Congrats Steve, Kaytrina, & ...Whoever!

It certainly looks like a recount or two for District Four in Florence. Six votes is an extremely close margin.

Congratulations to Steve Holt and Kaytrina P. Simmons on their victories! Now someone has a word for Dave Smith...

Phhhhffffftttt!!!

*****

*****

2015 National Lodging Tax Report

Whether you agree or disagree with an increase in lodging tax, the matter has not been handled well so far. Above is a report contrasting various states and cities.

*****

Attention: Single Women/Vote

First a word to single women: Let’s emphasize one more time…no, the prisoner/bad boy/druggie you’re dating isn’t any different than the others. Want to wind up in a ditch? Go ahead and date him. Want to live a long life? Find a nice guy or simply live alone. It won’t kill you…and that’s the point.

April Michelle Welch

*****

*****

Vote tomorrow! Yes, if you live in an incorporated area, chances are there’s an election in your town tomorrow. If you don’t vote, you can’t complain, can you?

*****

If you live in Florence, we can’t stress how important it is for you to vote for Steve Holt and Kaytrina P. Simmons. Unless, of course, you want four more years of being used and lied to.

*****

Florence Mayor?

Florence mayor Mickey Haddock is completing his first term in office. He will happily tell you much he has done. Let's look at some things he has...and hasn't done...that he won't mention:

* Failed, for whatever reason, to build new animal shelter. For those not aware, next weekend there is a BENEFIT for our current shelter in order to make needed improvements. By now the old shelter should have been sold or even donated, and the new owners providing maintenance for the building.

* Failed, for whatever reason, to build new senior center. What has been accomplished is to rent property the city had previously sold where the current senior center lies and an unsuccessful attempt to buy back the land. 

* Failed, for whatever reason, to secure funding for College Street bridge to connect West Florence with the western end of the county. (In fairness, this will require state approval, but lack of such is still another example of our current mayor and council's inabilities to get things done.)

* Presented idea to combine Florence-Lauderdale Government Building and Lauderdale County Courthouse properties into one plaza, even authorizing initial blueprints, then seemingly abandoned the idea without comment.

* Delayed Wood Avenue paving project more than once, each time removing needed improvements to the water pipe system underneath.

* Authorized a parking committee to handle peak hour shortages in downtown. After thousands of dollars, we now know there's a shortage of spaces (no comment) and that painting the parking deck purple and gold will alleviate it partially. (Not making that one up; check for yourself.)

* Authorized a study for a second entertainment district downtown without ever acting on the already approved Sweetwater Arts & Entertainment District. As of today, Florence still has no entertainment district. 

* Hired a councilman's brother-in-law as project coordinator who had been terminated by the previous mayor and council in his role as city clerk. If anyone knows what a project coordinator does, please let us know.

* Engaged in sporadic rhetoric about inside tennis courts and other attractions for Veterans Park. Four years later, there's still no attraction as promised in the park, and citizens report current facilities are in dire need of maintenance.

* Failed to listen to water department manager Mike Doyle who advised of high liability risk in continuing to provide sewer service to parts of St. Florian. For those not geographically inclined, St. Florian is an incorporated town north of Florence which has no connection other than a shared boundary. Haddock did demand St. Florian property owners sign an agreement to pay for any damages resulting from this arrangement. Let's hope we never have to see just how that may or may not work.

* Failed to even enter into discussions concerning lack of space at county detention center where Florence prisoners are housed. 

There are certainly more minor problems not addressed by our current mayor, but you get the idea. After the election, we plan to look at a few oddities concerning this race. In the mean time, we endorse Steve Holt for mayor of Florence. Mr. Holt was for years head of the Florence Chamber of Commerce, is highly competent, and aware of the local job situation. 

A vote for Steve Holt is a vote for actually doing something.

The Good(e), the Bad, & the Ugly

The good? We sincerely hope it will be a new mayor for Florence. Yes, we understand that some things take more time than others. Some projects require state approval and money; however, let's look at what has not been accomplished under four years of Mayor Haddock:

1. Either indoor or outdoor new tennis courts.

2. College Street bridge.

3. College Street Plaza (which may never happen; we have no idea since Haddock has never offered an official statement on it).

4. Either of the two proposed so-called entertainment districts (this may not be a bad thing, but the public needs to know the status of these two proposals).

