Tyreke Zion Gentry was 20 years old last November. He won't see 21. Ty was shot dead in Sheffield on February 1st.
If you haven't heard about this young man's death, you're not alone. The Sheffield Police Department is reportedly investigating. That is the only statement that we can find as of today, February 4th.
Ty's family cares. His friends care. We care. You should care as well. His death diminishes all of us. If you have any information, contact the Sheffield Police at 205-386-5630.
Many have asked about known associations of the six Florence City Council members. Here's some basics, good and bad, about the five elected and one rammed-down-the-throat members:
District 1: Kaytrina Simmons - Yes, Ms. Simmons works for UNA. She also gets great marks on her public involvement. Those we know who live in District 1 say they'll vote for her again in August.
District 2: Jackie Hendrix - Also known as Jivin' Jackie, Hendrix was the personal pick of Dick Jordan to succeed him and has never been duly elected to the council. He's had a lot of jobs/business associations, failing to announce he was once (and perhaps still is) a partner of Eugene Sak during a major council vote on financial incentives for the property developer. Hendrix's wife, Debra (the Big) Dombrowski, is also affiliated with the City as a member of the Tree Commission, sparking cries of nepotism at the very least.
District 3: Bill Griffin - Bill is a realtor and not running for re-election as a council member, but is standing for mayor. Above all, we've never seen Bill use his current office for personal gain.
District 4: Michelle Eubanks - Michelle also works for UNA. During the current term, she was criticized for her involvement with the design firm which created the "F!rence" campaign. The major question about Eubanks is where her allegiance lies.
District 5: Blake Edwards - Blake is a local businessman who has faced numerous lawsuits. He's been called a nepo baby related to his father's association with the City. Edwards could also be called a one-trick-pony due to his initially winning his council seat by supporting a new Walmart in northern Florence. His chance for winning re-election seems slim.
District 6: Jimmy Oliver - Jimmy is in his first term and has, unfortunately, recently aligned himself with Hendrix. Nevertheless, he's stood up to City museum director Brian Murphy, making new fans for the on-air radio personality.
If you have questions about anyone on the council, we'll be happy to research until we find you an answer...
If You Look Closely, You Can See the B.S.
Bad news, Florentines. Florence Flo, the city's favorite rodent, has proclaimed there will be six more months of Jivin' Jackie Hendrix and his consort the Big Dombrowski to suffer through.
For those who remarked yesterday that citizens should walk more, have you taken a gander at the sidewalks in Hendrix's district? It would be more dangerous than riding a bike on Pine Street.
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Worried about the cost of creating those bike lanes? It seems the quote mentioned yesterday didn't cover the new lighting.
If you're upset over this...and you should be...consider attending the next city council meeting on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. If you don't attend, we're sure our blogger The Florence Detective will fill you in, but by then your tax dollars may already be pickle juice down the sink.
Like to live dangerously? May we suggest riding a bike on a major traffic artery, bike lane or no?
Like to make citizens mad? We suggest taking away two lanes of traffic on Pine Street in Florence.
Where will these two lanes go? One will become a turn lane, while the other will morph in to two bike lanes.
If you drive in the downtown area only, this won't affect you. The reorganization of lanes will stretch from Irvine Avenue to Cypress Mill Road only.
The point, you ask? The City of Florence wishes to provide bike lanes for all those college students who are just chomping at the bit to use them. Really?
We hate to break this to the City, but most students of college age drive actual vehicles. How many bikes have you ever seen on the highly promoted Wood Avenue bicycle lanes? We personally can recall seeing one, and he may have been a stray Mormon.
That brings us to safety. From Google:
While bike lanes can be a great addition to many roads, they can pose some unique challenges on major city arteries:
Important Note: These are potential concerns. Well-designed and properly maintained bike lanes on major city arteries can be a safe and effective way to encourage cycling and reduce traffic congestion. Factors like lane width, buffering, and clear signage are crucial for mitigating these risks.
