The Good, Bad and Sad: The ECM Saga

By J.J. Ray

The Good

Having heard so many stories about ECM I was very reluctant to go to Shoals Hospital for a diagnostic test. Surprise, surprise not only were they on time but totally professional and respectful. I did get the opportunity to inquire about the takeover. Most comments were positive but there seemed to be an underlying thought that most danced around.

As fate would have it, a relative became extremely ill and most of our families have been at ECM for the last ten days. Once again, the staff has been extremely professional and helpful with the exception of some on the night shift.


The Bad

Now we will talk about the food or lack thereof. In my sixty plus years on this earth, I have seen some ghastly food but it cannot match the rubbish ECM tries to call nourishment. I really have tried to find a word to use to describe it but there does not appear to be any word in any language besides garbage. There is a definite possibility that dumpster diving downtown would be more preferable than that the refuse they serve there. Now to make matters worse they even close the cafeteria and grill at ridiculous times especially on the weekends when visiting is the highest so people will be required to drive into town to get some editable food to feed the patients and of course spend more money for the parking garage.


The Really Bad

Once again, there appears to be an absolute absence of intelligence in the food service department. The billing department is the same. Each day they would bring a bill up to the room and present it to my relative even though he was not coherent. Fully expecting him to come out of the stupor and write them a daily check. The clerk would walk into the room and lay the envelope on the tray. Then she would retreat close to the open door as if ready to make a rapid departure. She stood there dutifully and waited for the patient to read the bill. It reminded me of an old silent movie. She would stand there and the patient who could not open the envelope just gazed at the paper and once again went back to sleep. The only thing I did wrong was not having my camera so I could document the bizarre scene. It would have gone viral on YouTube.


The Sad

Other than the business office and refuse (food) department everyone with a couple of exceptions were great. The comments I did hear from the staff had to do with the loss of medical benefits. Their comment was “Don’t get sick and go somewhere else besides ECM because that only leads to Bankruptcy”. No one ever did mention how much they cut but it was a large amount. They all thanked the County and City leaders for dumping them on a company that only has an eye for the bottom line and no compassion for its workers. Could it be they trained in the Obama White House?

I wonder what the business office will do to those folks that cannot write daily checks? Maybe they will hold them in pawn until someone can come and bail them out or perhaps they will have to take out a mortgage on their children or grandchildren so the business office can get their daily money.


Great Idea

One other idea would be to get the city council and mayor from Cherokee to run the hospital. Mayor Lansdell's first job would be the erection of a debtor’s prison and pillory. At least Melinda Malone would be safe for a while.

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An article in today's TimesDaily states there are currently 29 registered sex offenders in the Colbert County town of Sheffield. The Alabama Department of Public Safety lists only 27. Of the 27 listed, one is James Roy Sibley, currently incarcerated in the Florence-Lauderdale Detention Center.

We're sure due to processing lags and other factors, such numbers never match; however, we do believe the citizens of Sheffield have a right to know just who their neighbors are. Perhaps the next issue of Hard Times will showcase the two offenders whose names have not yet reached the state's website.

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Look for links to Alabama Inmate Search (state inmates) and VINElink (county inmates) in The Connection.



What's up with this: Flat bottom boats don't float? Who knew?

Shoalanda

"Rhea Fulmer, Why Not Sam Blackman Too?"

We know very little of Mr. Sam Blackman. He sits on the Lauderdale 911 Board; he was appointed to that position by the County Commission; and he trains emergency personnel/first responders in safe driving techniques. Whether Mr. Blackman is paid for his services or how much he might be paid, we don't know.

We also know that Lauderdale EMA Director George Grabryan lent Mr. Blackman approximately 50 traffic cones to use in these driving classes. No money changed hands; no personal favors were offered or taken. Assisting and organizing such training is in the job description of the EMA director. Mr. Grabryan apparently felt this was a good use of county property even if other counties also benefitted. We do also.

Now, if Mr. Grabryan is, as an official appointed by the Lauderdale County Commission, guilty of an ethics violation, why is Sam Blackman not guilty of the same offense? Why did Rhea Tays Michael Fulmer not file an ethics complaint against Sam Blackman? Fulmer has stated she was obligated by her elected position to file the complaint against George Graybryan. Why was she not obligated to file a similar complaint against 911 Board member Sam Blackman?

Again, Ms. Fulmer, we ask you to respond: Why were you not obligated to file an ethics complaint against Sam Blackman if you were obligated to file one against George Grabryan?

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Sources! Last week we reported information from a very reliable source that 3G would be in the Shoals by this week. We will admit that, even given the source's credibility, we were dubious. Now, 3G has arrived just as our source informed us it would.

Do reports from our sources usually turn out to be factual? Yes, they do; however, many reports involve the good name of Shoals individuals. Therefore, even if we believe the reports to be true, we do not immediately use the information forwarded to us.

