Prayers for Kerry Gilbert's Health

 

Many in the Shoals know Kerry Gilbert. The Russellville resident has long been a fixture on the local music scene. Most recently, he joined with us in helping with a campaign to increase fosters and adopters for dogs and cats awaiting a home at the Florence-Laudersale Animal Shelter.

If you haven't heard, Kerry is in the hospital with a serious respiratory infection. While we don't have an official update on his condition, we do know that our friend needs prayers right now. Kerry is a dedicated Christian, historian, and animal lover, as well as being a fantastic singer/songwriter. In other words, the world needs more individuals like Kerry Gilbert.

Please stop what you're doing right now to say a prayer for Kerry. God will hear and God will answer. Our brother in Christ needs us now; let's not let him down.

Thanks to Kerry, Oreo, & Peanut

 

The Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter has announced it's still at Code Red for an overabundance of animals. Currently it still needs fosters/adopters and food for the animals' Christmas dinner. 

Now Kerry Gilbert of the KGB has again come to the rescue by presenting a new video...along with Peanut and Oreo. Would Kerry kill us if we said they were the video's true stars?

We hope Kerry will continue with a video from time to time, but are still seeking others to make an appearance for the shelter. What can we say about Kerry? He's an extremely accomplished musician, but you may not know it since he's never had a major arrest of even a wife beating charge. We're also pretty sure he wouldn't allow a follower to wish someone dead (no, we weren't the intended victim, but a gentleman from another publication).

If you want to donate cooked food to the shelter, please do so on Christmas Eve, normal hours. Here's some ideas:

Cooked green beans

Cooked carrots

Cooked chicken, lean beef, pork, and fish

You can even help serve on Christmas Day!

FLAS, 3240 Roberson Road just off Chisholm Road. 256-760-6676.

Big Props to Kerry Gilbert!

 

Our story actually goes back to Steve Holt's tenure as the mayor of Florence. Each month, Steve would visit the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter and have his photo made with a dog/cat of the month. Sadly, Andy Betterton chose not to continue to work in a positive manner with the shelter. What could be done?

We began to ask around for various local officials and celebrities; sadly, no one seemed interested in continuing this program. Months passed, then the county confiscated almost 70 animals used in a dog fighting ring. The shelter was in a crisis mode. Initially, these dogs could not be adopted or fostered for legal reasons. Thankfully, that has now changed.

We presented this situation to the public, as did others. It seemed every adoptable dog who found a home was soon replaced by a new stray. How could more adoptive families be reached?

This blog's current readership hit 13.2K this past week, but there are many in the Shoals who are not even aware of our publication. How could we reach more to help the shelter? The idea of messages from celebrities again presented itself, but who?

We wrote a script for a brief public service announcement and began to contact anyone who had a large public following. Of the ten or so we reached out to, only three replied to our cry for help.

One of the three was our friend Kerry Gilbert. Kerry immediately videoed a message to his followers, many of whom don't follow our blog. His 60 second message concerning the shelter's plight was a tremendous boost to the morale of the workers and any who had been pleading for help in this overwhelming plight.

Just as Kerry's message hit Facebook, the shelter secured legal control over the confiscated dogs, making them eligible for fostering and adoption. The situation is still critical, but each day now brings more relief as the shelter's census begins to diminish. 

Do we still need spokespeople for the shelter? Absolutely. You don't have to be Brad Pitt to make a video or to stop by to have your photo taken with an adoptable dog or cat. We're hoping for more to step forward in the weeks and months to come.

After all, don't you really want to be able to say you were in a celebrity ad campaign?

Saluting Jim Smith

Many in the Shoals know of Jim Smith and his wonderful book Walk Through Town. Jim has frequently provided historical details for our blog, as well as offering some columns for us and other blogs to publish.

We've learned that Jim has had some serious health problems, and want to wish him well in his recuperation. We also want to commend Jim and his lovely wife for taking time to visit with Kerry Gilbert during Jim's hospitalization. The Shoals has some wonderful talent in every area of the arts, and we need to take special care of it.