It's important to consider the specific context of each road and the needs of all road users when planning and implementing bike lanes.
Perhaps the City will install cameras and call it entertainment. For $234,900.00, the taxpayers are entitled to something.
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Coming to a comedy club near you next Tuesday:
There were several dogs to a crate.
Some barely had room to move.
Some were one to two week-old puppies.
Urine and feces ran from the stacked upper crates into the lower.
All were bred to make money.
The official story is that the dogs belonged to an "older" woman in ill health. Yet she wasn't the only member of her family. Allegedly two others lived in the County Road 6 residence. No charges have been filed as of today, but all 82 small dogs were confiscated.
82, all small, all basically the same breed, all for sale at the right price. What does that tell you?
According to one source, the home/puppy mill had been reported at least two years ago. Nothing was done. This is one of the "advantages" of living in an unincorporated area - advantages for those with no morals or ethics.
Our belief is that the district attorney is deciding whether or not to prosecute for animal cruelty. Yes, it's a thin line. Alabama needs better education, better laws, and better enforcement.
Remember: This state may get none of these things until you elect honest, caring officials...
Thanks to Florence-Lauderdale Animal Services for Saving These Puppers!
Natural Death or Murder?
The “execution” papers were signed on Tuesday, January 28th, 2025. The executioner will be a company out of Birmingham named Tomlin Excavating which will provide the wrecking ball to finally put the old girl out of her misery. She was abused, neglected, and even set on fire but could not withstand a fight with city hall. The “original” parking deck is coming down.
There were a lot of pieces to the puzzle that finally put together the parking deck’s demise, but in this writer's opinion, the best interest of city hall politicians and not the best interest of the Florence taxpayers is what this situation has been about all along. It was decided almost 10 years ago by a “so-called” previous administration that this town needed to build a new parking deck or two to go along with the new city hall complex. Now bear in mind, at the time of this “decision” this “previous” administration had 4 of the current 6 people sitting on the council podium at the time who are STILL there. 1 on the council then, Andy Betterton is now mayor and Dick Jordan, the actual power behind the throne, is dead. But it seems his influence in governing lives on. Let me give you my take on the two parking decks and of one's untimely demise.
The mayor at the time, Steve Holt, had the good political and common sense to know that you could not spring too much on the taxpayer at once. After all, there was still improvements to be made to the sportsplex. But, as I said, the real power behind the throne, Dick Jordan and his “friends” around town, had other ideas on how they wanted to see the downtown area revised. They were throwing a bone to East Florence in the promise of an “Entertainment District” and a federally funded roundabout at Royal Ave and Huntsville Rd but if they got too aggressive with distributing tax money downtown where most of his pals owned the buildings that would benefit from TWO new parking decks, it would not be a good look. Of course, there was also the question of how to transfer the ECM property that the city had just had returned to their purview.
Ol' Dick had a deal he wanted to go through with his “bestie” Joel Anderson who would get the property for practically nothing and then build a retail complex with the taxpayer footing the bill, but they would somehow have to sneak that in without too much attention being drawn. It would boost the property value of the shopping center his family had owned for decades on College St. Just the right amount of finesse was needed to make the plan work. Then a pandemic happened in the middle of a city election. Also, there were national issues that were getting played out locally and it seemed like the citizens of Florence were more interested in the national evening news than anything going on locally.
Sure enough, there were very few candidates who ran in each district for the election. And of the two candidates in the mayor's race, it really did not matter who won because they were both part of the regime. The “winner” was the more malleable of the two so Dick and friends had everything in place. The plan to spend millions on parking decks for the downtown area, a new city hall complex that could possibly be named for Dick Jordan and the plans for a shopping center/luxury housing complex on the former ECM property just sailed right through when it was time for the council to vote. The public either didn’t notice or didn’t care and it was all but a done deal. Things moved along and Dick even selected his replacement without an election and had him installed to implement this plan before he left the council. He eventually met the grim reaper. RIP Dick Jordan, everything was in place.
