Jim Fisher Resigns--Florence Loses

We receive, on average, five comments/questions a day. Some days we receive a great deal more due to whatever topic makes the news. We certainly received several comments on the recent raise that the Florence School Board gave Dr. Janet Womack, superintendent.

Apparently board member Jim Fisher did also; he published his rationale for voting for the raise--on Facebook. We asked Jim if we could use his material, but it had been removed by the time we got around to it. Should he have posted it? We say yes. After all, would you rather a school board member, or any other elected official, simply say how he votes is none of your/our business?

We don't know the other Florence board members personally; however, it's difficult to imagine that any could care more about the system than our friend Jim. It's Florence's loss.

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Shoalanda

Protests, Clarifications, and Politics as Usual

Vulcan Materials in Tuscumbia pays Colbert County a large severance tax each year, as well as donating materials to local schools, libraries, and other community endeavors. Therefore, a reader was recently surprised to find at least five, and perhaps more, homemade billboards protesting this giant quarry company. These protest signs are located on Hwy 20 between Barton and Tuscumbia, most immediately adjacent to Vulcan's huge plant complex.

A phone call to the company confirmed that there are such signs in place, but the spokesperson would provide no further information. What, after all these years of business in the same area, has Vulcan done (or not done) to spark such animosity?

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Chad Holden has now officially launched his Facebook site and invites supporters to join. Chad has asked that we clarify one statement from our recent profile. While he does describe himself as an Independent, he will be running on the Democratic ticket. Mr. Holden feels the word "Independent" is a wise choice for social networking sites that his students will invariably read. We agree this shows wisdom and commend Chad's choice in the matter.

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Congratulations to Sandra Killen-Burroughs on the new canine member of her family. After our blog published a small item about Morris Lentz' foundling Squirt needing a new home, she and her family visited and promptly fell in love. We may need to change the name of our column to Adoptions Are Us.

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Yesterday, we published a guest commentary by Renee' Miskell. We have been in contact with Renee' for some time since her friend Jennifer Bragg's murder. Renee' would like us to add that her interest in ensuring appropriate punishment for abusers and murderers extends well beyond Jennifer's case, as evidenced by her commentary on the surprisingly light sentence meted out to Kenneth Sylvester.

Renee' knew Jennifer only the short period of time that the Shapley/Bragg family had lived in the Lexington area. Yet, she has been deeply affected by her death, as have many others.

Remembering Jennifer H. Bragg
July 26, 1990 - February 7, 2008

Jennifer is no longer crying out - she is now still - resting comfortably and in peace under the cover of God’s love, grace and mercy. God rest your beautiful soul, Jennifer. You are surely missed.

I knew you only briefly, I wish I could have helped had I known.

Renee Miskell

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Happy birthday tomorrow to our favorite computer guru Jim Fisher who will be in the neighborhood of 110. More birthday wishes to our favorite Lipstick Librarian Jessica Piper who will turn 21ish.


Shoalanda

You Can Tell It's Handy Week...

...and if you can't, you didn't accidentally wander into the throngs flocking to Sax in the City or the car load of Kudzu Queens. The temperature is actually bearable, so there's no excuse not to make as many events as possible.

Here's the schedule for this year: W. C. Handy Festival 2009

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Since our column yesterday on Good Samaritan Hospice, we've been inundated with e-mails from former employees. According to most, yes, their last pay check did indeed bounce, and this was hardly the least flattering comment most had to make concerning their former employer. Obviously, accusations are just that until they've been documented, but we hope to bring you an update on the Good Samaritan bankruptcy in the future.

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Shoalanda Speaks in now on Facebook. If you haven't joined that social networking sight, we think you'll like it. We've discovered one advantage already--we get to read Jim Fisher's computer column a day early. See you there.

From Forums to Blogs to Twitter...

A recent TimesDaily interview with computer expert Jim Fisher of Florence touched on the possibility of blogs becoming passe' as new venues become available. Obviously, individuals who blog may well become tired of the effort or cease for many other reasons. We don't see this being the case with most political blogs.

No, not every word printed in every political blog is true, but these venues still bring information to the public that most commercial media refuse to publish. We get at least one request a week for an "investigation" into various local governments and similar entities. We check out every one, but some times there's just no more to the story than has already been published. Please feel free to offer suggestions for future blogs; we can't promise to use them, but we do our best to investigate the problem or situation.

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Quote from TimesDaily concerning Russellville police chief Chris Hargett: My eight year old grandson uses better grammar than that.

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Numbers? Since the inception of this column, we have used Blog Patrol as a visitor counter for our site. We have been aware that this system is down much of the time, and numbers shown do not reflect all visitors. While Blog Patrol has shown our average unique visitor count to be around 750-800 per week, our publisher had calculated the actual count at around 1,000.

Recently we added Stat Counter to double check figures and have been pleasantly surprised at the actual, verified count. Last week we charted 2,600 unique visitors. This may not reflect our numbers every week due to heavy traffic related to the death of Jon Willingham; however, for the next few weeks at least, you will see two counters on this blog while we compare their accuracy. Thanks for making us one of the top political blogs in the state.

Jim Fisher in the Courier Journal

For those who've been missing Jim Fisher's witty computer columns, you can now find him every other week in the Courier Journal. Most households in the Shoals receive the CJ in their regular mail, but for those that don't, a link is provided to the left of this blog.

Our regular readers remember that, due to TimesDaily regulations, Jim was forced to give up his long-time column when he was elected to the Florence School Board. Kudos to Tom Magazzu and his staff for adding Jim to their stable of columnists.

While we're sure Jim is happy to give free advice via his columns, if you have any serious problems requiring immediate attention, we suggest you visit Jim and his staff at Excel Computers on Florence Boulevard. If you're traveling west, they're located on the right directly across from Hobby Lobby.

Now...if the Courier Journal could just find a great attorney to write an erudite legal column for them, they'd be in business!

Update: We understand that Morris Lentz remains in the Surgical-Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Huntsville Hospital where his condition is stable. Please continue to pray for Morris.

The ShoalsInsider Forum

The ShoalsInsider Forum came in fourth in our poll with 5% of the vote. One of the area's newest forums, the ShoalsInsider is rapidly making a name for itself. If you haven't yet visited this site, you've missed a real treat.

Besides the forum, the ShoalsInsider offers court records, obituaries, and breaking news; it was the ShoalsInsider that first reported the disappearance of Jennifer Hampton. This site fills a long-standing void by offering news that the TimesDaily elects to omit. Like other forums, the SI venue features unique posters and is an essential element in gauging the area's political climate.

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Our "What's Up?" feature recently mentioned Jim Fisher's absence from the TimesDaily. Jim has contacted us and wants his many readers to know that he didn't willingly desert them. It seems that his election to the Florence School Board prohibits him from employment with the TD. You can still partake of Jim's expertise at Excel Computers on Florence Boulevard. All the best, Jim, in your new position!

What's up with this: Lauderdale District Attorney Chris Connolly is insisting on a second trial for manic mother Rosie Ingram--our tax dollars shouldn't be going to retry a weak case. It's a pity that Connolly places his vanity before the citizens of Lauderdale County.