Who Can View Lauderdale Ambulance Bids?

Are the recently closed bids for a new Lauderdale County ambulance contract public or private? Apparently Lauderdale Commission attorney Chris Smith and administrator Brenda Bryant weren't sure themselves.

Waterloo resident Hank Thomas requested to see the bids from Lauderdale EMS (a division of Keller EMS) and Shoals Ambulance (a new to the area company founded by Bryan Gibson), at which time he was refused. Mr. Thomas then sent this e-mail:

Ms. Bryant and Mr. Smith, I have contacted Ms. Monica Sheeler, assistant attorney general; of the Alabama Attorney Generals office. She works in the department of Public Affairs and deals with FOIA questions.She advised me that if the Ambulance bids had closed and could not be changed nor altered, then it is allowable for citizens to review and/or purchase copies in her opinion .It is my understanding the bids closed on August 2, 2012 and the bidders cannot change the bids in any manner.   She advised the only exception she was aware of was if by my viewing the documents it would be "A Detriment to Public Safety". Please advise if there are other reasons I would not be allowed to view or purchase copies of the documents.

Some days later, Ms. Bryant again e-mailed Mr. Thomas:

After review by this office and Chris Smith we have researched the law  41-16-24(b) and 41-16-27(c)and we have discussed with the Association of County Commissions legal department. At the present time the bid documents are being used to make comparisons and basically is being used as a “work product”. The rebid is very large and has to be reduced and summarized into spread sheets so that the commissioners and city council can compare the bids. However by the end of the week, Thursday or Friday you are welcome to come down the  office and review the bids. Due to the size we are unable to make copies due to time constraints  but you are welcomed to use an office and review the contents. The bids can’t leave the office. If I can be of further assistance please feel free to contact me.

Once the bids have been reviewed, we'll publish an update.

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Franklin County's unemployment rate was 9.6% in June; last month it was 9.7%. For every 1,000 workers in Franklin, 97 don't have jobs--that's not a cheery thought. Now the Franklin Pharmacy compounding facility is reportedly closing. We're going to predict the unemployment rate won't be going down for August. From Pen N Sword:

Franklin Pharmacy's Compounding Center

Shoalanda

Chip Dillard Exhonerated of Charge

On August 25, 2010, a Huntsville television station published a report concerning Florence attorney Edward Ray (Chip) Dillard. We picked up the report and blogged on August 27th concerning the attorney's arrest for "lewd" behavior. The problem? There was no lewd behavior.

Dillard is partner to Lauderdale County Commission attorney Chis Smith who was widely reported at the time to be a candidate to succeed retiring probate judge Dewey Mitchell. Our main thrust in the blog was the impact such charges would have on Smith's candidacy. While Smith, for whatever reason, did not run, both Democratic and Republican candidates for the position are juris doctors, and the office will now be in good hands.

Obviously, we also have a major interest in protecting local children; however, no children were present at the UNA lion habitat when the incident occurred. Yes, this was also reported by the television station, but we have been forwarded copies of both the original arrest report and a later December 2011 Lauderdale County District Court affidavit by Robert G. Pastula, head of UNA police, stating that no children were present at the time Dillard urinated in bushes while well covered.

We do wish Mr. Dillard had contacted us earlier concerning this outcome. We are happy to publish followups and corrections on any issue on which we comment.



Shoalanda

Saving Santa

Saving Santa

By J.J. Ray

Local attorney and Zip City resident Janice Keeton has agreed to represent Santa. He appeared before Republican Judge Carol Medley this morning. Judge Medley set bond at $100.00, which was immediately posted by some local citizens. Sheriff Ronnie Willis was chided for using the combined SWAT Teams from Muscle Shoals and Florence to affect the arrest as they were training in the Zip City community.

The eight reindeer have been placed in protective custody and have gone on an apparent hunger strike because of the loss of their owner. Keeton referred to the arrest of the portly old soul as, “A travesty of justice by Commissioner Rhea Tays Michael Fulmer and nothing more than headline grabbing by Chris Smith”. Sheriff Willis had no comment at this time as he was still yawning.