There were a few things that had been “accomplished” under the “Jordan” administration that have had lasting effects on the city of Florence. Some were good like the sportsplex, many were questionable. But the one that actually effected every single citizen of Florence the most was the rise in sales tax. Over Dick’s time from councilman to mayor to council president the sales tax had risen from 6% to 9.5%. This last raise which occurred during his time as president of the council, would be the one to put the downtown project over the top! It was supposed to be a raise in the sales tax to support higher salaries for firefighters and police. The police chief at the time, Ron Tyler had appeared before the council at a meeting and in no uncertain terms let the city know if something was not done about the pay there would be many officers leaving for areas which paid more. Some questioned this and even at the time the remarks from the public were mainly against this move. There is a video recording of this meeting on the Facebook page, Florence city council Vote Em All Out and I highly recommend everyone who is reading this to go to the page and find the recording and watch it. The fact that with this sales tax hike Florence would be paying the highest rate in North Alabama, higher than Huntsville or Decatur, was also discussed. As planned it seems, the agenda item was passed and the sales tax was raised. And it was not written in the resolution what this tax hike revenue would be used exclusively for so, there would be money to burn in the city coffers!
And all of that brings us back to the “original” parking deck and its demise. The original plan for the “city hall complex” going back about 10 years was to have a 6-story city hall complex and TWO parking decks. Build one at the corner of Tombigbee and Pine Streets and tear down the “original” at Tennessee and Pine. Instead of the larger 500+ parking space version like the “original” there would be two at around 300 spaces each. That way, the city employees could use one during “normal business hours” as had been the practice since “original” had been built and there would be another for retail shoppers and downtown business employees to use.
But there appeared a catch. After the pandemic, building prices soared. When the feelers were sent out to construction companies for bid amounts of how much it would cost to build the entire city hall and parking decks complex, they came back at twice what was originally planned. There was another problem. The original parking deck was starting to show what would happen to a structure if it had no maintenance for 40 or so years. Maintenance of buildings had never been a high priority in the city. The recreation center buildings are old and for the most part over the years just left alone to the elements. Most of the “maintenance” staff were actually yard crews. The parks are what the maintenance was all about.
The engineering firm, LBYD engineering out of Huntsville, back in 2018, had submitted a study paid for by the city that showed the current parking deck was in need of upgrades and repairs. This is sort of like an estimate from a roofing company on someone’s home. It is unclear whether it was deliberate or through negligence but from 2018 until the present day there was no maintenance done on the parking deck at the corner of Tennessee and Pine Streets. And it was starting to show. The study was ignored and no repairs made. And something needed to be done.
So, at this the mayor’s office went to work with a public relations campaign to turn lemons into lemonade. They had a piece of concrete that supposedly had fallen from the ceiling on one of the floors on the deck and a call was made to all the Huntsville television stations and of course a press release was written for the Times Daily to use to broadcast far and wide that the deck is falling apart. THE DECK IS FALLING! It is dangerous and must be replaced and come down as soon as possible. AND also, they would announce they had a plan for a shiny new deck to be built! The parking count at first was never given, but when the price tag came in at almost 30% higher than had been discussed in the original city hall complex plan in 2018, they had to gloss over the actual parking space count. It wasn’t smaller. It was MORE COMPACT! It had biking spaces!
And it appeared the public would never be the wiser. Until some citizens questioned what was actually going on. And from there this tale of the original parking deck will end. The comedic tale of grief is not for the parking deck itself but for the situation this area has allowed itself to get into where the citizens are blindly led by the nose in whatever direction an elected official wants to take them and the lazy and complicit traditional news media leads without question. If it were not for social media sites such as Shoalanda and others, a complete propaganda pipeline would be all that people had available for local political news. Some think local events do not matter in their daily lives. I contend most vehemently that is not the case. This sentiment was relayed to me many years ago by a local political observer and I will end with it: WHAT HAPPENS ON PINE STREET CAN AFFECT YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE MUCH MORE THAN WHAT HAPPENS ON PENNSYLVANIA AVE.
