Mural Safe/Santa Claus Still Missing...

Ninon Holder has sent word that the Tuscumbia Post Office mural is safe and in storage. Since there is some debate as to who actually owns this long neglected masterpiece, a group of Tuscumbia citizens are looking into the possibility of Federal funds to restore and properly display this Depression era artwork.

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Alas, Sheffield's Santa Claus is still missing, ala Gen. Franco who is still dead. Mayor Ian Sanford has mentioned finding an extant one in Louisiana, but the cost was prohibitive to purchase and ship here. Perhaps a benefactor would step up?

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More comments on former Coffee CEO Joe Roach:

His policy/willingness to go after people's homes and property were disgusting. Lying and false intentions about looking in Lauderdale Co. for another hospital site, shameful. Motive, greed. Good riddance.

I'm beginning to hear the Banjo from the Movie Deliverance. I'm afraid Lauderdale County and Florence are fixing to get Raped.

Let's hope Roach's replacement is both more ethical and tactful.

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A faithful reader has asked if we have identified the owner of the old Dairy King property at 301 Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield. In fact, we've had several to ask...and we know where they were going with this. As far as we can ascertain, the property was purchased by Troy Glidden in 1988. Whether he still owns the dilapidated former dairy bar is another question since the address does not seem to be listed on Delta property records. If anyone knows who's responsible for this molding pile of lumber, please send us the info. Thanks.

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Breaking News: Kimberly Bynum indicted. Trial set for January 4th.



Shoalanda

Why Sonia Zelada is Wrong...

Sonia Zelada, manager of a local Salvation Army thrift store, recently wrote the following letter to the TimesDaily:

I am an American citizen by birth. So is my 14-year-old daughter. Our bloodline can be traced back to the Mayflower. Our ancestors helped settle the Southeast and the wild west. I am not Hispanic. My daughter is Hispanic.

According to Alabama’s new immigration law, if she were involved in any type of situation that also included police (this includes, by the way, traffic stops, witnessing an incident or even being the victim of a crime), she could be legally “detained” until her immigration status could be verified. To prevent this from happening, my daughter will have to carry documentation proving she has the right to be here ... in the country where she was born.

Does your 14-year-old have to carry such documentation? The answer to that question is no: unless, of course, their skin is the “wrong color.”

World history as well our national history provides us with many examples of why this type of legislation is dangerous.

Have we learned nothing?

I’m told that if you put a frog in a pot of water, and only increase the temperature gradually, the frog will just sit there unaware of his situation until it’s too late.

Wake up people!

We’re already in the water. Do you really want to be a frog?

Sonja Zelada

Several TimesDaily readers have pointed out Zelada's error in quoting the myth of the frog experiment. Let's look at her other errors. First, her daughter is not Hispanic unless Spanish is her first language. We doubt that it is. Her daughter is of Latino heritage.

Second, the immigration law has nothing to do with the color of anyone's skin. The law applies equally to all illegal immigrants, many of them Irish. When our friend J.J. Ray makes light of the over use of the race card, he is on to something.

Third, Zelada is missing the cause and effect principal involved. If so many from south of the border and elsewhere had not illegally immigrated to Alabama, there would be no need for this law. If our residents, both legal and illegal, didn't manufacture and sell crack cocaine, there would be no need for special laws concerning that particular drug.

Ms. Zelada, we say to you that you may be a good mother, but your powers of logic and reasoning are highly suspect. Let's not let Henny Penny rule the day.

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From our inbox: I don’t know of anyone sad at ECM to see Joe Roach leaving. Talk around is about getting some of those Penn State shirts that say “Joe Who?”



Shoalanda

Who Will Replace Joe Roach?

Joe Roach, we hardly knew ye. Where did you come from to start with? Here's a few lines written about the Eliza Coffee CEO when he left his last position--after a 30 day notice:

Roach has been Memorial’s chief executive since 1993. He previously was CEO at Millinocket Regional Hospital in Maine for six years. Before that, he was the assistant administrator and chief financial officer for Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield, Maine, and budget director for Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. He has a master’s degree in business from Husson College and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island. He earned a course certificate in systems management from Harvard University in 1992.