5. New senior center, something else that may never happen.

6. New animal shelter (yes, there’s been progress, but very little in four years).

We’re sure there’s more, but six unfinished promised projects are enough to show a pattern of do-nothingness.

We invite reader comments on Susan Goode and Steve Holt. We’ll have more next week.

*****

The bad? We’ve received another communication from a reader who uses the name Pecos Bill:

I took your advice to call the warden at the Holman prison but have never got him yet. Now Jerry Don (Crowden) has threatened to kill some people. Don’t know who they are, but he openly mentions his phone and has posted pictures of guns.

PB sent us a screen shot of one of Crowden’s threats. We won’t publish it here since it includes the names of his daughter and girlfriend, but here is the edited version:

You know I'm man enough to tell somebody if I got a problem with them I don't have to put little xxx messages on Facebook book and if it somebody I'm sub post to care about I'm going right to them and just because I'm trying to change my life and be a better person don't mean them .45 are gone and want loss a nights sleep over making them things talk and when you bring xxx and xxx in it I'll go to prison the rest of my life and don't give one xxxdamn

If these two women are receiving some kind of threats, they need to contact Florence Police. If the person whom Crowden is threatening is aware of these threats, he needs to contact both the prison and his local police. Crowden talks of changing his life, but now that such an overt threat has been made, he will never make parole. He may even have added a few years to his sentence which ends in 2033. A sad waste of a life.

*****

The ugly? That would be Jason Dylan Olive who led at least two local law enforcement agencies on quite a chase yesterday. Apparently Olive is an amateur tattoo artist who advertises on FB that he does work at pajama/tattoo parties…all the while under the influence of meth according to some who have commented on his latest escapade.

Pajama/tattoo parties? Due to truth in advertising they should probably be called pajama/tattoo/hepatitis parties.

The Slow Disappearance of National Alabama

In March of this year, National Alabama announced it would be producing certain major components for 500 rail cars. The project was scheduled to commence around July 1st and be finished by December 31st. Admittedly, July is still with us, but sources at the plant tell us that no work has yet been done to set up this assembly line--assuming it's still needed. Has the contract been cancelled? How would we know?

In other National Alabama news, a second source reports:

When National Alabama Corporation officially moved in to its new facility in 2009, it wasn't alone. In addition to the NAC employees, several vendors also took up residence, or opened 'store fronts', within the confines of the facility. Originally, it was the 'job' of these vendors to supply the plant with the day-to-day operating materials, tools and constant use items needed in manufacturing. In addition to these vendors, representatives of the manufacturers of much of the state-of-the-art equipment purchased by NAC, with money borrowed from the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), also established field offices on site. These representatives supplied on-site trouble shooting and repair services to NAC in the event that one of their products, such as a 'robot welder', developed a 'glitch'.

It has been reported that many of these 'field representatives' have 'closed up shop', apparently due to difficulties in obtaining payment for items ordered and installed within the dormant NAC manufacturing facility. It has also been reported that some of the vendors have 'pulled out' of the site, claiming that there 'isn't enough business' to justify the continuation of services on site.

It has also been reported that as much as 30% of the maintenance department has quit since the first of the year, choosing to seek actual work elsewhere. One can only wonder how much 'maintenance' needs to be performed on machinery that isn't being used.

And Shoals Chamber of Commerce president Steve Holt, pardon...we meant to say Mr. Stephen Holt...uses this as an example of desirable foreign investors? ***** The TimesDaily seems to have begun a campaign to promote the "college" that a Chinese company may, or may not, have planned for the old Florence Golf and Country Club. What would happen if they built this college? First, we're not sure what was intended by the Chinese. Was it a college of some ilk or a pharmaceutical enterprise as first stated? How easily it morphed. If it should be a college, it would not be able to grant degrees or even any transferable credits without proper accreditation. How was it to align with the current College of Nursing at UNA? We have no idea on that subject either since all we have read states the College of Nursing can't change its studies on the mere whim of faculty or even that of President William Cale. In the For What It's Worth Department, this supposed college could be certified for Chinese students, but how that would help the University of North Alabama is extremely nebulous. Would Chinese students come en masse to study Chinese courses and then return to China to practice whatever they had learned here? It would supposedly help the economy of the Shoals, but so would legalized brothels. Shoalanda

Steve Holt to Leave Shoals Chamber of Commerce?

