the end of his term. He's promoting Party Pros owner Jackie Hendrix (pictured) to take his place.

Hendrix mentioned Jordan had been in city government over 30 years. Try 45: Back home in Florence after graduation from Auburn in 1966, Jordan began his career at the M.J. Carter Insurance Company. He first ran for and was elected to the Florence City Commission in 1979. When the commission form of government changed to a city council, Jordan was on the inaugural panel representing District 2 in 1984. - Shoals Tatler

However, just because Hendrix has Jordan's backing, don't assume he has the job. It will be interesting to see who else may be on the horizon.

*****

Speaking of the Tatler, we've been waiting on the second part of his article on how the Yankees took Florence.

Down on the Drag with Bare Facts and Even Barer Bottoms

 

The Florence city council meeting for 06/18 had what seemed like very “diverse” topics. First off, there was a request for a rate hike on utilities from manager Mary McDuffa at the work session. This was in conjunction with an item on the consent agenda titled “Resolution to approve the Retail Rate Schedule Substation Agreement”. She was quick to point out that this was “something the utilities committee approved and was necessitated by TVA. It would be approximately $5.00 a month more for commercial customers and $3.00 a month more for residential. The council all seemed to wholeheartedly agree it was the fault of “mean old TVA” that caused this rate increase. Nobody seemed to hear Ms. McDuffa state “something the utilities committee approved”. She further stated it could have been done all at once, but the utility department had decided to “phase the increase to the customers in stages”.

The council seemed to almost praise her for this action. Bill Griffin went as far as to give an example of how Florence utilities lost close to one million dollars in revenue when the city was caught in a snow event which had the area without power for 7 to 10 days. “TVA had raised rates, but Florence had not” he said. Ms. McDuffa backed this up and further stated that due to the heavy volume during the cold weather when the rates went up the utility department had to pay the difference between the TVA rate and what was charged to the Florence utility customer by paying out of “their own funds”. WHOSE FUNDS? Are they not ALL taxpayer money paid to the city. This was a very enlightening little conversation, and I would highly recommend that everyone reading this watch the recording of the live stream on the city of Florence Facebook page. Also, a reminder, Mr. Griffin wants to replace Andy Betterton as mayor. Kaytrina Simmons said while she understood the utility department’s position, she represented a district with many poor and elderly residents. She would vote no on the rate hike. She was the lone dissenting vote. Be prepared to pay “a little more” as Mary McDuffa sold it from the podium.

Two more points of interest in the work session. One was a “change order” from Bill Jordan, department head of parks and recreation. This was for an additional amount of $100,000 to be added to the cost of construction of the “tennis & pickleball” complex at Veteran’s Park to be paid to Craig construction. Mr. Jordan explained that a post that somehow would be obstructing the view from one of the courts needed to be moved. This was somehow going to obstruct vision while “playing” one of the “sports” and presented a safety hazard. I was confused as to why this was a problem and still do not know what blocked a player's vision. 

Nonetheless, the item was immediately brought up for approval of the council by Jimmy Oliver. It was seconded and passed unanimously. So, add another $100k to the $9,000,000.00+ that is being spent on this “project”. The second item of interest for me at the work session was really confusing. Andy Betterton sponsored a resolution to establish a “public education building authority” with UNA. The lawyer for UNA, Amber Fite Morgan came to the podium and explained this was an agreement with the city for UNA to create a “real estate” foundation named “1830” to fund the new stadium. No explanation was given as to where the name came from*. Ms. Morgan said this was a funding mechanism that would help with raising the capital for building projects at UNA, specifically the stadium. She further stated that a resolution from the city was necessary since the stadium was being built within the city limits. The bottom line for her “pitch” was that this resolution would in no way obligate the city to spend any taxpayer dollars to fund the foundation. Think Eugene Sak and his pitch at the last council meeting for the REVERB hotel. Once again, to this reporter the parable of the old woman and the snake come to mind.