Province Healthcare bought Memorial in 2002. Roach oversaw the hospital’s transition from a not-for-profit medical center to a for-profit institution. Later that year, Memorial eliminated the equivalent of 96 full-time jobs, but Roach said its purchase by Province had made the hospital better because it was able to focus more on improving patient care. In an interview with the Martinsville Bulletin, he said that “every patient is a quasi-stockholder.” LifePoint acquired Memorial in 2005 as part of an acquisition of Province.

Also in 2002, The Harvest Foundation was established with more than $163 million in proceeds from the sale of Memorial Health Systems. The foundation invests those funds and uses the earnings to support health, education and community vitality initiatives in the Henry County-Martinsville area. In the 2008-09 fiscal year alone, Harvest awarded 31 grants totaling almost $9 million, according to its annual report.

As the hospital’s chief executive, Roach has served on Harvest’s board since 2002, said Allyson Rothrock, the foundation’s executive director. She called Roach “a very strong community leader.” “Joe never had a problem in making decisions,” Rothrock said. “He is a solid decision-maker. He always thought things through ... and made decisions based on what he thought was best for the entire community.”

“We’ll miss him,” added Paul Toms Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Hooker Furniture Corp. and chairman of Harvest’s board. Roach has represented Harvest on the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp.’s (EDC) board for at least four years and had been chairman for the past three years. EDC President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Heath called him “a great ... chairman.” “He’s as firm of a believer as you could ever have” in the need for recruiting businesses and industries, Heath said, “and he’s let us (EDC staff) do our jobs” in ways they thought were appropriate. During his tenure at Memorial, Roach also has overseen expansions, such as the addition of an ambulatory surgery center in 2006

Thirty days notice? We may infer RegionalCare did not want Mr. Roach's notice. We may infer RegionalCare just wanted him gone. The why of the matter is not as easy to discern. RegionalCare and Roach didn't have the same vision for our new hospital? Does that mean Roach saw it as a boxing arena in which he could defeat those who dared oppose him?

No matter, the question now is who will replace him. RegionalCare recently purchased Essent Care, a three hospital conglomerate. According to press releases, there will be no organizational shake up at RC, leaving some extra Essent executives to look elsewhere or be placed within the RC system. Will one of these be coming here? Stay tuned...



Shoalanda

Regional Care: Who Do Ya Think You're Foolin'?

There's an old joke common among the parents of teenagers, especially teenage boys. After a particularly egregious stunt, one of the parents will invariably say, "Well, he's either going to be the president of his own company or serve time in prison." We're fairly sure the parents of RegionalCare CEO Joe Roach must have had similar thoughts, considering both the quantity and quality of his machinations concerning the location for the new hospital.

Here, from the same erudite reader whom we previously published, is an update (in bold) on current dreams and schemes from Joe Roach and his merry band of pranksters:

Perhaps the 11-2-11 Times Daily comments from a longtime hospital employee have been influenced by the propaganda of her boss. She states:

“RegionalCare has gone to great lengths to find an appropriate location in Lauderdale County; however, it is becoming evident that this is neither economically nor geographically feasible. Roadblocks to that proposal include environmental, logistical, and infrastructure limitations that would be costly to overcome.”

Where does she get this erroneous information? Was she misled by her own CEO, Joe Roach? Are we all being misled by him? The only Lauderdale site under consideration is on Lauderdale County Road 47 according to Rhea Fulmer, who identified this property in a 9-7-11 Times Daily article after meeting with RegionalCare officials. (It appears the Times Daily pulled this particular article from its website already.)

This area includes a 300 acre farm property which is bounded by Cox Creek Parkway, Gresham Road, County Road 47, and Mall Road. Only about a mile from this location is Helton Drive which is the Florence link to Patton Island Bridge. Helton is currently under construction to add more lanes. This 300 acre site is less than ten miles from TVA property, so there should be no distinction between it and TVA as far as being a regional location.