Steve Holt, aka Mr. Stephen B. Holt (we swear he's listed that way on the Shoals Chamber's web site--thinks a lot of himself, doesn't he?), recently took some hits from us and others for his remarks concerning the recruitment of foreign business in which he used National Alabama as an example. Our quote was: If Mr. Holt, or anyone else, thinks that the RSA's deal with Canada's National Rail Car is a success in any sense of the word, we see the need for more psychiatric treatment centers, not foreign business.

From our friend O.B.: I see the need for new leadership in not only the Shoals CoC, but also the airport board, Florence city council including the mayor, the UNA board of trustees and the Lauderdale Co. commission.

Sources close to Holt say we may not have him to kick around much longer. The City of Huntsville is seeking a new director for its chamber of commerce, and Holt reportedly interviewed and made the short list.

*****

We're happy to announce that the Southland Restaurant in Sheffield has decided to stay open, at least for the immediate future. Their July 11th auction failed to meet the reserve, and the owners are reconsidering selling the landmark eatery. They're currently keeping shorter summer hours, but should be back to regular business hours in the fall.

*****

Yesterday we published a report from C.R. in which he discussed the drug related arrest of Cherokee street/sanitation worker Douglas Michael Williams. We've learned that Williams had warrants for pending assault charges at the time of his employ with the town. We're sure sanitation workers are hard to find, but surely a quick check for recent troubles should be standard pre-hiring policy for any municipality.

*****

From C. R.:

Part Time Help

When Cherokee's Burger King Four cut the town’s budget, two employees from the police department resigned within a few months. The council’s solution was to hire two part time police officers at nine dollars an hour, with no benefits.

The old saying is “you get what you pay for”. The town hired two people that no other police department would hire. Do you remember Officer Ambien from Leighton? He shot into a wall, because he thought he saw ninjas in his Sheffield apartment.

After being instructed to stop taking Ambien, the officer failed a drug test given by the City of Leighton, according to sources. Ambien was still in the officers system. The officer was told he no longer worked for the police department.

Officer Ambien worked at the Colbert County Sheriff’s Department before Leighton and had to resign after a car wreck while on duty. Sources inside the department have told me that it had to do with a failed drug test.

Many Cherokee Citizens state that Officer Ambien stays in the tri-cities most of his shift, around the Sheffield area.

The other officer hired, a former Tuscumbia officer, already has problems. Several Cherokee Citizens have complained of the officer illegally searching their cars. One woman stated that she went into the gas station and when she returned the officer was searching her car. She stated that she was never pulled over.

Time for a Drug Test

It is time for the Town of Cherokee to pass an ordinance that would require all town employees and all board members to be randomly drug tested.

Shoalanda

Is Steve Holt Serious?

Shoals Chamber of Commerce President Steve Holt shocked many in the community when he held up National Alabama as an example of what other countries can do for this area. Said Holt:

If you look at the more recent investments in this market — National Railcar began as a Canadian operation...

If Mr. Holt, or anyone else, thinks that the RSA's deal with Canada's National Rail Car is a success in any sense of the word, we see the need for more psychiatric treatment centers, not foreign business.

*****

It also came as a shock that the Guizhou Shenqi Group is now being touted as wanting to build a graduate level college specializing in health care management. That's a far cry from the manufacture of natural medicines, whatever that may entail.

We have to wonder why, if Councilman Barry Morris' version of the proposed enterprise is correct, it hasn't been pointed out before. It's not surprising that some considered the possibility of a money laundering operation being involved.

Yes, the Shoals needs economic development from wherever we can get it. If Dr. Morris knew more about the company than was originally stated, he should have come forward much earlier; however, the field of heath care management is far removed from pharmaceuticals. Unless someone clarifies this company's interest in the property, we suggest Sam Pendleton and James Barnhart were correct in asking questions of this Chinese gift horse.

*****

The Lauderdale County Sheriff's office and its dispatch center are being temporarily separated in order to remodel the courthouse's second floor offices. More than one person has suggested to us that Sheriff Ronnie Willis prefers that arrangement be made permanent after the renovations are complete. Should the sheriff's dispatch operation be permanently housed with the county's 911 offices? Just what are the pros and cons? We welcome further input from the community, input both to us and the county commission if there should be a tremendous downside to this arrangement.



Shoalanda