Will Historical Commission Fight for Old Firehouse?

 

Murika...it's always been about the new. After all, our country (not to mention our state) has no truly old structures to study or venerate. Yet, Florence does have a historical commission. It seems intent on saving many historical windows in the Walnut Street district. How does it feel about saving the old Pine Street Firehouse that is now used as a city auditorium? If all goes as planned, a new parking deck and other structures will soon replace it.

Our city doesn't have the best track record. Remember the Frank Perry Nurses' Home?

Apparently our city council saw fit to let Dick Jordan raze this beautiful structure in order to provide his friends with a new money-making site. He's also packed the historical commission with those who automatically kowtow to him, so don't hold out too many hopes for the old fire hall.

Remember this old joke?

They're tearing down a school to build a parking lot!

They're tearing down a church to build a parking lot!

Gasp! They're tearing down a parking lot to build a parking lot!

Another Local Minister Accused of Sex Crimes

 

One month ago, Lauderdale deputy Jason Paul Deaton was arrested in Lawrence County, Tennessee, on four counts of indecent exposure. The reserve officer allegedly presented a lewd display to women in Lawrenceburg and St. Joseph before being apprehended.

Before Deaton was employed as a deputy in Lauderdale County, he worked as a reserve officer in the small town of Anderson which has since disbanded its police force. He also, according to his LinkedIn bio and several who are familiar with the deputy, toils as a children's minister at a Florence church. Doesn't that make you feel warm and fuzzy all over?

Here is a quote from Deaton's bio:

In May we published an article in Shoals Crime on Pulpit Abusers, but the victims of the five men mentioned in the blog were all part of their congregations and none was an unfortunate random casualty. Still, there may be more charges against Deaton as investigators complete their inquiries. 

Perhaps all women should move to Texas where we're told there will soon be no rapists or other predators?

The Face of Meth: Danna Kanizai Hensley

 

A few years ago, there was a public service campaign called "The Faces of Meth." Whether it actually deterred anyone from doing meth or not, we don't know. It did provide a certain kind of entertainment for those intrigued by true crime. Like a model for the ad campaign, Danna Kanizai has reappeared among the Florence arrest reports. She was arrested last week for possession of drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine. Here's a montage of her mugshots from 2012 to 2019:

Then we have the top mugshot from early September. The 37 year old Kanizai went from the "innocent school girl" look to "hardened woman of the streets" in just nine short years.

We first became aware of Kanizai, also known as Danna Hensley, when a reader told us of a shooting incident involving Danna and her sometime fiance' Blake Baird.

William Blake Baird

A second shooting followed...then an arson attempt; however, after Baird descended into the world of drug trafficking, Danna disappeared for around two years. We hoped she had finally taken the straight and narrow path in life. Judging from her recent arrest photo, this was far from the case.

Before you say she's only hurting herself, think about:

* Who's helping her ex-husband support and tend to her three children?

* Who paid for the damage to the neighbor's home and vehicle in Leighton?

* Who paid for the apartment damage in Florence?

* Who paid the hospital bill for the Florence shooting victim?

We don't know the answers to these questions, but we do know it wasn't Danna Nicole Kanizai Hensley. Where is the help for these individuals? Perhaps more to the point, how do we make these addicts want to get help?

How Many of Us Have Fought this Addiction?

The War over Spring Creek Golf Course

 

Want to play nine holes of golf in Colbert County? Try Spring Creek Golf Course in Tuscumbia. It's nearby, affordable, and...still open for the moment.

Do Mayor Underwood and some council members want to shut down this popular course to make way for an RV park? Why would you eliminate a city perk popular with citizens to cater to outsiders? Oh, more money...okay.

One story is that Tiffin Motor Homes supports this. The company's customers have far too few places to stay while waiting their turn for repairs. Of course, these tourists will spend big bucks while in Tuscumbia. 

There's a council meeting tonight in Tuscumbia to discuss future plans for the course. Want to bet Mayor Underwood isn't too popular right now with his city's duffers?

An even more interesting tale is that Underwood has rattled a murder hornet's nest of potential candidates to run against him in the next legislative election. You can be sure there will be much more on this later.