What environmental, logistical, and infrastructure limitations are present at this location? It meets the RCH requirement of being more than 80 acres; it is located on Cox Creek Parkway which intersects HWY 72 as well as the Helton corridor to Patton Island Bridge. This is a good site for the new hospital, whether regional or replacement. It does not interfere with Helen Keller Hospital, and the Cox Creek location already has infrastructure in place including major roads, electricity and water. Too “costly”?

Did Mr. Roach not intend to pay a fair amount for such valuable property after he stressed the importance of “location, location, location”? A prime location is generally very expensive. Roach must honor his contract to build in Lauderdale County. Our politicians must also make this happen. All concerned citizens (and hospital employees) should hold Roach and elected officials in Lauderdale County, as well as the city of Florence, responsible to honor the legal contract. That is the point of a contract.

Someone wrote in to say that this is an ethical issue. Another mentioned integrity. But this is a LEGAL issue. A contract is a legal and binding document. There are serious consequences when legal contracts are not followed.

Roach emphasized that he is not good at losing. Is this really just a game to him? Exactly what, and how much, will our elected officials allow him to risk? If this is a game with high stakes, then the Times Daily appears to be playing along as a pawn. Rather than serve the public, is it serving the hand that buys expensive advertising? How many other letters to their editor have been censored?

Why is Shoalanda Speaks the only one willing to address these questions?

We'll note that after the TimesDaily's reporting on the National Alabama situation, nothing would surprise us concerning this issue.



Shoalanda

Let's Play "Name the Three Locations!"

Ready, Guys? Here we go...the first one to identify all three locations wins the game and proves they're as smart as Joe Roach.

Location Number One: It's in Colbert County, but that's the only clue we can give you.

Location Number Two: It's in Colbert County on TVA property. Now you say that location has already been named and right you are. Of course there are the two little problems of TVA not letting RegionalCare have the land and Keller Hospital tying up the Certificate of Need for years.

A TVT Forum poster writes:

They aren't going to build it in Colbert County. Colbert Co doesn't want that, Lauderdale Co doesn't want that, and more importantly, they aren't going to shell out $40 mil in additional costs for not building in Lauderdale Co. He's playing everybody so that when the site is announced - and they've known what the site will be for at least a year - they won't get any flak.

Location Number Three: It's in Lauderdale County and Rhea Fulmer has mentioned the location at least once. A faithful and brilliant reader writes:

I find it very hard to believe that Regional Care can alter its commitment to build in Lauderdale County or to "hand back the keys". They have been running the hospital for quite awhile, and they have implemented significant changes.

RCH has invested quite a bit of money already with the Times Daily and surely has a commitment for ongoing advertising. Do you think this fact might have influenced Mike Goens to recommend the TVA site, or possibly, even unknowingly, to play along with Roach's manipulation?

Dewey Mitchell should be committed to a Lauderdale county site due to his elected position, yet we know that some of the politicians involved are not running for re-election.

There was a TD article published on 9-7-11 by Tom Smith titled "Commission: Hospital best in Lauderdale County" (which I did print at the time so I do have a copy of it). In the article, Rhea Fulmer is identified as Lauderdale County Commissioner. She identified " a site on Lauderdale 47, just north of Cox Creek Parkway" being discussed, and it appears to be the only Lauderdale county site under consideration.

The TVA site can hardly be 10 miles from the Lauderdale site, so how much difference can there be in calling it a "regional" location also? I cannot imagine the ambulance/ emergency response situation on the bridges. And I cannot imagine the impact to our Florence economy if the hospital is relocated to another county. A drive through Sheffield is sobering.

I also cannot imagine the legal mess involved in selecting a Colbert County site, Keller's rightful opposition, the Certificate of need delay. This drama is almost absurd, and that's why I continue to wonder whether this is legitimate or simply game-playing/ manipulation. I see you have expressed the same.