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At the beginning of the day Tuesday, Florence-Lauderdale Animal Services had 98 dogs available for adoption.
That's not counting those who have a hold time for redemption or an illness preventing them from immediate placement.
Then came Tuesday afternoon...
The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office brought 82 more canines to the shelter. Yes, you read that right - 82.
These dogs cannot be adopted immediately. We'll post availability when the dogs are legally released. Until then...
Fosters! The shelter needs individuals to help foster these animals. Shelter social worker Chapel King has asked that you don't call, but stop by the shelter in person, ready to take one...or more...home.
The shelter is located in the Florence Industrial Park off Chisholm Road at 3240 Roberson Road. There are numerous signs, so it's easy to find. The shelter is open at 11:00 a.m. each weekday and at Noon on Sunday.
If you foster or adopt, take a photo. We'll help show the world what fabulous and caring citizens Florence has. Just please do it now!
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The fight to end ALFA's hold over the Alabama legislature began several years ago, but it really took off in 2021. Sadly, ALFA's money talked, and many legislators readily admitted it.
Next month brings a new legislative session, and new protests against the animal-hating insurance giant. February 5th will mark the biggest protest against ALFA and the Alabama Farmers Federation to date. Don't you want to be there?
If you can't be there, we'll be helping to keep you informed. If you want to go, contact: dean70hawkins@gmail.com.
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Remember our old offer to post free ads for local insurance companies that compete with ALFA? It's still valid. Send us your insurance specials and we'll make sure our readers are aware of your better services.
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Usually local law enforcement agencies, indeed all law enforcement, stick together and support each other. That wasn't the case earlier today when a Muscle Shoals Dispatcher chose to criticize the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department very publicly on the Shoalanda Speaks Facebook page.
In case you were out of the loop this weekend, a Russellville man was arrested Saturday in Florence after allegedly committing two sex crimes at the Whataburger on Florence Boulevard. Lauderdale County houses and therefore books all Florence arrests, posting them to their VINE powered app in usually three hours or less. Adonnis Bailey's arrest appeared online mid-afternoon on Saturday, January 25th, listing the charge as Forcible (1st Degree) Rape.
Then around 4:00 p.m. Sunday, or at least 24 hours later, the Florence Police Department issued a press release on its Facebook page stating the charge against Bailey was First Degree Sex Abuse.
You may be asking what the FPD app said. Sadly, it didn't say anything about arrests after Thursday, January 23rd as of last night. Yes, it usually runs three to four days behind, one reason most citizens consult the sheriff's app for up to date information. Thank you, Sheriff Joe Hamilton.
However, not everyone seems to appreciate Sheriff Hamilton and his department. Enter Muscle Shoals dispatcher Jessyca Green who made a highly negative post about the quality of Lauderdale County's app and suggested that its entries were frequently "inconsistent," "incorrect," and "misleading." She further suggested that the public should trust only the app of the Florence Police Department.
We're sure that both the Muscle Shoals Police Department and the citizens of that Colbert County town are extremely glad to have someone of Texas native Jessyca Green's caliber to put the Lauderdale County Sheriff and his staff in their place.
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You say you don't want your tax dollars to pay for induced abortions? Neither do we. In case you're not aware, it's currently against federal law for such funds to be used in induced abortions. It's called the Hyde Amendment; here's a recap from Wikipedia:
In U.S. politics, the Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, except to save the life of the woman, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape.[1][2] Before the Hyde Amendment took effect in 1980, an estimated 300,000 abortions were performed annually using federal funds.[3]
Currently, federal funds are sent to Planned Parenthood to conduct tests for sexually transmitted infections and offer birth control and sex education. While Planned Parenthood does offer abortion services, these procedures do not use taxpayer dollars.
