UNA Needs Scott Morris Back

For some years, Scott Morris was the editor of the Decatur Daily; he then transferred to the TimesDaily. Later, he resigned to work with the Flor-Ala student newspaper at the University of North Alabama. Then the university, for reasons that are disputed, let Morris go.

We're not sure what adult staff helps these students now, but we can see a difference in the publication since Morris is no longer in charge. A reader sent us a most humorous gaffe that was posted last month in the campus news.

It seems that managing editor Chase Glover wrote a sports story on basketball stars the "Wallen Twins." After the very perturbed reader sent us this information, we couldn't resist a test to see how many others know of the "Wallen Twins." Not surprisingly, no one that we asked did.

In Glover's defense, he doesn't appear to be from the Shoals area. Yet, he is total proof that campus newspapers need a competent adviser. How many more fantastic employees is the university tossing out the window in its search for the almighty dollar?

Or Research...

How Should We Feel About Scott Morris?

If you missed the TimesDaily article about former editor Scott Morris being fired at our local university, it's not surprising. The story was captioned: Censorship not behind changes in Student Media, UNA officials say

Morris makes number three in this past summer's purge. His termination came shortly after that of Greg Gaston and David Shields. You can read about it here:

The Firing of Scott Morris

Do we feel sympathy for him? Yes and no. 

We don't believe Mr. Morris took the job at the TimesDaily because he had to. We're pretty sure he could have remained in Decatur if he had so wished. We're also pretty sure that Shelton Publishing could have kept T. Wayne Mitchell at the helm here in Florence. You might want to ask yourselves just what the Sheltons wanted from our one-time local paper that Mr. Mitchell couldn't or wouldn't give. Was it more than loyalty?

No matter the reason Scott Morris had for taking Mr. Mitchell's job, he remained at the TD for only five years before departing without an official word. Five more years and UNA is kicking him out just as the Sheltons did Mr. Mitchell.

So do we feel sorry for him? There he is...too old for a paper route and too young for social security... Isn't that just like Mr. Mitchell ten years ago?

TotallyDecatur Has A New Editor!

There's a new editor in town. Gary Maitland is now the head editorial honcho at Shelton Publishing's local branch of the TotallyDecatur. So where's Scott Morris?

Morris' last appearance in the TD seems to be on March 8th. Since that time, he's been missing in action. Considering how often the New York Times group changed editors, Morris had a long run. Was he liberal? Yes, but we thought he was usually fair and had no hidden agendas.

How long will Maitland stay? He came from the Miami area; he may not last one winter here...

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Want to contact anyone at the TD? Here's the link:

Contact the TimesDaily

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We had one reader who seemed upset that anyone cared about the kill rate in local shelters. Why? There are fetuses being aborted every day. 

Fair enough. The next time he takes a member of his family to the emergency room for a broken bone perhaps someone will tell him they choose to do nothing since they can't cure patients with terminal cancer.

Shoalanda

Mr. Morris Says "High Tech"

"No Child Left Behind," "Common Core," ad nauseum. First, make no mistake that we here at Shoalanda want every child in Alabama to receive the best possible education; however, we have only to look back sixty or so years and count the so call magic bullets that were supposed to make this possible to know there is no one size fits all solution.

Not all children are created equal. We can’t expect every child in the public school system to emerge a brain surgeon. We can make sure they don’t drop out before they’re old enough to realize the consequences.

Surprisingly, many who drop out say they will go back some day—either to public school or to obtain a GED. We’ll inject here that a GED isn’t really worth that much in some circles unless it’s followed by some college classes. Yes, it’s easy to say they’ll go back, but few actually do.

Not everyone agrees, but we believe if scientific research shows 16 year-olds aren’t old enough to drive a vehicle responsibly or to make sane and safe choices in relation to certain laws, then they just may not have the ability to understand what dropping out really means. Not everyone who graduates from high school will go on to college. In fact, we’re told now that too many waste years and thousands of dollars on college classes which don’t help them one iota in the real world.

It would seem our state school system is very much like Helen Keller Hospital. If they will spend as much time and money on just getting the job done as they have on implementing a fancy new program every eight to ten years, then our children will reap tremendous benefits.

In the which came first department, the TimesDaily’s Scott Morris recently lamented the lack of high tech companies outside Huntsville. He seemed to feel if more Alabamians had more fancy degrees, then more high tech business would locate in this state.