Yesterday's TD photo of Roach with the words emphasized "Location, location, location...No site has been selected, no options signed, no money has changed hands." That seems a rather bizarre focus for the meeting but also quite deliberate.

So, folks, is it all smoke and mirrors? Will it be the Lauderdale location--perhaps for a lower price since the owner may now be spooked about the deal? We await your input--we'll publish any thoughts from the public.

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Yes!!! Yayness!!! It's that time again, starting tomorrow!

Your Tour Guide Debra Glass

Haunted History of the Shoals Ghost Walk

Shoalanda

RegionalCare to "Hand Back the Keys" to ECM?

Mike Goens, Managing Editor of the Shelton family's TimesDaily, always has an interesting column--not that accurate, but interesting. You may remember that until recently Goens sang the praises of National Alabama and all that corporation would accomplish. Now we're waiting to see how the legalities of National Alabama's dissolution will work.

It seems Goens is currently theorizing that if Joe Roach can't build the new regional hospital in Colbert County, he and his superiors at RegionalCare may just return the Coffee Health Group to Lauderdale County. While we haven't read the contract with our magnifying specs on, we doubt that would be an easy thing to do, if it were doable at all.

Could it be that CEO Joe Roach simply likes to play with his adoring public? We've said before, if the hospital were to be planned for Colbert County, just how long would Keller hold up the Certificate of Need?

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What's a good American and what's a bad American? A friend recently sent an essay to us entitled I'm a Bad American. The essay is written by Ted Nugent (so be forewarned), but it holds as many truths as it does fallacies. No we certainly don't agree with all of the concepts contained therein, but it does make for interesting, and humorous, reading.

I'm a Bad American

Shoalanda

James Rodney Hampton: Dancing Sex Offender

James Rodney Hampton--Convicted Child Rapist

Modified from an original by Jim Hannon

James Rodney Hampton, now 51, raped two members of his family and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on October 6, 1994. By September 1997, Hampton had made parole for his crimes against the eight and 10 year old girls and returned to the Shoals area that October.

Hampton has lived mainly in Lauderdale County, but worked wherever he could find employment. He has frequently toiled as a cook, recently at the Waffle House on Hwy. 43 in Colbert County. By 2009, he had completed his sentence and was in most ways a free man. At that time, or perhaps even before, Hampton began to participate as an "Indian" dancer in powwow re-enactments across the valley, educational entertainment held mainly in public parks.

Yes, we said Hampton was mainly free; he is still required by law to register as a sex offender and to adhere to the guidelines the State of Alabama has set up for such felons. These guidelines call for sex offenders to steer clear of public parks where children may be found. Last weekend, James Rodney Hampton participated in his usual role as an Indian dancer at Trail of Tears festivities at Waterloo Park.

Whether Hampton knew he would be photographed by Jim Hannon of the TimesDaily as he rode into a public park in the small western Lauderdale town of Waterloo--a photograph that made both the pages of the local paper and its online gallery--is unknown. An alert reader noticed Hampton and reported him to a local police chief, then contacted us here. We understand others have reported Hampton to the state's sex offender website. You may do the same at the bottom of this linked page:

James Rodney Hampton

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Lauderdale County has thrown down the gauntlet: There will be no new RegionalCare hospital in Colbert County. It's Joe Roach's next move. We're sure he didn't get where he is by being either nice or stupid. We earlier said popcorn was in order. Let's add some Walnettos and watch the show. Just how free the show is depends on Roach's next move....



Shoalanda

Let's Visit Helen Keller Hospital...

We'll start with a quick visit to their website. The site is professionally done and offers many links; unfortunately none of them lists the names of the Board of Directors. Besides Board President Larry Collum, we have determined Steve Hargrove of Sheffield City Schools is also a member. We'll continue to publish names as we discover them in case any Colbert County citizens wish to call them and, oh, I dunno, perhaps complain about giving away their hospital.