*****

Monday is fast approaching. That's P-Day for the TimesDaily; after August 25th, readers will have to purchase a subscription to read the full TD online. We've heard many say it's just not worth it them. If you've never checked out these local sites, do so now. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised, and as always, they're completely free:

Pen-N-Sword

Quad-Cities Daily

Shoalanda

Saluting Kerry Gilbert/Protest Letters Still Arriving

Local musician Kerry Gilbert remains in ECM Hospital awaiting test results. Kerry is well known in  local music circles, operating primarily out of his home base of Franklin County. Friends say that Kerry remains upbeat while awaiting word on what could be a serious condition.

Fellow KGB band members have stated that the self-employed musician has no health insurance. Several benefits are planned, and we'll post more information as these events are finalized.

*****

For several years, Kerry Gilbert and the KGB have headlined a monthly concert that has benefited the restoration of the Roxy Theatre in Russellville. The Roxy was recently home to several Watermelon Festival events, but it's the concerts complete with neon flashing that present the old venue at its best. Let's hope these events will carry on even if Kerry is out of commission for a few months.

*****

If you haven't yet read elsewhere, the board turned down Ashley Fawn Greenhill's bid for parole this morning. According to DK, the board stated that letters of protest were still coming in even as the broad began today's meeting.

Letters work--both ways. Now the public is reasonably safe from Ash Lette until the fall of 2015.



Shoalanda

The Ant is Back!/So Long Sweetwater Reunion

Friday and Saturday mark the return of that celebrity ant...you know, the one on those great looking tee-shirts. Downtown Russellville will be reinventing itself as the center of all things fun once more this year. Here's a brief bio of one our favorite bands that will be performing:

Out of Northwest Alabama come The KGB entertaining crowds all around the Southeast with talented vocalists covering every genre of music. A KGB show is so diverse that it pleases all ages and all musical tastes with powerful ballads, tight harmonies and a lot of laughs. They are currently working on their first all original album which will be released soon. Kerry Gilbert is a native of Russellville and in 1986 played his first Watermelon Festival with a local band called Mountain Breeze. The KGB consists of: Kerry Gilbert, Randy Kimbrough, Mitchell Curtis, Shane Goodson, Hugh Banks, Byron Jamerson and David Jones.

*****

Last weekend marked the final Sweetwater Reunion. We were remiss in not reporting on it before now, but it gives us a chance to clear up some misconceptions. The Reunion has been an East Florence staple for 26 years, and event organizers felt it had run its course.

The demise of the annual reunions has nothing to do with discontinuation of work on Sweetwater Mansion. The owner of the old Weeden home has for two years been attempting to bring in tourist dollars with sporadic events. While it's unofficial, we have heard that renovation has stopped on the project due to lack of funding and interest from the local community. Sweetwater's Facebook page has not been updated in three months and the director no longer lists the mansion as among her interests. Anyone surprised?

*****

Where were you 35 years ago today? If you have an interesting memory of that Tuesday, be sure to leave it here:

Where Were You?

Shoalanda

Mayor Irons at Sweetwater Reunion?

According to some who attended last Saturday's Sweetwater Renunion, Florence Mayor Bobby Irons was in attendance. The problem? It seems guest of honor Larry Fisher didn't meet Mayor Irons during the festivities. It does seem both prudent and hospitable that our mayor would have sought Mr. Fisher out...

*****

This weekend marks Russellville's annual Watermelon Festival, but if you're planning on going, you may not see Kerry Gilbert and his band. It seems he was bumped in order to make way for Travis Wammack on the lineup. One would think there would be room for both great entertainers.

*****

According to today's TimesDaily, Christopher Michael Rich's estranged girlfriend and mother of his two children, Hollie Elizabeth Newbury, has now become his "common-law wife." Is this just an error on the part of the TD, or is the prosecution attempting to add an element to its case?

One would think the crime was so heinous that a conviction is a given, but considering some fairly recent verdicts* in Lauderdale and Franklin Counties, perhaps Rich's defense team may be able to find 12 individuals who sympathize with this abuser.