The meeting itself sailed along smoothly with the council passing all the consent and regular agenda items without much discussion and controversy. That was reserved for the remarks from the public when David Carson came to the microphone. June is gay pride month. It is celebrated by gay people all over the world with parades and gatherings. For the past few years, it appears there has been some sort of celebration in Florence. On June 8th the Shoals Diversity Center had a gathering to celebrate “Pride” in Wilson Park. Part of the festivities was a drag performance in which a female impersonator performed. The “show” was recorded and posted on You Tube. In the video, the “drag queen” can be seen lip syncing to a song in front of the fountain at the park. In his remarks, Mr. Carson made it clear he did not approve of celebrating being gay period and “drag” shows in general. But, to him the attire the performer was wearing was the most offensive. In the You Tube video; it can be seen there was some type of see through cape revealing a prominent view of “the performer's” bare behind save for a “thong”. During the show several children were seen present in the park. Mr. Carson stated that while he did not approve of the gay lifestyle and “drag” shows, his main concern was that this performance by the drag queen was in public around children in the daylight in Florence. And dressed or lack thereof as shown in the You Tube video. To him a line had been crossed.

When it was Jimmy Oliver’s turn to make councilperson’s remarks, he stated that he had received several complaints from constituents about this performance at “Pride at the park” and agreed with some portions of David Carson’s remarks regarding this entertainer’s outfit. He further stated that there were city laws on the books regarding “how much of your clothing you can remove” in a building. Let alone in a park. Mr. Oliver went on to say that while it appears parents willingly took their children to this event, that does not mean there were not innocent children passing by who were unaware of what was “going on” and would “get an eye full.” He said the council had been made aware of the complaints he had received about this event and hopes to have further discussions about it.

Two subjects that have been in the news lately were not mentioned by a council member or the public at this meeting. The approximately $2.5 million the city has been reported to owe the county in back taxes from retail package alcohol sales and the $70 million price tag as stated to a WAAY 31 television reporter by Tad Cole, water and sewer manager, regarding the cost to remove PFA’s from the drinking water that would be passed on to the consumer in the form of rate hikes. You must have priorities!

* As for the name 1830, that is the year Lagrange College was founded. For sketchy reasons, the University of North Alabama has always claimed that date as well.

Dead Because of Gambling?

 

You have to wonder:

* What were two unrelated Shoals teen boys doing in a motel room rented by a 30ish male early on a Sunday morning?

* Where did the 16 year-old get a gun?

* Was a gambling debt seen as something worth two lives?

*****

According to Google, kids now start to gamble between the ages of 10 and 12. They're addicted by the age of 16. 

Are we living in a St.Trinian's movie?

Father's Day 2024

 

If you have children, your most important job is that of parent. Young ones need both parents; fathers, hang in there. You'll get your payback when you're a grandfather.

Happy Father's Day from all of us at...

Shoalanda Speaks

Sheffield Down in the Dumps with Last Place

 

The retention component of the Alabama Literacy Act, passed in 2019, becomes effective with this year's third graders. In simple terms, it means a third grader could be retained, or held back, if the child is not reading on grade level before August 2024.

So how are towns in the Shoals/Northwest Alabama doing? Here's a rundown of passing rate percentages:

Florence - 93

Muscle Shoals - 96.7

Russellville - 92.4

Sheffield - 76.9

Tuscumbia - 95

How do you think Sheffield parents will react if 23.1% of this year's third grade is held back? That's 23 out of every 100 students who are failing their simplest academic subject.

At least Sheffield still has Inspiration Landing...

Once Again, Andy is Wrong

 

The owner of Florence Mall is tearing down the end anchor slots, the former Sears and J.C. Penney stores. While this is an interesting story in itself, a comment by Mayor Andy Betterton is newsworthy for other reasons.

Betterton told the TimesDaily: The mall opened in the early 1970s.

While most people may not remember when every major local event happened, they can at least place most fairly accurately by associating them with other events in their lives. According to his LinkedIn bio, Betterton attended UNA from 1971 until 1976. What year did the mall open?

It opened its doors in August 1978, two years after Andy says he left UNA. Most of us would have remembered not having a mall during our college years if that had been the case, but not our mayor. Still others would have invested the five or so minutes to have looked up the date if unsure. Not Andy.

Betterton doesn't seem too concerned with the handwriting on the retail wall at Florence Square. Now there's less revenue for city, county, and state as far as property taxes, and no hope for new tenants in stores that no longer exist.

How are those surprise liquor taxes going, Andy?