Judge Medley has ordered a competency hearing for the purported Santa and is going to settle the case before Christmas Eve. District Attorney Chris Connolly notified the press that he would personally undertake the prosecution of this case. He stated in an interview that, “The county and nation has to be protected form usurpers like this because in my opinion there is no such person as Santa Claus and on top of that he is probably a Republican. I am sure the Attorney General Eric Holder will send some help down from Washington. There is also a possibility that this person could be an 'Illegal Alien'”.

Commissioner Rhea Tays Michael Fulmer stated in an interview that it was her sworn duty to protect the county from trash like this. Apparently the SWAT team could not locate any reflective cones to put around the sleigh as Commissioner Fulmer had ordered them locked up to keep them away from the EMA director lest he once again use them for something other than county business.

One of the arresting officers said at the scene, “This was a huge and smelly mess”, speaking of the debris left by the eight reindeer. He also stated that he could not understand the constant smile on the face of Commissioner Rhea Tays Michael Fulmer as the cuffs were placed on Santa. He related the smile as “Grinch Like”.

Here’s hoping that Attorney Keeton can affect a resolution of this case soon as the days are getting short before Christmas Eve. I will report from the Trial as it progresses.

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There seems to be several new Christmas songs out this year. Here are some we predict will become classics:

Please Unwrap Me, Santa by Thelma & the Thongs

Viagra on the Niagara by Chuck Lansdell with backup by Hugh Hefner

Oh, Traffic Cone, Oh, Traffic Cone by Rhea & the Commissioners

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It's going to be cold for the next few days; please remember to bring in your pets or provide them with warm bedding and drinkable water.


Shoalanda

Santa Arrested in Lauderdale County

Zip City: Reports of an illegally parked red and white sleigh in northern Lauderdale County brought Commissioner Rhea Tays Michael Fulmer and County Attorney Chris Smith out in the cold early this morning. While investigating the case of felony parking, the two also discovered eight cases of animal cruelty.

A reluctant and sleepy Sheriff Ronnie Willis arrested the sleigh's portly owner, an elderly man with no known local address. He's currently being held without bail in the Florence-Lauderdale Detention Center.

Fulmer and Smith immediately called a press conference to announce this was only the tip of the north polar iceberg. Sources say we can expect the arrest of approximately one hundred elves before the end of the month.

Fulmer and Smith's Republican opposition in the 2012 county elections have announced their own investigation into the matter, stating that the arrest serves no purpose in deterring county crime. Privately they have also suggested there may not be a Christmas for anyone under the age of ten this year.

When asked about this possible repercussion of the arrest and subsequent impoundment of the sleigh, both Fulmer and Smith referred all questions to a furry green man in the company of a small dog with antlers. More on this as it develops.

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Cherokee: The Cherokee Lions Club served almost 150 guests at its annual Breakfast with Santa. Congratulations to all these Lions and Lionettes for a job well done.

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The Shoals: Be aware of a new phone scam similar to the one involving Listerhill Credit Union last year. The current phone calls involve SunTrust bank and have been traced to Honduras. SunTrust is aware of this new scam, but if you should receive a call purporting to be from another institution, be sure to report it to the bank or credit union referenced.

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If you've had problems viewing the new Internet magazine The Connection, these glitches should now be taken care of. Part II in their investigative report on Rhea Fulmer's ethics complaint against George Grabryan is scheduled for early in the week. We look forward to their in depth look into what has become a misuse of both county time and state resources.


Shoalanda

Howard Keeton's Word?/Ambiguous Bill?

County Commissioner Troy Woodis said it appears the board has given away control to Huntsville - Sunday's TimesDaily.


Appearances aren't always what they seem, but if they were, it took all of 15 minutes for the Helen Keller Board to "give away control" of Colbert County's only not-for-profit hospital. You, gentle reader, know that it was a done deal long before the board met that fateful morning. Now, not just Woodis, but the entire Colbert County Commission is up in arms over the pact with Huntsville Hospital.