* David Darryl Thompson, Lauderdale County/Mark Anthony Hurley, Franklin County



Shoalanda

Sweetwater Reunion/Webster Hotel Closes

For the past twenty years those who grew up in East Florence, aka Sweetwater, have been holding an annual reunion. According to Ruth Rickard, a member of the Sweetwater Reunion Committee, “We try to honor someone who has been well known in the community and someone who grew up here and helped Sweetwater over the years.”

The honoree in 2011 will be Larry Fisher. Now a resident of Shreveport, Louisiana, Fisher has never forgotten his Sweetwater roots. In 2010, he founded the Facebook page Remembering Florence. The page now has over 3,800 members. Fisher also has a political page and is the subject of his own fan page.

This year's reunion will be held August 13th at the Florence Coliseum. We'll have more information before the big day. Congratulations to Larry--it's a well deserved honor.

Remembering Florence

Larry Fisher Fan Page

*****

Sources say the Webster Hotel and Suites in Sheffield has closed. The hotel has been faced with financial problems the past few years and suffered from extremely unkind reviews from the public. As with the Southland Restaurant, we hope someone can purchase the facility and restore it to its former glory.

*****

It's been some time since we've honored a local hero. Today we want to thank Kerry Gilbert for all he and his band do for this area, especially Franklin County. It's hard to pick just one video to showcase the KGB, but we think this one's a real crowd pleaser:





Shoalanda

It's 8:00 a.m. Do You Know Where Your State Legislator Is?

Have you tried to contact your state senator or representative recently? We just read that the TimesDaily was unsuccessful in getting Sen. Tammy Irons to return its phone calls. In fairness, when she has been contacted by our J.J. Ray, she replied one out of the two times; however, the one time contacted by Shoalanda she did not reply.

However, it does seem when presented with what a constituent sees as a problem, the pat answer by most legislators is that the law needs to be changed and he or she will look into it. Not always does the law need to be changed. The Putative Father Registry is a prime example; if you don't know that you're a father 30 days after the birth of a child (military personnel excepted), you're nothing more than a sperm donor.

*****

Some recent reader comments:

On the TimesDaily not including the website address in its article on the World Fishing Network contest, a reader writes: "We'll have to think of a new name for the TD now, it's more than just the daily disappointment."

On our blog concerning hiring practices of the Lauderdale County Commission: I'm wondering if the piece on the Lauderdale County Commission isn't too.....'inflammatory'? Is 'Shoalanda' seeking to initiate change and reform or to anger the 'target' of the article? Is a more diplomatic approach called for?

We'll state here that we usually have the utmost respect for the commission; yet, they don't always act in the best interests of those they are elected to serve. Nevertheless, point is taken and apologies offered if the commission was offended by the tone of the blog. We stand by our position that the bar is usually set much too low for courthouse employees.

On our puzzle: When do you tell us what the puzzle is, where it came from, and weren't you afraid to open the box?

Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of the story....

*****

Now a fantastic video from Kerry Gilbert and the KGB. Kerry is much like Visa. You can find him many places, but never at a certain local scam.





Shoalanda

Jon Thomas Wallis: Drug Dealer/Stalker

Jon Thomas Wallis of Florence was well known to police before he allegedly shot his wife last week during a domestic dispute. Wallis, 31, claims his wife Tanya Marie Wallis, 28, shot herself in the bedroom of their Quail Run Apartment located off Chisholm Road.

In October 2010, police arrested the couple on charges of trafficking in marijuana. Authorities found drugs having a street value of $75,000.00 in their modest apartment, along with two hand guns, three rifles, and a large amount of ammunition. Wallis also has previous charges for stalking and is being charged with attempted murder.

*****

If you've never heard our friend Kerry Gilbert and the KGB, you have a chance to remedy that May 14th. Kerry will be performing a concert to benefit tornado victims at the historic Roxy Theatre in downtown Russellville at 7:00 p.m.

Kerry is always willing to work for the Franklin County community, and this cause should be special to all of us here in Northwest Alabama. See you there.



Shoalanda