Obviously the high tech businesses that Morris referred to all came about because of the U.S. Space program which located in Madison County. It came first; the workers followed. We don’t doubt that Alabama schools produce many graduates with little gray cells to spare. Neither do we doubt most of these young people leave Alabama when they graduate.

Much job recruitment is at the state level. Perhaps it’s just easier for the governor on down to the mayors to recruit the manufacturing jobs that Alabama is blessed with? While we think government often gets into micro-management, we would definitely support a special recruiting program for these high tech jobs that apparently elude our wonderful state.

Shoalanda

The Winner Is...TD Editor Scott Morris!

SS: Congratulations, Mr. Morris. We were extremely impressed by your parody of Dr. Seuss' Grinch.

SM: It was really nothing at all. Parodies are extremely easy to write. Dr. Seuss did the groundwork. I just changed the words around a little.

SS: Be that as it may, we were greatly impressed, and you're the winner of our 2012 Holiday writing contest.

SM: Me? Cool. What did I win?

SS: A reception. Totally paid for from our bottomless coffers here at Shoalanda Speaks. The entire Shoals area is invited. It will be an event that will go down in history. Just imagine thousands of local citizens coming together at one time to honor you...Scott Morris.

SM: I'm in shock. When and where?

SS: Let's say January 1st. At your house, of course.

SM: Uh, wait a minute. My house? It's only 3000 sq. ft. or so. Who's going to provide security? Who's going to clean up?

SS: Piffle, Scott. Logistics, smogistics. We're paying for the party. You mean if we provide the caviar and champagne, you can't pay for the security and clean up?

SM: Well...no. I don't have that kind of money. In fact, I don't have that kind of room. This whole reception idea may have been well-intentioned, but I don't think you've really thought it out.

SS: Really, Mr. Morris? Do you possibly think that's exactly what Governor Bentley thought about the wonderful idea of free insurance for everyone in the state? Now, who's the Grinch?

Editor's Note: Obviously the above interview is our own parody. We have no idea how big Mr. Morris' house is or isn't, but we doubt he wants the entire Shoals area to converge on it. We support better health care for the indigent, but also support just a little common sense going into the process of bringing it to the citizens. Governor Bentley may not be perfect like Scott Morris, but we hardly think he's a Grinch simply because he has the financial well-being of the state (read: taxpayers) in mind.



Shoalanda

Who Will Stand Up For Alabamians?

It's nice to win awards. They make us feel good about ourselves and our work. They let others know we're special. Yet sometimes the awards we win say a great deal about us. We hear of frat boys winning drinking contests or of young women winning wet tee-shirt contests, and most of us don't think they've won anything of particular value. In fact, most of us probably think the winners should be ashamed to have participated in such a contest.

Today's TimesDaily lauded Scott Morris and Robert Palmer for a series of articles they wrote on, or perhaps we should say against, Alabama's HB156. It seems these two journalists have won the 2012 Carmage Wall Award. Who was Carmage Wall? We checked Wikipedia, and Mr. Wall so far has no entry in his name. Other sites tell us that Mr. Wall was a journalist whose career spanned seven decades; he fought for the rights of others--altogether a good thing as long as the rights of still others aren't trampled in the process.

The article didn't mention that along with the plaques honoring Morris and Palmer will come a thousand dollar prize. We imagine the two will split it 75/25...or perhaps the Wall family will be generous and offer each gentleman 1K.

But now we have to ask: Who will stand up for Alabamians? Who will put the needs of legal citizens first? We advocated dipping into the state's trust fund in order to keep Alabamians working. As long as such financial voodoo hoodoo is necessary in this state, we have no reason...or right...to advocate for illegal immigrants.

We're happy to publish opposing views of anyone who doesn't think Alabamians should come first.

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Shoalanda

TimesDaily High Jinks (Feral Pig? You Don't Say)

We're using the words "high jinks" loosely, but they seem as good as any to describe current goings on at our local rag. If you missed Scott Morris' Sunday column, he (via an alter ego) says we're all going to hell. Of course that's possible, but if you're wondering why Mr. Morris would bring our eternal fate up at all, it seems he may just be opposed to Alabama's new immigration law.

Morris points out the sales taxes paid by illegal immigrants, as well as the income and social security tax that many pay in via a fraudulent number--meaning they reap no actual benefit from it, but our government does. What Morris doesn't point out is the fact these taxes are dwarfed by the amount our government is forced to expend on said immigrants through health and other services. Also, please notice the use of the words "illegal" and "fraudulent" in the above sentences.