Labor Day 2021

 

Yes, it's time for our readers' favorite segment - the annual Labor Day Beauty Contest. Spring Park was filled with stunned onlookers as the contestants took their turn on the runway and offered up a smattering of their talents. It just doesn't get any better than this. Here's a short rundown of the lovely participants for 2021:

Sunshine Raines - Miss Raines represented the Parks & Recreation Union. Employed at Spring Park itself, Sunshine was a crowd favorite. At 5' tall and 4' wide, there's a lot of Sunshine to go around. Her specialty is herding the park ducks, and the Colbert County native took advantage of her unique ability by incorporating the waterfowl into her act. Raines led the goosesteppers as they performed a perfectly in sync march to It's a Long Way to Tipperary. 

Ponticia (Ponie) Taylor - Miss Taylor is a member of the Street Photographers' Union and gives hope to old timers that the art will be carried on to future generations. Ponie's talent segment took street photography to a new lower level as she presented snaps of actual pavement. Never have the potholes of Sheffield been so beautifully showcased. One onlooker stated that he actually saw John Elkington moved to tears.

Suzan Sturfriar - Miss Sturfriar represented the College Sex-Workers Guild. Unfortunately, she was disqualified before the actual judging when she and one of the male judges couldn't be located for pre-contest check-in.

Jeannie Baird - Jeannie was the surprising entry of the Animal Workers' Association. Taking the stage in a swirling kilted skirt to the tune of haunting bagpipes while performing a Highland Fling, it took audience members several seconds to realize that the breathtaking Miss Baird was actually a border collie. According to her entrance application, Jeannie identifies as human and was allowed to enter the annual competition. 

Seamus O'Reilly - O'Reilly was this year's only male contestant. Representing the League of Public Employees, the Nova Scotia native read excerpts from Das Kapital as buttons burst from his shirt. At the end of his performance, he begged the judges to declare him the winner, stating he planned to leave his wife and desperately needed the prize money for a bus ticket home.

There you have it for this year. You really shoulda been there.

 

The Winner!      

Do You Live in a Basement Apartment?

 

If you keep up with the news at all, you've read about the New York couple who, along with their two-year old child, drowned in their own apartment during flooding caused by Ida. Think it couldn't happen here? Think again.

Know why most basement apartments are illegal? They have no windows or other emergency exits. In other words, if you can't open the one door, you're doomed to die in the flood, fire, poison gas attack, or whatever else is enveloping your home. 

While some basement apartments are perfectly legal, many are hidden away in the Shoals. Does your basement apartment come with "free" electricity? That's pretty much a giveaway that the landlord doesn't want any inspections of "his" basement...or even worse - he's tried to have a meter installed, but was told the location didn't pass inspection.

We've been told the ratio of renters to available apartments is now evening out in this area. If all you've found so far is that basement no one else wants, keep looking. if you're unsure of the apartment's safety, ask the landlord to provide a city inspection report. The results, or lack thereof, just might surprise you.

Fall is Coming; So are the Squatters

 

Sociologists identify five kinds of squatters. Usually the only ones squatting in the Shoals are those who have no immediate shelter from the elements, or Type One. We're going to break this type into two subtypes: Those have the reasoning ability not to set their shelter on fire and those who don't. Unfortunately, you can never tell what a desperate person will do for comfort.

Many small fires go unreported in the news, but two that come to mind are the small, but expensive, fire at the North Florence post office branch (read: You and I paid for this) and the large fire in Russellville that destroyed an empty art deco landmark and much of the hardware store next to it.

Squatting picks up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights when itinerant construction workers have no paid motel rooms. Obviously, it also increases during storms of any nature.

The Shoals has a multitude of vacant rental properties, some in even the most upscale neighborhoods. In other words, squatting can occur almost anywhere. 

Florence has attempted to cut down on these interlopers, but many persist. If you think you see squatters in your neighborhood, don't hesitate to call police. Authorities are much better able to sort it out than you are.

If you let these squatters remain, the house they burn down may very well be yours...