Who's Best? and Forged Bios

 

Our blog on new Sheffield BOE member Scott Trimble was highly criticized in two areas. We hope this post clears up the confusion.

First, an apology. It seems Mr. Trimble and his daughter both attended elementary school in Sheffield (we had implied they hadn't); however, both transferred to Muscle Shoals for high school. We will let each reader decide how relative that is to Mr. Trimble's current position. We are curious as to why elementary schools are adequate, but the high school is not.

Second, even though it was omitted from an online work bio, according to a family member, Trimble did teach at least two years at Sheffield before his coaching position at UNA. So why was this job not on his LinkedIn profile? Mr. Trimble has stated (via a family member) that he did not write the profile and was not aware that one had been posted. BIG REVEAL: We understand that Mr. Trimble was a volunteer coach at Sheffield and not an actual employee. This may be why it was not on his work resume.

This is reminiscent of a few years ago when high school students created a Facebook page for their principal stating he lived in a certain Colbert County town. The problem with the faux Facebook entry was that the principal held an elected office in Lauderdale County. We imagine the LinkedIn profile which omitted Trimble's short tenure at Sheffield was written by some bored cross-country runners from our local university. We hope Mr. Trimble can easily sort that problem.

We're happy to make these facts known. So are there those in Sheffield who are more qualified and willing to serve on the board of education? We welcome ideas and input from readers.

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As we write this blog, we await the results of today's local and state primaries.Voting was light at our polling place. In fact, there were more poll workers than voters.

What does that say about us as citizens?

What's Up with New Sheffield Board of Education Member?

 

Scott Trimble has been named to replace Steve Nix as District 3 representative on the Sheffield Board of Education. The announcement states that Mr. Trimble is a lifelong resident of the city. That sounds great, but...

Scott Trimble has lived in Sheffield his entire life, but he never attended any Sheffield City School, and neither has his daughter. They’re all Muscle Shoals folks.

It doesn't really sound as if Mr. Trimble has been that supportive of Sheffield schools in the past. Isn't there someone out there who really loves not just Sheffield, but its schools as well?

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Hi, I'm Knoxley. I'm a 19 month-old female Staffordshire Terrier mix. Dig my ears! Come see me at the Florence shelter on Roberson Road in the industrial park:

The UNAbombers Four - Part II

Continued from yesterday...

The third athlete charged is Collins Montgomery. A graduate of Lawrence County High School, Montgomery lists Moulton as his home town. The 18 year-old was winner of the Decatur Daily Runner-of-the-Year in both 2007 and 2008. The son of John and Stefanie Montgomery, Collins also lettered in baseball while in high school and was majoring in pre-engineering. Montgomery is pictured on the left.

On the right is Dusty Talley, aged 18. He graduated from Ripley High School and lists Tupelo, Mississippi, as his home town. No other biographical data was available for Talley.

As of today, Lauderdale District Attorney Chris Connolly temporarily dismissed the explosive charges against the four while preparing a case to present to the grand jury. Sources say that William Dill is still charged with giving false information to the police, a misdemeanor.

These four young men are extremely lucky that they were were not injured in this so-called prank. The UNA track team is not so fortunate since Coach Trimble has lost most of his cross-country team and the Spring season is fast approaching. We wish him the best of luck.


(Bios courtesy of Scott Trimble/Photographs courtesy of Shannon Wills)

The UNAbombers Four - Part I

We here at Shoalanda have always been extremely proud of the University of North Alabama. One of our staff earned a Bachelor's degree from UNA, while two others also earned a Master's Degree from that venerable institution.

Recently, many UNA students have made the news, and not in a favorable way. This is no light matter, and it is surprising that any rational person would fail to be alarmed by these events.

Scott Trimble coaches cross-country running at UNA. Cross-country is a demanding sport, involving rugged terrain that may include areas of mud, water, and underbrush. Certainly this isn't a sport to which every runner is suited, but in 2008 Coach Trimble signed six new cross-country runners for the school. Now four of these signees have been arrested and expelled.

Over the weekend, these four athletes exploded a Drano bomb on Collier Avenue adjacent to a fraternity house, an area where many UNA staff also reside. Drano, a common household drain cleaner, contains lye and is extremely caustic. There are several videos on the Internet that provide detailed instructions for producing this explosive, some of them also depicting the injuries resulting from such explosions.

Now these four young men have not only been expelled from the university, but face the possibility of a felony conviction that can carry a sentence of up to ten years. These four student athletes have no criminal records and, up until this time, have led exemplary lives.

Aaron Bush, pictured at left, Is the son of Kevin Bush. The 19 year-old is a graduate of Wilsonville High School in Shelby County and was majoring in secondary education.

Pictured at right is William Daniel Dill of Muscle Shoals. Dill , the oldest at 22, is the son of Danny and Connie Dill. While at Muscle Shoals High School he lettered in track and was named a top freshman athlete. Dill later attended Northwest Shoals Community College before transferring to UNA where he too was majoring in secondary education. Besides the charge of possessing explosives, Dill is also charged with providing false information to the authorities.

Tomorrow: Part II (Bios courtesy of Scott Trimble/Photographs courtesy of Shannon Wills)