The editor from Decatur also fails to point out that these illegal immigrants do nothing to improve Alabama's image, an image still tarnished by a governor's family posing barefooted for a national magazine. We can't have it both ways, Mr. Morris. Either we move ahead or we fall behind, leaving the dregs of our great new society here in Alabama while the creme de la creme moves to greener pastures in other states.

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We recently mentioned the loss of a decade of TimesDaily archives brought about by their change in Internet servers. If you click on a Google link now, you're apt to see the following screen:


It seems pretty straight forward except for...the Feral Pig Story. We're not sure if some disgruntled TD employee thought this was a great joke to play on the newspaper and its readers or if the TD staff simply don't know how to use the new software. Hey, any underachiever can import the wrong line of text; it takes a colossal screw-up to leave it there.

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Moving on to RegionalCare, their Sunday ad advises us that the Shoals working together can "reclaim our rightful place as a regional medical center." Yes, we can, or we could, if we ever had been...



Shoalanda

"Argyle Sweater" Offensive?

A recent addition to the TimesDaily comic page is the Argyle Sweater. Below are two examples of some of the more offensive panels recently published.




We would suggest that anyone who finds this material offensive contact Scott Morris of the TimesDaily at 740-5721 or scott.morris@TimesDaily.com.

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Meet the Republican Candidates Cookout Saturday, July 10th at Veterans Park

The Shoals Republican Club will host a candidate cookout for all Republican candidates on the state, local, and federal levels on Saturday, July 10th from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Veterans Park, Picnic Shelter #2.

Veterans Park is located off Cox Creek Parkway near Wilson Dam in Florence. All Alabama Republican candidates on the state, local, and federal levels have been invited to attend. Confirmed candidates include gubernatorial candidate Dr. Robert Bentley, who will be present from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., Fifth Congressional District candidate Mo Brooks, and several local candidates. The event is open to the public and free.

Come out and meet the candidates. This is your opportunity to ask the candidates about themselves and the important issues facing our country, the state and the Shoals area. The Republican Primary Run Off is Tuesday, July 13th.

The Shoals Republican Club meets the 3rd Wednesday of each month. All meetings of the Shoals Republican Club are open to the public. For more information, contact Shoals Republican Club President William Smith at (256) 767-4529, or ShoalsRepublicanClub@gmail.com.

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Due to the amount of feedback concerning both our columns on Leighton and Cherokee, we will be publishing reader response beginning tomorrow.


Shoalanda

Tuscaloosa News Forum

Forums: Politics, crochet, gardening, hate, cake decorating--you name it, and they're out there. Yes, we used the word hate to describe some since there's no better description. The TimesDaily boasts that its online news site, complete with reader forum, is the largest read site in the Shoals. Yet, rumors persist that editor Scott Morris has plans to discontinue this popular venue.

Apparently the TD isn't the only newspaper to be the subject of rumors. The Tuscaloosa News, unlike the TD, is still part of the New York Times group, a company that has announced it will be eliminating its forums come February. So what of the TNF?

According to sources at the Tuscaloosa News, that newspaper will continue its popular forum, buying the current software or finding a format that is compatible with the present forum. Why should we in the Shoals care?

Visit the Tuscaloosa News Forum and count the number of members from the Shoals. The number grows daily for a variety of reasons. The TNF seems to have actual moderation--effective moderation at that. We invite you to visit it. You just might like it.


What's up with this: Andy Betterton is advocating that Blackberry Village subdivision revert to R-1 zoning. Fairly easy to advocate de facto zoning, isn't it? We've supported the R-2 zoning as an improvement over the former trailer park; obviously Eugene Sak is living up to his promise of doing what's best for Florence and the subdivision's neighbors.

Shoalanda

Scott Morris Nails It!

Scott Morris is the relatively new editor of the TimesDaily. Apparently it hasn't taken Mr. Morris very long to get the feel of local government, at least where Florence is concerned.

Mr. Morris also seems to be an excellent satirist. If you didn't catch his weekly Sunday column, here's the link to the item that had to have made Mayor Bobby Irons' day. There's nothing wrong with a town the size of Florence having a spokesperson. There is something wrong if that office is inaugurated for the purpose of covering up clandestine meetings or general flubs that come with all governmental operations.

Flubs? Well, a difference of $7,000.00 in proposed additional salary for the media czar would fit the bill.


What's up with this: If you've been checking out posts on various media sites, you've seen where a second young man has come forward to state he's been inappropriately touched by Amanda Watkins. Does UNA not offer at least one lecture in its education program outlining the consequences of such actions?

Shoalanda