Apparently Cherokee isn't the only Alabama municipality suffering from Mayor-Council Clashitis; the towns of Daphne and Fairhope have also experienced a war of the egos. Their cases were recently heard by the Alabama Supreme Court, and on May 27th the Court ruled that only mayors have the authority to hire and fire in Alabama.
How this will exacerbate Cherokee's ongoing feud remains to be seen, but tomorrow night's council meeting holds the promise of, shall we say, interesting events. Stay tuned...
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Under the heading of "We Certainly Get Some Interesting Mail," a reader commented on our link to the blog Women of a Certain Age. The reader was disappointed--thinking it had referred to all the Pretty Young Things currently being hired by the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office. We hear the latest is only 19--it's good to know our sheriff has a plan to keep our youth busy this summer.
From another letter, are we attempting to embarrass Rita Montesi into selling her property by commenting on her brother's conviction for sexual assault and his attorney's legal problems? No, dear reader, when Ms. Montesi called the 2005 news conference that was covered in the TimesDaily, her comments on both Colbert County and her brother's defense attorney became both common knowledge and public record.
What do we think of Rita Montesi siding with her brother, a felon with a laundry list of crimes including the killing of their father? We think Ms. Montesi is defending the man who sexually assaulted her nieces. Do not expect any sympathy here for either pedophiles or their supporters.
Related posts:
Noah Monroe Tidwell
Who is Rita Montesi?
Shoalanda
Colbert County Sheriff Ronnie May described Noah Monroe Tidwell of Leighton as someone who was no stranger to local law enforcement. Tidwell and his brothers Leon and Grover had theft and similar charges dating back to the early 1960s. After an August 1965 violent quarrel, Noah Monroe Tidwell killed his father with a single shotgun blast. In 2003, a Colbert County grand jury indicted Tidwell for the sexual assault of two female relatives, both minors at the time of the alleged crimes. Obviously Tidwell was no angel, but would the evidence show he was capable of sexually assaulting members of his own family?
Tidwell, then 62, hired Florence attorney Tim Case to represent him. At the time of Tidwell's arrest, Case stated his client was innocent, but also admitted he knew nothing of his past record. In order not to compromise the prosecution at Tidwell's trial, much of his previous record was not admitted.
In December 2004, the bricklayer was convicted on ten counts of various sex crimes against his victims and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Tidwell's family, including sister Rita Montesi, defended him. Montesi had particularly strong words for her brother's attorney Case who was at that time suspended from the Alabama Bar for violating rules of professional conduct. Montesi also had angry words for Colbert County and is now in a dispute with the county concerning the State's acquisition of property she owns on Wilson Dam Road.
In January 2005, Tidwell and his new attorney, John Taylor of Decatur, filed a motion for a new trial, referencing Tim Case's inadequate defense. The motion was denied by Judge Hal Hughston. Tidwell, an admitted long-time alcoholic, is now serving his sentence in the Hamilton facility for the aged and infirm.
Nevertheless, Noah Monroe Tidwell is not too infirm to continue filing lawsuits against Colbert County. His latest claimed an illegal indictment due to his brother sitting on the grand jury that indicted him. The brother, Freddie Tidwell, did not vote on Noah Tidwell's indictment, but did hear testimony in the case. The suit also alleged prosecutorial misconduct in not allowing Freddie Tidwell to testify in his brother's defense. A U.S. Court of Appeals denied Tidwell's claims in March 2011, but considering the former bricklayer's track record, we doubt that Colbert County or its taxpayers have heard the last of him.
Related post: Who is Rita Montesi?
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Update on Sheffield Post Office: A source with the local USPS confirmed today that while Sheffield post office boxes will remain open to patrons indefinitely, the window service will not. During most days, one window will remain open, in all probability manned by the Sheffield Postmaster himself. This is progress?
Shoalanda
The last leg of the Wilson Dam Road widening project in Muscle Shoals/Tuscumbia has hit another snag. Rita Montesi has refused to sell her property for the 43K offered her by the state. She was reportedly also unhappy with the 115K appraisal by the last Colbert County panel to value her lot--a lot that is losing access via Wilson Dam Road. The property may still be accessed via Sheridan Avenue. Montesi has hired attorneys Vincent McAllister and Steve Baccus to represent her in her quest for more money...or is it a vendetta against Colbert County?
The Cordova, Tennessee, resident owns several parcels of land in Colbert County, with the Wilson Dam parcel being appraised for tax purposes at slightly over 59K. The monetary value of the land does not take into consideration any income earned therefrom. In other words, if Rita Montesi had sold a portion of the land for the original offer of just over forty thousand dollars, she may have lost more in future years from lack of rental income. So...how about 115K; would she lose more in rental income if she received the latter amount? Now it becomes doubtful. Why pay attorneys to fight the state and Colbert County?
Rita Montesi is the sister of Noah Monroe Tidwell, a man convicted in Colbert County in 2005 of sexually abusing his two daughters. After the guilty verdict was handed down, Montesi held a news conference in which she accused Tidwell's attorney Tim Case of offering ineffective counsel and claimed that Colbert County did not provide a fair trial for her brother, wrongfully convicting him of crimes for which he was sentenced to life in prison. Tidwell is currently suing Colbert County, costing the taxpayers money and flaunting his deviant behavior.
Many say those who have held up and still are holding up the Wilson Dam Road widening project are responsible for any deaths which occur on this narrow stretch of road. That premise is debatable, but the condition of the narrow highway certainly does nothing to prevent such accidents.
If Rita Montesi is putting the kibosh on the Wilson Dam Road widening project out of revenge for the conviction of a sexual pervert who used his own daughters to gratify his sick cravings, the citizens of Colbert County need to know about it. The hearing on the most recent offer will be held Wednesday; we hope Montesi will agree to sell at that time.
Shoalanda
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