A Flood of Protests in Muscle Shoals - Part III

 

“Daddy’s Boys” Have Flooded the City with Corruption

If any Muscle Shoals resident has been searching for their ongoing “Flood issue” answers, this article will explain everything. We are about to dive deep into Mike Lockhard’s deepest secrets.

Butch Fleming, and Ryan Kennedy are in charge of alleviating “water runoff” on city property’s, pertaining to Residential, Commercial, and Industrial city owned “right of ways”. Their sole responsibility is to engineer, construct, and divert excess “water runoff” to the retention ponds. They aren’t responsible for the retention ponds, but they are responsible for getting that water TO THE RETENTION PONDS. Weather that be having drainage ditches installed, culverts installed, piping installed, having dirt or slopes “graded” for proper water runoff, etc. 

 

Butch Fleming, Department Supervisor for the City of Muscle Shoals Public Works Department has been in this position for 25 years, this year(2025). Butch’s wife works at the Muscle Shoals Water Department. His father, Sol Fleming retired from TVA after 27 years of service, and he served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He was a Muscle Shoals home building contractor for more than 50 years. He was a member of Muscle Shoals Street Rod Club, Exchange Club, Muscle Shoals Planning Board and Highland Park Church of Christ. When the time came 25 years ago to hire the new public works department supervisor, it was an obvious choice as to who the City Council was going to hire. Everyone LOVED Sol Fleming, as he was a great man, with DEEP ties with Muscle Shoals politicians. So they hired his Son, Butch Fleming expecting the same greatness his dad had to one day shine over this lovely city. 

Now on to Ryan Kennedy, the Muscle Shoals Public Works Assistant Director(2nd in command). Ryan’s wife is a School Nurse in a Muscle Shoals School. Ryan has been employed with the city for 18 years. Ryan’s great uncle owned Arnold’s Truck Stop on Hwy 72, and his Grandmother owned Jody’s Restaurant next door. His Grandmother fed City Council members, civil service board members, Policeman, Fireman, and political figures HUNDREDS OF TIMES FOR FREE. Don’t believe us? Ask any retired City of Muscle Shoals Affiliate. On the very night Ryan was hired to begin his career with the City of Muscle Shoals, his father (a Retired City of Muscle Shoals Assistant Fire Chief) coincidentally bought a Quizno’s dinner for each and every Civil Service Board member. As you would expect, with full belly’s and happy hearts, they all 5 chose to hire Mr. Kennedy.  

All of this is so wrong in so many ways…if “Nepotism” had a story to tell, this is it sadly…but this is ONLY THE BEGINNING. 

Butch and Ryan are over the Public works department, containing the “Street Dept” and the “Sanitation Dept”. The Street Department is the group that is responsible for being told how to properly alleviate water runoff, install catch basins, install pipes, etc. Under the mismanaged leadership of Mike Lockhard, Butch Fleming, and Ryan Kennedy, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars have been spent on Pipe, which has been sitting UNUSED for several years. While homes flood, these unused pipes continue to waste away as no plans are drawn up for installation. 

Also last month, amidst all this mismanaged money, Lockhard purchased 2 BRAND NEW FORD F-150’s for the public works Department. One going to Butch, and the other going to Joseph Campbell (Sanitation Dept Lead), totaling a WHOPPING $116,000!!!!!

Not only is the department's money, projects, and time being mismanaged, the Street Department is short 2 employees. Both of which were FIRED THIS MONTH!!! Let us explain. In October of 2024, Megan Scott was hired by the Civil Service board to be a Laborer at the Street Department. The first female employee to work for the Street Department in MUSCLE SHOALS HISTORY. She is an extremely hard working single mother, with a kind heart that can’t be matched. Her spirit radiates to everyone she comes in contact with. Over the course of the following months, she was bullied, made fun of, sexually harassed, cussed out, and discriminated against for being a hard working young woman. 

As time passed, they bullied her to the extremes. Making her get up in a bucket truck with NO PRIOR TRAINING, running equipment with NO PRIOR TRAINING, all because they wanted to MAKE FUN OF HER FOR NOT KNOWING HOW TO RUN EQUIPMENT SHE WAS NEVER TRAINED ON. With hate in their hearts, Butch and Ryan made a plan to fire her. Several days before her 6 month probation period ended, she was told by both Ryan and Butch that she was not performing “as well as the men”, and was tested on her physical ability to “perform her job properly”. Later that day, Human Resources Director Jalen Johnson was called down to the Department, and they made Megan form a catch basin, pour the catch basin with hundreds of pounds of concrete, and smooth it off as it dries. Keep in mind, this job is always performed with 5 or more MEN AT ONE TIME. 

Noticing this horrific mistreatment of a single mother, Senior Equipment Operator of 23 years Chad Gibson walked down there and expressed his safety concerns, and expressed how this situation “was not in any way, shape, or form” a way to test out the new employees ability to keep her job. She also had not once in her entire time at the Street Department ever poured a catch basin. After it was all said and done, she executed the job perfectly. Overjoyed with excitement, she felt as if she was in the clear. The next day, Chad and Megan were both fired for “being defiant, and ill mannered” the previous day. 

Megan was fired 3 days before her 6 month probation period ended, and Chad Gibson was fired after 23 years of service. Chad is considered a Hero to stand up to the tyranny of the “Daddy’s Boys”, and knew what they were doing to Megan was morally unacceptable. We need Chad and Megan back working for the Muscle Shoals Street Department, as both were extremely valuable employees. The EEOC has gotten involved with Megan’s case, and Chad has taken legal action to get his job back. 

The only thing that will stop Butch and Ryan is a NEW MAYOR...Muscle Shoals, LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mic Dropped...