Was the board wrong? Certain HKH members have now stated that more public discussion should have gone into the preliminaries, but we doubt the board expected the backlash, especially from the Colbert County Commission. Why?

As recently as six weeks ago, Colbert County Commission Chairman Howard Keeton said he would leave such decisions up to the HKH Board (TimesDaily August 19th). Can we blame the hospital board for taking him at his word?

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New Lauderdale Bill ambiguous? There was some discussion in local forums as to the authorship of a local bill that, if passed, would establish a separate County Commission Chairman, a position how held by the Probate Judge. Looking back at records in the TimesDaily, County attorney Chris Smith and Administrator Jenoice Bevis were the authors of the bill. We're sure the bill has been tweaked several times since its inception; voters should remember that passage of the bill will cost taxpayers at least 30K per year.

We say at least since, while there has been much talk of Dewey Mitchell's retirement, there has been no official announcement of such. Should he continue in his role as Lauderdale Probate Judge, the extra cost to taxpayers would be much more--the additional 30K reflects an entry level salary for both positions.

Speaking of Chris Smith, he's rumored to be running for the probate judgeship should Mitchell retire. If elected, he would have to give up his current law practice, but there would be no conflict of interest should he act as an independent consultant in issues not concerning the county. In other words, the passage of such a bill would be beneficial to Christopher Smith should he be the next probate judge.

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Local Heroes: The past few weeks we've been recognizing individuals who are true local heroes. One reader recently commented that so far we have honored only the male of the species; therefore, today we wish to honor Ninon Parker, a true asset to Tuscumbia and the Shoals area.

Ninon has worked tirelessly in many projects over the years, but most recently in creating a retail cooperative in downtown Tuscumbia--a business incubator that has already proved invaluable. Thank you, Ninon, for all you do.

We'll even add a second local hero this week--Dick Jordan. Mr. Jordan is the Florence City Councilman for many of us and was most recently responsible for ensuring the fountain in Wilson Park was properly restored. His many works in historical preservation in our beautiful city are often overlooked due to the contentious nature of politics.

For both Ninon and Dick we offer a poem that one sees quoted all too infrequently, but which personifies the work they do in both preserving the past and building for the future:

The Bridge Builder

By Will Allen Drumgoole

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again will pass this way;
You've crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you this bridge at the evening tide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."

Shoalanda



Connecting October 7th. This time we mean it!

Christopher A. Smith, Attorney for Lauderdale County

Dewey Mitchell has not yet announced that he will retire at the end of his current term, yet many are already speculating on his replacement. Current Lauderdale County Commission Attorney Christopher A. Smith is a close friend of Mitchell and one of the names most often mentioned as his successor.

Smith was born in Florence on November 8, 1962, and graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1985. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama in 1989 and returned to Florence where he began his practice with the law firm of O'Bannon and O'Bannon. Smith is currently affiliated with the firm of Self, Smith, & Burdine where he practices as a personal injury attorney.

The Lauderdale County Commission retained Smith in 1997, a short time after Dewey Mitchell became Probate Judge. In 1998, Smith led a lawsuit against the State of Alabama prison system that led to more stringent enforcement of existing laws concerning the housing of state prisoners by the county.

Martindale-Hubbell currently ranks Smith 26th in visibility out of 111 local attorneys, perhaps in part due to his reported plans to run for Probate Judge. If Smith does choose to run, he will be assured of competition on the Democratic front, and quite possibly from the Republican as well. This is an office that many have speculated will attract James E. Hall II, current municipal judge in Florence.

Assuming Chris Smith runs and loses, he would assuredly forfeit his position as County Attorney. Smith would do well to consider his formidable competition before declaring for this race.


What's up with this: T. Wayne Mitchell, former editor of the TimesDaily has been seen around town pressing the flesh--perhaps he also has political aspirations.