We do appreciate the information. Rest assured we don't delete these e-mails, but retain them for a time when more information is available from authorities or others who are in a position to make an official announcement.

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The Lauderdale County Commission will meet tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in Room 301 of the courthouse. Those who are unhappy with the way our commission is currently being used by a certain commissioner to promote her personal agenda are asked to be there. It's your commission; make your voices heard.


Shoalanda

"Let's Do the Ethical Bop" Starring Rhea Fulmer

Let's Do the Ethical Bop

A Play in One Act

By Eugene O'Neal Bridge

Clerk: May I help you, Madam?

Woman: Yes, I'm Rhea Fulmer.

Clerk: And...

Woman: I'm Rhea Tays Fulmer.

Clerk: And...

Woman: I'm Rhea Tays Michael Fulmer.

Clerk: And...

Woman: You don't know who I am?

Clerk: Madam, this is Montgomery. We prefer not to meet any of our citizens, much less acknowledge them.

Woman: Well, I'm a Lauderdale County Commissioner and very important. I'm here to file an ethics complaint.

Clerk: Very well, if you must. What's the nature of the complaint?

Woman: It's against our EMA director George Grabryan. He's loaned out 50 of the county's traffic cones.

Clerk: And...

Woman: Well, that's it. You just can't loan out public property to anybody, you know.

Clerk: Correct. To whom did Mr. Grabryan lend these traffic cones?

Woman: Sam Blackman.

Clerk: And for what nefarious purpose did Mr. Blackman use these traffic cones?

Woman: For training emergency personnel.

Clerk: And this Mr. Blackman...he's some kind of scam artist?

Woman: Well, I wouldn't know about that, but he is on the Lauderdale 911 Board.

Clerk: How did Mr. Blackman arrive at this position?

Woman: The Lauderdale County Commission appointed him.

Clerk: The same commission of which you're a member?

Woman: Uh, yes, but that's beside the point. Just keep filling our your paperwork. Remember, you work for the citizens, and I'm a citizen, therefore you work for me.

Clerk: (Sigh) Quite right. Now, what did Mr. Grabryan receive in exchange for these 50 cones?

Woman: Receive? You mean like money or personal favors?

Clerk: Yes, that's what would make it an ethics violation.

Woman: Hmmm, well, there's more. He fired Ethylene Duster, and she's my friend.

Clerk: I see. Anything else?

Woman: Yes! He hired the wrong person to replace Ethylene.

Clerk: The wrong person? You mean there was someone more qualified?

Woman: Exactly...and he's really cute too.

Clerk: I see. Ms. Fulmer, if you'll just take a seat right over there, someone will be with you in a minute.

Woman: You mean the director of the Ethics Commission?

Clerk: Yes, the director (Sotto voce)...of the Mental Health Department.


Shoalanda

Buy Our New "Photograph Your Home's Ghost Kit"

No, we don't actually have one for sale, but we wanted to get the name copyrighted before anyone else. So...someone will have one on the market soon? We would certainly expect someone would--that is if someone...anyone...actually had such a process to market.

How much would something like that be worth? Let's try a few billion dollars. Well...that's a lot of money. If someone has such a process, wouldn't he/she patent it and immediately market it? One would certainly think so. Okay, but what if he/she didn't know how to get a patent or how to set up a marketing company? Good question--after all it's not like there would be any companies like Nikon, Kodak, Xerox, Polaroid, etc., interested in a photographic process that would change the world as we know it.

Seriously, gentle reader, we don't care if you believe in ghosts or not, but if you think there's actually a man in Tuscumbia who can "desaturate" digital images in order to produce photos of those mischievous little ghosts who rifle through your sock drawer while you're trying to sleep, may we suggest you contact him immediately. After all, you wouldn't want to miss out on such a ground floor opportunity.

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Now, let's return to Robert E. Simone of G.H.O.S.T. Mr. Simone has recently added some disclaimers to his Sweetwater Mansion page. Mr. Simone states in the second paragraph:

Any and all monies collected shall go to the Sweetwater Restoration Fund exclusively...

This may be totally true of Sweetwater, where CNN videoed one night of the investigations; however, in the last paragraph, Simone states:

The GHOST organization founders and staff members receive no monies for their help organizing the investigations at Sweetwater or anywhere else, we are volunteers.

However, what about the Saunders Mansion in Lawrence County; is the Mauldin family not financially able to maintain that majestic home? What about other edifices which Simone and his crew investigate--investigations that according to the site are now available for bookings?

Here's a rundown on the costs...


So...if three individuals scrape up $120.00, they can spend three hours in a haunted building. Or if one can't make it, the other two will have the same three hour tour for only $100.00--plus the opportunity to purchase books and tee-shirts for the requisite commemorative souvenir. Nice work if you can get it.