Who Dropped the Lauderdale Ball in 1990?

 

The above law has just "come to light." Several Lauderdale towns owe the county money dating back to 1984 when Florence legalized alcohol sales. Indeed, they owe A LOT of money. 

But wait, here's a copy of a short news story from 1989:

So, did our guys in Montgomery at that time fail to follow through? Looking at the current law, it appears that's the case.

We have to ask why Judge Hanbery didn't follow up with this? If it remained law all these years, why didn't Hanbery, or at least someone in the county, want it enforced?

There's a strange odor here...

John Wahl Supports Hunter Biden?!!!

 

Limestone's John Wahl, head of the state Republican Party, has stated that as much as he dislikes the Biden family, he supported Hunter in his recent trial. The charge of an addict securing/possessing a gun was simply to hurt the Second Amendment. Really?

Wahl apparently hasn't been paying attention to arrests around the state. Pictured above is a Franklin County booking record; note the third charge. We doubt there was anything political about Underwood's arrest. (It was the most recent example that we found online.)

Wahl never seems to engage his brain before he speaks...

*****

A Southern Baptist spokesman stated today after the historic anti-IVF vote that it might take 50 years to make IVF illegal, but that was the group's aim. That statement comes at a time when 78% to 86% of the population supports the procedure.

We're supporting better biology instruction in schools.

Head of Southern Baptist Seminary Says IVF is "Immoral"

 

We once read an article that mentioned Southern Baptists at one time laughed at the Catholic Church and its teaching on induced abortion. We know that the Baptists' own literature up until the end of the 1980s declared that such things were up to the individual. 

Now the head of the Southern Baptist Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler, has declared IVF to be an "assault upon human dignity" and "immoral." Mohler also mentions his belief that fertilization is tantamount to conception. Is it?

From Rachel Gold: The question of when life begins is an eternal one, debated by philosophers and theologians for centuries, and likely destined to forever elude consensus. However, on the separate but closely related question of when a woman is considered pregnant, the medical community has long been clear: Pregnancy is established when a fertilized egg has been implanted in the wall of a woman's uterus.

Unless they're doing something down at UAB that we don't know about, absolutely NO embryos are going to progress to a fetus unless they're implanted in a uterus. Nada. Zilch.

We don't know if Dr. Mohler does much pulpit preaching, but we can only imagine how hurtful it would be for a child who owed its existence to IVF to have to hear that they should never have been born. Our advice to those children? Mohler probably couldn't find a uterus on an OB/GYN's office wall, so don't worry about it.

Did Sheffield Violate the Open Meetings Act?

 

1. All multi-member governing bodies are covered by Alabama's Open Meetings Act.

2. A meeting is defined as a gathering of an elected body with over half the members present.

3. Preliminary agendas must be posted in the same location and manner as that of the meeting itself.

If the City of Sheffield has followed the rules, obviously no violation occurred. Yet has the City behaved ethically? Two entirely different things.

Mayor Steve Stanley recently commented to the TimesDaily that the council was under no obligation of inform Meal Barrel director Penny Freeman that it would be discussing that organization's lease. Surely Ms. Freeman had a right to speak on the issue?

Stanley, like Florence mayor Andy Betterton, must know that his days in office are numbered. Does he not care that he came across as a vengeful tyrant?

*****

J. Redmon Asks "All of Them?"

Lauderdale License Commissioner's Office is a Clown Show

 

From a Lauderdale reader:

I'm going to try to stick with the bad treatment I've seen directed at other citizens, but I HAVE to mention this incident. Years ago (long before Pettus) I tried to get a title on a vehicle I had inherited from out of state. The clerk asked if my relative planned on driving it again. I had to reply that I was pretty sure my cousin planned on remaining dead.

On to Rodney Pettus, who I'm told is the brother of that skalawag Philip Pettus, I've recently seen the following in his office -

It took two clerks to run the reception desk. Who's paying them? Oh, yeah, us.

A clerk told a customer his tag was due on Sept. 31st.

A clerk asked a customer to bring his vehicle up under the "awning" since she didn't feel like walking all the way to the parking lot. Then, I swear, she couldn't get out of her chair without help.

A clerk walked away from a customer and didn't come back. Finally some pioneer looking person came to help the couple.