Now Rep. Robert Aderholt has introduced a bill to pull all funds from Planned Parenthood. Per Alabama Political Reporter:
Aderholt wrote in his announcement of the bill, entitled the Protect Funding for Women’s Health Care Act, “Defending the unborn has been a top priority of mine since I was first elected to Congress, and I will continue to fight for life each and every day.”
“I am proud to introduce this bill in the U.S. House and to continue standing for life by ensuring that federal tax dollars are never used to fund organizations such as Planned Parenthood and others like it,” Aderholt continued.
While this is his prerogative, Aderholt also states:
Women deserve real health care options that protect both mother and child.
Even disregarding the issue of birth control (more such education could reduce induced abortions by as much as 90%), we're at a loss as to how less STI testing protects an unborn child.
First, there are at least seven STIs that diminish or destroy fertility in both males and females. Some can go undetected for years.
What happens to an infant born to a mother with an STI?
Does Robert Aderholt really want more of that? Or is he that ignorant? Or is he pandering to certain voters? Will he aspire to the Senate if Tommy moves on? If so, today he lost our vote or support.
There is still another lawsuit against the Sheffield Police Department. The suit is at least the sixth against the department, and quite possibly the seventh or eighth, in roughly the past three years.
A couple, Anthony and Jennifer Story, filed the suit one month ago, alleging that their civil rights were denied during a traffic stop by former officer Kaegan Cook. The officer is stated to have demanded a bumper sticker be removed immediately or driver Anthony would be taken to jail.
The suit also names former chief Ricky Terry. Hank Sherrod is the attorney of record for the Storys.
Perhaps now the salient question is: Is there anyone out there who isn't suing the City of Sheffield and its police department?
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For the first time since the inception of a council form of government, the City of Florence has no predominately African-American district. How will this affect the August 2025 election?
Kaytrina Simmons has indicated she will run for re-election. Who will run against her? So far no one has announced their candidacy in District 1, but it's still seven months until Florence heads to the polls.
It will definitely be interesting...if not contentious.
Pictured: Green Meadows Shopping Center on West College Street.
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In case you haven't heard, the old Florence parking deck, like General Franco of decades ago, still lives. It's either ready to do battle for the next century or falling to the ground all by itself, depending on whom one believes.
Meanwhile, at the new deck, we understand it's not overflowing with vehicles. Will it ever pay for itself? Surely you know the answer to that.
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Different retail concerns have very dissimilar policies concerning shoplifting. Shoplift at Walmart, especially if you're visibly impaired, you will face consequences.
Several locals have criticized the Florence Police Department for the recent treatment of a shoplifter who resisted arrest. Why was this perp "assaulted?" He stole and then resisted arrest. Here'e the statement from Chief Michael Holt:
One note: Some witnesses have stated the officer struck the shoplifter three times, not two. We're sure they'll be delighted when called to testify at any lawsuit the arrestee files.
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Tuscumbia residents say a total of 18 solar panels have appeared at Spring Park. How much energy will they produce? What exactly will they power? Those familiar with the park tell us that the waterfall/water show are controlled by two electric pumps situated under the water and have their own dedicated energy source.
It will be interesting to see how much the City of Tuscumbia has invested in the panels. Perhaps a certain Lauderdale sculptor has refunded some of the 30K paid toward the Singing River artwork?
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Speaking of the sculptures, it seems the Not Elvis statue in Sheffield may have a new name:
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The high temperatures in the Shoals are not expected to rise about freezing until Wednesday afternoon. If you know of someone who needs shelter, please make them aware of the following locations:
Lauderdale County -
Southern Legacy Assembly will be open as a daytime warming center at 116 S. Royal Ave. It will be open for temps below freezing. Food and supplies will be available.
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