Special: One Lexington Mom's Take on Jeffrey C. Cruse

We've begun to receive mail on some of the problems at the Lexington School. Here's a letter from one mother, a lifelong resident of the northern Lauderdale town, who knows what cooks with the 48 year-old would-be coach: 

The preacher should keep his mouth shut and just worry about his congregation instead of what's going on at the school.  He and his oldest son caused a whole lot of drama on the field, on the court, and in the dugout this past year at Lexington School.  They argued with each other and screamed and yelled at each other to the point where other players, parents and fans were asking for this situation to be handled. The preacher had ZERO respect for Mr. Joiner or his position which I always felt was wrong on so many levels. 
  

I have always liked this preacher and think he has done a good job for the church he pastors, however, I feel he has given not only his church and congregation a black eye, but also the entire community. He should have opted to take the high road but instead he has tried to fuel this entire situation by holding secret meetings at his church to discuss Mr. Joiner and sending out group text messages bashing the school and the principal.  That doesn’t seem very Christian like in my opinion, but I am not Baptist nor am I Church of Christ either.  It boils down to his feelings have been hurt and he has allowed it to spill over into other people's complaints and this has escalated to this dreadful situation now.  

From what I have heard, Mr. Joiner has been trying to get these “complainers” to do their job, and that makes them mad.  So instead of just doing their job, they want to complain and call him a bully.  The biggest problem I have ever noticed in the world of education is that most educators have never worked in a job outside the school system.  I dare say if some of these “complainers” should have to work in another job outside the school, they would have a rude awakening when a big boss tells them to do their job or hit the road.  Regular workforce people do not have tenure, nor do we get off work at 3 pm or have 2 months off in the summer. 

Secret meetings at the church building? Deacons, are you taking note?

Public Schools Should be Neither Baptist, Methodist, nor Church of Christ

Several months ago, this blog received a series of anonymous e-mails about Lexington School. The correspondence talked all around anything specific, and when we questioned the sender, he (it appeared to be male) deleted his account. In other words, this person couldn't back up his accusations even anonymously and chose to turn tail and run.

Now we have a small group of people who are questioning some administrative actions before the Lauderdale County school board. One is using his title of "Baptist pastor" in order to have more clout. He says he was terminated as a volunteer.

Jeff Cruse on Left

While we don't know the circumstances of his dismissal, we do know that he should not have been using his religious beliefs as a volunteer. It's very interesting that Jeff Cruse, of Mayfield, Kentucky, pretends to follow God, but doesn't want to follow due process before the board. 

It's also interesting that some of these accusations go back ten years. Really? Just why has this so-called egregious behavior not been reported in ten, we say ten, years?

No, something else is afoot. We welcome all comments as long as they can be civil and not libelous.

*****

That brings us to another point. We're sure you've noticed that when a young person is arrested for any crime, it's never his or her fault. Sad how our police officers make these stories up, isn't it?  

No, this is why school administrators and law enforcement personnel can't do their jobs. Parents have only perfect children in the 21st Century. Sigh...

Sessions & Moore: Working for Something v. Having it Handed to You

No matter what you may think of former senator Jeff Sessions' policies, he knew his stuff. He may not have come to the same conclusion as you on a particular issue, but he could tell you about the issue and why he came to that conclusion. 

A would-be replacement for Sessions is not as knowledgeable...by a long shot. If asked about DACA, we're sure most of us could have enumerated at least some of its points even if we didn't agree with the law via executive order. On the other hand, Roy Moore recently had to be told by Dale Jackson what DACA was, just as he earlier had to be told what a national right-to-work law meant. 

Sure, there's a learning curve for any new office holder, but just as a candidate to work for Acme Widgets goes into a job interview knowing something about Acme Widgets, an office seeker should know something about the position he's running for and the laws he's expected to create, uphold, or expand upon.

*****

A spokesperson for Moore has said: People don't care about acronyms. Really? Here's a few most of us know: 

UA
AU
UT
UNA
UAH
UAB
NASA
NAACP
NACOLG
MD
DO
DDS
DVM
LPN
RN
CRNP
SGA
SAG
IAM
UAW
JD
NAFTA

We could go on, but you get the idea. Acronyms are part of our daily life. Roy Moore didn't know what DACA was even when it was spelled out for him. No, the former judge wants glory without the work that goes with it. It would be funny if there wasn't a chance that this grandstander could be Alabama's next senator.

Pray for our state.

It's That Time! Labor Day Beauty Contest 2017

Yes, later today there will be a new Miss Shoals Labor crowned. Let's look at this year's field of candidates...

