What Was the Point of This Arrest?

Today, a retired county department head was arrested for theft. What did this man steal? Scrap that would have remained untouched in a landfill. 

Rules are rules, and it seems no county employee is allowed to remove items from the landfill. This man broke the rules. He also sold the metal and reportedly netted $2,000.00.

Usually when any employee is arrested over a small amount of theft, we're told that the insurance company required that he or she be charged. Is the landfill insured? What are we missing?

Why wasn't this man, now retired, simply allowed to repay the county the money and go on his way? The only answer we can come up with is that he royally ticked someone off, and that someone wanted revenge. Then the district attorney agreed to go along with this revenge plan. 

Does that make anyone happier or more secure? We don't know about you, gentle readers, but it makes us feel petty to live in such a county. (And, no, we had never heard of the man until his arrest.)

If you don't feel petty, at least feel irritated that our tax dollars are being used for the prosecution. Apparently we're giving the state legislature a run for the title of "Most Profligate."

Hey, Shoalanda, Don't Knock Screwing People Until You've Tried It!

Another Comparison: Kate Boggus & Christopher Price

We recently compared indicted Kate Boggus with another from Lauderdale County in a similar position. We couldn't help but think about the Florence High School student tonight when Christopher Price was executed for murder.

Boggus was 16 when she refused to let four passengers out of a car she eventually crashed. Three of those passengers died. Price was 19 when he intentionally stabbed a minister during a robbery. Neither one of these individuals was behaving responsibly on the night of their crimes.

Boggus, if convicted of the the three deaths and one assault, will do no more than three years in prison. Price paid tonight with his life. He paid with his life in a pro-life state. 

Price also apologized, something he didn't have to do. Think Tommy Arthur - ever hear of him taking the blame for his crimes, of telling his victims' families how sorry he was?

No easy answers, but we certainly look to see the death penalty overturned in the not too distant future. That really irritates some Alabamians, this being a pro-life state and all...

Meanwhile, Most Alabamians Are More Worried About the Condition of Kit Harrington

Thumbing Their Noses at Sheffield Police?

Regular readers know how much the writers of this blog love animals - especially dogs and cats. Yet these very animals can cause serious injury to humans if not kept up and treated properly.

Usually the complaints about wild dogs come from Russellville, but now some readers in Sheffield have contacted us concerning packs of wild dogs that run loose in the city. Here's a group in front of city hall/police station.

Here's the same group of collarless dogs gathering near the Dollar General/Park Place:

This area is home to children, older individuals, and the disabled. No one wants to see a dog attack in Sheffield on anyone, but particularly on the above groups. Considering where these photos were taken, Chief Terry and other members of government can't say that they're not aware of the problem.

The ball is in their court...

Hammer Films Presents: Roy Moore AD 2020

Who doesn't appreciate a good horror film? Yet with Christopher Lee sadly no longer with us, no new films featuring the umpteenth rise of a bloodsucker from the dead had been expected. Good news: Roy Moore has rescued the forlorn lovers of resurrected evil. 

If Bradley Byrne is correct, Roy Moore, who insists upon calling himself a judge, will be tossing his virgin-blood stained cape into the ring for the 2020 U.S. Senate race. Running as a Republican, Moore will face Byrne, Looney Mooney, Tommy Tuberville, and any others who are similarly up for a hoot. 

One political pundit has said Byrne won't get any votes north of Birmingham and that Moore and Mooney will cancel each other out in their insanity. (Yes, we know - it's difficult to imagine anyone as addled as Moore, but so far Mooney is putting on a good show.) That will leave the nomination and ultimate win to Tuberville. 

If you're a Moore fan, don't despair. Even if Roy Moore AD 2020 is a ballot box office flop, we understand that a new season of Psychoville is being written just for him.

I Have Returned to Destroy You! - Roy Moore to the Citizens of Alabama

Memorial Day 2019

Perhaps one of the most important things any of us can do to celebrate Memorial Day/Weekend is to think about the coming year. If the U.S. should engage in any military action with Iran, there will almost assuredly be names added to the memorial list next year. Do we want that? There is power in prayer.

"A Few" Dead Dogs? Thank ALFA

Two years ago, a bill was before the Alabama Senate that would have outlawed puppy mills. If you aren't sure what a puppy mill is, think a big business where registered canines are forced to breed several times a year, live their lives in cramped conditions, and never see love in their short, pathetic lives.

Thanks to five senators who sold their souls to ALFA (not a rare occurrence in this state), the bill never made it into law. Last week the results of this inaction were brought home to roost in a dilapidated chicken house.

Sheila Johnson and her daughter own a "working farm" in Vinemont just outside Cullman. Last week a fire rapidly raged through the dilapidated chicken house used to shelter the caged animals and free-roaming birds from whom Johnson made her living. Not surprisingly, most of the birds escaped; rabbits, dogs, and other small animals not able to move more than a few inches in their cages did not. 

How many died? Johnson says in one interview that "a few" dogs lost their lives. Later she says the number ranged from 50 to 100, all of whom she claims were working farm dogs. Of course they were working - they were breeding more of themselves for Johnson to sell. 

Cullman County Animal Control had been called to investigate the conditions of the property more than once and will now be looking into the circumstances surrounding the fire. So far, no word from the five men who made this possible.

Of the five 2017 state senators who voted against regulating puppy mills in this state, only Clay Scofield and Shay Shellnutt are still in office. Voters need to remember these two men during the next election cycle.

All of us should remember ALFA/ALFA Insurance and its vice-like grip on our Senate. Let's hurt them where it hurts, and that's not the switchboard. That's in the pocketbook which should become a lot lighter after customers become aware of the latest results of the Federation's intrusion into animal welfare in this state.

ABC News Photo Depicting Doggo Death Trap

What Happened to the Sheffield High Graduating Class of 2019?

Graduating rates have a large number of asterisks after them. The small print will tell you that the exact group isn't followed for four/five years or that the algorithm has changed from previous years or any other number of things. In other words, a graduation rate may be listed as 90% when it's actually 92%. That's not the end of the world. What if the graduation rate was closer to 50%; would you be concerned?

In the fall of 2013, over 100 students entered the 7th grade in Sheffield City Schools. When the Class of 2019 marched earlier this week, only 54 received their sheepskins. Let's be kind and say that Sheffield has a graduation rate of 55%. How do residents of Sheffield feel about this?

Why hasn't anyone stood up and shouted, "What's the problem here?" Why aren't parents attending school board meetings? Do you think this could happen in Florence? How about Muscle Shoals?

Wake up Sheffield. You have problems that even Inspiration Landing can't fix. 

I'm Practicing Being Passed Out...