If your interest in the hospital should extend beyond the board, you may look at several previous advertisements that have recently appeared in the TimesDaily. We're not sure why anyone would wish to, but the site offers them nonetheless.

There's also a link to a page entitled "Recipes." There the reader may peruse a few heart healthy recipes as well as learn what the cafeteria is serving during the upcoming week. We were enchanted to know the Keller Cafe is serving baked ziti. Unfortunately, we have no idea what ziti is, baked or otherwise.

The link to a site entitled "Physicians" is more helpful. We find that Dr. William Roddy is still on staff, while Dr. Christopher Gay is not. A quick visit to the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners shows that:

On September 9, (2010), the Commission entered an Order placing on indefinite probation the license to practice medicine in Alabama of Christopher P. Gay, D. O., license number DO.687, Sheffield AL, with certain restrictions.

So, what have we learned from our visit to Oz, er, Helen Keller Hospital? Not anything of great import. In fact, their website offers no clue that they've just sold out to Huntsville Hospital. Of course, we're using the term "sold" loosely since HKH received no actual money form Huntsville Hospital.

RegionalCare was offering HKH sixty million--sixty million and the board would not even return RegionalCare's phone calls. When Joe Roach called the Keller Board dumb he wasn't just humming La Cucaracha.

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Political Courage Test? Project Vote Smart offers a Political Courage Test for all state and national candidates. So far, none running in the Northwest Alabama area has taken and returned the test. You may see a PDF version of the 11 part test here: Link

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Change.org is a site advocating "gay marriage" in Alabama. Lonnie Walker drafted a petition on this site that "demands" gay marriage be "aloud" in our state.

We have absolutely no idea how Mr. Walker arrived at this conclusion, but according to his website, the pols who will make this happen are:

Don Young, Spencer Bachus, Jo Bonner, Mike Rogers, Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions, Bob Riley, Mike Curtis, Micky Hammon, Marcel Black, Henry White, Robert Aderholt, Bobby Bright, Parker Griffith, and Tammy Irons.

If they refuse to take the Political Courage test, we doubt they will openly lobby for gay marriage. We would love to hear from Mr. Walker on what basis he created this eclectic list.


Shoalanda



Connecting in ten, nine, eight...

Helen Keller Hospital Afraid of Roaches?

We hear that staff at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield has been carrying roach spray around the halls of the hospital. Is the medical facility infested with the buggy buggars?

No. Apparently it's just the staff's way of warning new Coffee Health Group CEO Joe Roach to stay away. At a recent Rotary gathering, Roach was quoted as saying Keller's board members were short-sighted, fearful, and stupid.

Strong language, but it very well may be true. Just who are Keller's board members? Oddly, while the website for the hospital frequently mentions the board, the nine member panel isn't named. A recent article in the TimesDaily identified Larry Collum as the board president.

Another recent TD article commented on Keller's rejection of RegionalCare as a suitor--a move of which the Colbert County Commission approved. Among the three commissioners quoted was Rex Burleson. You may remember Mr. Burleson for his recent comments concerning the great success of the National Alabama rail car plant in Barton.

Do we think RegionalCare is the savior of health care in the Shoals? No, but neither do we think sending patients from the Shoals to Huntsville will improve the status quo. We have to wonder why Keller is so eager to align itself with a hospital out of the immediate area while it shuns any contact with a similar facility just across the river.

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Lexington lacks high-speed Internet? One would think so if he/she read Francisco Guerra's recent blurb for his new company Front Porch Communications. While Lexington does lack cable in many neighborhoods, high-speed Internet is readily available via BellSouth/ATT and the Dish Network.

Obvisously, not every home has a land line in this era of cell phone communication, but one would think obtaining a television cable service for Lexington would be the top priority for its elected officials.

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Locust Hill: Looking for a copy of Mary Wallace Kirk's book? Here's at least 95 of them--Link


Shoalanda



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