1. Susie McFloosie - Susie represents the newest Shoals union, Quad-Cities Brewers Network. Insiders say platinum blonde Susie is a favorite if she can just manage to make it up the platform steps without tripping.

2. Cecile Trudeau - Cecile is representing local tourism. Detractors are calling the French speaking Trudeau a ringer and are demanding to see not only her union card, but social security card and passport as well.

3.  Betsy Harbert-Dunn - Busty Betsy is representing local construction unions. She's a long-shot since she was originally only visiting the area to pick up a finders-fee on the Veterans Park tennis courts, but was then stuck here when the deal fell through.

4. Mimsy Kitts-Shields - Petite Mimsy is representing post-secondary office workers. She's another long-shot, but known for a wicked left hook. Her claim to fame is never having been sexually assaulted on the job. 

5. Billy Overwood - Billy competed last year, but this blog inadvertently left him off the list. Instead of the traditional one-piece bathing costume, Billy will wear an Armani suit as he represents the Shoals Legal Union. 

There's the rundown, and if you're like us you can hardly wait to see who captures the sash and crown this year...or to grab your second helping of barbecue and beans. Here's hoping each of you, especially local union members, enjoys a fun and fulfilling Labor Day!


All of us at Shoalanda Speaks

Some Truths/Clarifications about Roy Moore

We've seen some extremely negative ads about Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore recently. We personally don't like negative ads, but are they untrue? Let's look at some facts about Moore that are and are not included in the ads.

1. Is Roy Moore entitled to be called a judge? We've seen this in many elections by a great many candidates and had no idea. The answer we found is very interesting in that it applies to so many people. If someone retires from office, as in retires completely, he or she is entitled to be called "Judge, Senator, Representative, etc." If the person retires and continues to work in some manner, he or she is not entitled to be called by that title. We assume political ads could correctly use the expression "Former Judge Roy Moore." 

2. Did Roy Moore and his wife take over one million dollars from the Foundation for Moral Law? Yes, but over a nine year period. Their combined salaries and travel expenses amounted to (on average) just under $115,000.00 a year. Is this an overly large salary to be paid by a charity? We leave that to our readers' individual discretion.

3. Does Roy Moore use private jets for his charity travel? Yes and no. There has been, as far as we know, only one such incident documented. Moore hired a private jet to take him from Montgomery to Pensacola for which the Foundation for Moral Law paid an undisclosed sum (by undisclosed, we mean the figure is not readily available online).

4. Did Roy Moore really question Alabama's mad cow disease outbreak as political? A resounding yes to that. The first documented case of this disease in Alabama occurred in 2006 at a time the federal government was attempting to implement an interstate tracking system. Two more cases rapidly followed, and Moore openly questioned the state veterinarian Tony Frazier's truthfulness. Even Ron Sparks weighed in on Moore's bizarre behavior in calling members of Alabama government "liars."

5. Did Roy Moore actually tell acting Chief Justice Houston Gorman Jr. that he was going to Hell and that Gorman could not ever redeem himself in God's eyes? Another resounding yes. Houston's crime? He covered the Ten Commandments that Moore had placed in the state supreme court building. 

6. When did Roy Moore install the Ten Commandments monument in the supreme court building? The date was August 2003; however, he did it at night and the only news outlet he called to cover the event was a "conservative" religious cable channel. 

7. Did Roy Moore say some northern states practiced Sharia law? Yes. He stated in a Vox interview that "There are communities under Sharia law right now in our country. Up in Illinois. Christian communities; I don’t know if they may be Muslim communities." For the record, Moore later backtracked on this statement when questioned about it. While some communities, especially in Europe, have roving gangs of Muslim thugs attempting to enforce Sharia law, there's no community in the United States where the government is under Sharia law.

8. Did Roy Moore slander a drag queen? That would depend on the definition of slander. Just as with the mad cow and Sharia law statements, Moore made a statement that wasn't true. He became embroiled with a male entertainer who performs as a female in what's commonly called a drag queen show. Of eight speakers at a rally against Moore, including ministers and various businesspeople, the former chief justice singled out Starling as the "ring leader." He stated in a speech that "Ambroisa Starling" was performing same sex wedding ceremonies at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Tuscaloosa in January 2016. The U.U. minister of the church states that while Starling was there, she in no way took part in any ceremonies. Why would this not be slander? Slander has to actually hurt a person monetarily or socially, and Starling would have to prove this. Slander or not, it was totally untrue.