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Shoalanda

Tony Randall Woods: Yes, It's Capital Murder

Tony Randall Woods and his wife Tammie argued on the night of July 13th; as she drove away, he shot into her vehicle. Tammie Woods managed to drive one mile from the home the two had once shared before she collapsed and later died. Tony Woods has now been charged and arraigned with Capital Murder--if convicted he will either forfeit his life or spend the remainder of it in an Alabama maximum security prison.

Woods claims that although he did shoot intentionally, fatally wounding his wife was not his intention. Sorry, Mr. Woods, you have now met the law in Alabama: fire into an occupied vehicle, killing any occupant, and you are guilty of Capital Murder, no matter your intentions.

Mr. Woods may arrange a plea deal, or he may be tried and found not guilty for whatever rationale the jurors find that suits their collective conscience. That would still not make Tony Randall Woods any less guilty of Capital Murder by the letter of the law. If you don't like the law, legislate to change it. Alabama certainly maintains a laundry list of Capital Murder offenses. That in itself does not make Woods any less guilty.

Tony Randall Woods is a murderer, an abuser, and a coward. Let's all pray for justice for Tammie Woods.

*****

How do you embezzle 40K and your family not know it? We've received that question concerning the Colbert 911 office manager recently terminated for the alleged payroll theft of over 41K. While such a sum considered as a whole may seem large, one needs to remember that this was taken over a period of time and done via legal payroll.

We may assume that only 30K or so actually reached the office manager, and this could have well been over a time frame of five years or more. Would anyone notice their friend or neighbor had an extra 6K a year in income? Probably not. Would her husband or other family notice? The office manager has stated her husband had a very good job; even so, driving each day from a remote community, raising two young sons, paying utilities in super cold or super hot weather, plus helping parents whom she admitted had financial problems would soon add up. No, we don't think it odd at all that her husband, family, and friends suspected nothing.

Do we think this office manager should be prosecuted, or simply allowed to repay any missing money? Our personal choice would be the latter, but unfortunately many insurance companies demand criminal prosecution of such money crimes. How many people fall into such traps, not thinking of the consequences? More than most of us realize.

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The Alabama Department of Education has notified us that the teaching license revocation hearing of Brian Keith McGuire will be held December 14-15, 2010, in a location yet to be named. A reader recently sent us a thought provoking question:

Do you think it's funny McGuire was found not guilty of rape last year, but wound up in prison anyway? (McGuire is reportedly now working as a prison guard.) Yes, the irony was not lost on us. At the end of the day, McGuire does go home to a wide screen television, Internet, a comfortable bed, decent food, or whatever amenities he may have; yet he spends the majority of most waking days with those who are not the most scintillating of companions. O. Henry could not have written it better.


Shoalanda

Rogersville: Wet or Dry?/New Cherokee Site

So...does Rogersville remain dry or go wet? Just when you thought it was all over, not one, but two votes may make the difference. The two votes in question were apparently cast by those not living inside the Rogersville town limits. Hmmm, now how does this work? Can anyone identify the two ballots in some manner? It's not supposed to work that way. Will those who voted illegally answer truthfully how they voted? Perhaps they will, but how would that hold up in court? Will there be a new election? That seems the most logical premise.

This scenario doesn't mention the supposedly lost vote referenced by the ShoalsInsider. We've heard no more about that since election night. We can see the new campaign now...perhaps one side will even bring in John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

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If you live in Cherokee and care about that city, you need to be aware of a new Facebook site. Public Meetings of Cherokee, Alabama has just launched; it will offer times, dates, and locations for all Cherokee public meetings, as well as video of the proceedings. Be sure to visit this site and become a fan:

Public Meetings of Cherokee, Alabama

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While on Facebook, don't forget to visit and fan The Connection site. This new Internet magazine has made great progress in the six weeks it's been up; be sure to check it out.

The Connection

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A beautiful image of the original Coffee High/Appleby Junior High building: Link

Shoalanda

"Remembering Florence"

Whether you live in Florence or not, we encourage you to share your memories of this beautiful river city on a new Facebook page. Our friend Larry Fisher launched his homage to this wonderful town only two days ago, and the site already has well over 600 members. Let's see if we can get it to 1K by the end of the week.

Remembering Florence

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While on Facebook, be sure to become a fan of Mr. Fisher himself. Larry is not only a strong supporter of his former hometown, he doesn't shirk when it comes to speaking up for the truth. We hope all those who become members of the Remembering Florence community will also become fans of Larry.

Larry Fisher Fan Page

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Here's an update on Maisie: Link

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Pictured at top is a Florence scene from 1922. If you have any photos to share, please send them to Larry via Facebook.

Shoalanda