This isn't a government office, it's a clown show. 

Sigh...that's sad, but just look at the photo of Pettus. He's a county department head and he's dressed for polo. Maybe it was casual Friday?

Before we place all the blame for an inferior state on our legislature, perhaps we should take a look at our counties.

What to Do When You Get Bad Service

 

The past few months we've had readers ask us what to do about:

1. Bad construction from a Florence window company

2. Bad service from a Colbert hardware company

3. Unbelievable service from a Florence florist

We've always heard that the gold standard is a bad review sent to the Better Business Bureau. Here's some other ideas that may work for you:

If the seller does not resolve the issue, a government office, a consumer organization, or the legal system may be able to help.

File a complaint with government or consumer programs

• File a complaint with your local consumer protection office.
• Notify the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in your area about your problem. The BBB tries to resolve complaints against companies.
• If you think you may have experienced a scam, report it to the FTC. They may not resolve your problem, but they use complaints to help them investigate fraud.
• Contact econsumer.gov if you are complaining about items you bought online from a seller outside the U.S.

Seek legal help for your complaint about a company

If contacting the company, a government agency, or a consumer organization does not work:

• You may be able to resolve your problem through the legal system. Find free or low-cost legal help.
• Consider an alternative dispute resolution process, such as arbitration, conciliation, or mediation.

We recently purchased a horrible product from an eBay seller. It was so unlike the description/photo that we felt we had to give a bad review. We were contacted by the seller who offered a 50% refund if we would remove the unflattering critique. If after trying all these methods and still not reaping results, just remember that these businesses won't be open very long to cheat others.

Tomorrow: A lackadaisical county government office

Where Were the Weather Sirens?

 

Sitting in our Florence office Wednesday afternoon, we heard the mesmerizing sound of rain drops. It was a minor inconvenience at worst.

Slightly to the south of the Shoals, the weather brought something else - an EF-1 tornado in Marion County (pictured above). Unfortunately, weather sirens didn't put in an appearance.

This has gotten to be all too common - especially in Colbert County, we hear.  During a busy day, not everyone has a chance to check online for alerts or is close enough to their cell phones to hear the warnings.

Many of us remember the 1974 tornadoes, as well as the more recent 2011 disastrous outbreak. Let's hope everyone is more prepared when the next bad weather arrives. 

If you didn't hear your neighborhood sirens, contact your county commission. Better a disgruntled commissioner than a dead child.

*****

Experiencing bad customer service? Send us your stories.

Loo the Rock Snake Has a New Home

 

The Waterloo Fire Department has now adopted Lou the rock snake. Children will still be able to add their painted rocks to Lou's body and get a thrill when they point theirs out to their friends.

We hope everyone thanks the Waterloo fire chief for his kind heart and interest in helping the kiddos. Perhaps he'll run for mayor next year?

*****

If you're hearing rumors about Florence's Red Lobster, we haven't seen a list of the next round of closings. Interestingly, news reports say 100, 135, 150 stores may close. Don't they know themselves?

Stanley Hides Behind Sanford; Ian Contradicts Himself

 

An Actual Sheffield Pothole from March 2018

Did Steve Stanley defend himself at the latest town council meeting? No...he had Ian Sanford speak for him. This is a new one on us. Who will be speaking at the next meeting? Andy Betterton?

The powers that be knew to circle the wagons at the meeting; Sheffield citizens would be attending in record numbers. Their solution was to have a former mayor speak to calm the natives? Where was Steve Stanley during all this? Hiding in the men's room?

Sanford at one time stated the current Meal Barrel location was being used rent free. Then he announced it was actually being rented out at $100.00 a year. Which is it?

While we admit that a C-note isn't much these days, the next time we see Ian with his latest squeeze (they come and go) at a local restaurant, we're going to pretend to be his server just for the tip.

Then Ian really put his foot in his two-sided mouth when he stated the Meal Barrel served many who didn't live in Sheffield, so the City government shouldn't be expected to provide or help search for a facility. In case anyone doesn't know, Sheffield has the lowest yearly income and highest unemployment of any of the Shoals' four largest towns.

Sheffield, your leadership is non-existent. How many lawsuits does it now have filed against it...and the police department?

Make some noise!