9. Is Roy Moore a more immoral candidate than Luther Stange? This is not a question that can be answered in any empirical way. Our personal opinion is yes, but each voter has to make up his/her own mind. If any reader disagrees with any facts presented here, we will be more than happy to publish your rebuttal.

See you at the polls!

So Sheffield Wants a Five Million Dollar Loan?

Inspiration Landing will need new roads, drainage, and a fire station. Sheffield wants to borrow five million dollars from the USDA. It will take some months for the loan to be approved...just how long seems uncertain. That begs certain questions.

1. If the loan is approved, will Sheffield begin this project before any construction is begun on the Inspiration Landing project?

2. If the money is held in a Sheffield account until the start of construction, what happens if construction never begins or is halted?

*****

Now we have John Elkington schmoozing with Tuscumbia mayor Kerry Underwood about what a wonderful area we have...but we have no news on funding for his much hyped project or any starting date for the amphitheater which is to be completed by next spring, or in approximately six months. Elkington is calling it a "city within a city." We've seen this concept work in Huntsville which has a much larger population. Will it work in Sheffield?

Detractors are saying this new city will be strictly non-locals who will use it for recreation...if it comes to pass. Is this a bad thing? We truly don't know. We do know that Superintendent Lankford is touting how good this will be for Sheffield schools; however, aside from more property tax income, we doubt that it has any other effect.

Perhaps we shouldn't dwell on these issues until actual construction begins.

An Intimate Look at Ronald Warren Powell

A reader very close to Ronnie Powell of Tom Jones Insurance and Financial Services sent the following. We have edited it slightly to censor some names and relationships:


For the issue concerning Ronald W. Powell (Ronny), T.J.I.F.S.G., Inc., Tom Jones Financial and Financial Services Group. A source close to the investigations tells us:

Powell was indicted on 1 count of insurance fraud and 1 count of Financial Exploitation of an elderly person (FEEP). Both class B felonies.

Powell exploited a 90 year old Muscle Shoals man. Powell persuaded the elderly gentleman to “invest” in what Powell called a “Cash Deposit Account”. Powell would pay the gentleman a 6% guaranteed rate of return that would be added to his CDA. Powell would visit the victim multiple times since 2012 and persuade the victim to “invest” additional funds. Powell and one of his associates also persuaded the victim to liquidate an in force policy to invest with them. Of course, these funds were never invested, they went directly into the pocket of Powell. Not only did the victim lose his money, he also lost a policy that was in force and payable to his beneficiary. When the elderly victim requested his funds, they were not available.

This is absolutely illegal on Powell’s part. The rules and regulations set out by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) one must have specific registrations to act as an investment adviser and invest people’s monies. The Alabama Department of Insurance also has rules and regulations against this type of activity.

Powell is notorious for seeking out the elderly, befriending them and then persuading them he has their best intentions at heart. Powell had an elderly client he called a friend, even spoke at the gentleman’s funeral, and the elderly gentleman had a life insurance policy with Powell. When the gentleman became ill and on his deathbed, Powell had the victim sign some “additional insurance papers to ensure the proceeds would be paid properly”. Unbeknownst to the gentleman’s family, Powell had the beneficiary changed to himself. So when the gentleman passed away, Powell collected the proceeds and left the family with nothing.

Powell would also “borrow money from some of his insurance clients, which is illegal and against the rules and regulations of the Alabama Department of Insurance (ALDOI). He would persuade these victims to loan/invest/help/buy into his company and he would guarantee them a 6%-10% return. He would start small ($5000) and pay back with interest, then ease the request up and pay it back with interest until he was finally able to get them to loan him larger amounts; $50,000, $100,000, and up. Some, because they trusted Powell, loaned him over $1,000,000. A PONZI?

On 3 known occasions, Powell would deliver “death claim proceeds” to beneficiaries, a common practice for life insurance professionals which has now been stopped. And during the delivery, Powell would sell/persuade/coerce the recipient to re-invest the funds with him. The clients believed they were purchasing another insurance product. These products were never purchased and the funds, once again, went into Powell’s pocket.

Powell’s reputation had become so tarnished in the Shoals, he had to move his business elsewhere. He opened offices in Red Bay, AL, Gadsden, AL and now in Charlotte, NC under the name of Blue Financial, Inc., where he is listed as Partner/CEO. He now has enlisted the help of XXXXXX. Does the XXXXXX fall far from the XXXXXX? There are also 3 other young men who are in for a rude awakening.

IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF RONNIE W. POWELL, please call the ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE.

*****

As to our reader's question about a Ponzi scheme, we're more inclined to call what he described a "convincer." Yes, if Powell ever makes it out of prison, he can go to work for Three Socks.