Now Where's That Teacher Shortage?

Many have asked and commented about the "teacher shortage" in Alabama. Specifically, they want to know why Tim Melson and Jon Hatton are taking part in recruiting educators from South Korea.

Of the shortage we can say two things. Both these facts are true today, but might not be be true in five years. As of now, the closest county with a documented teacher shortage is Winston. An emergency shortage is defined by the state BOE as the lack of over 30% qualified teachers in math and science. The shortage is in these fields and in no others. 

Will South Koreans come here in droves? Perhaps you should read up on the term "culture shock." Most people think of that phenomenon in terms of Americans moving to Haiti or a similar upheaval; however, it can work both ways. 

Are these young Koreans ready for a culture where the turn signal is optional and the Hard Times is considered educational material? Oh, what fun it will be just to sit and watch...

The Crossroads Outreach Fires Back

From the Executive Director at Crossroads Community Outreach:

The start of winter & we are the sole providers for the services we provide (street outreach &  the only day center in the city of Florence)  & the city votes against us! Not only did this vote occur but there was a work session held prior to the general council meeting to discuss. The only problem is we had no idea this was on the agenda, weren't notified about it being discussed at the work session so we had nobody there from our organization. It was the city discussing with the city. We serve real people who live out on the street & provide them with basic food & supplies. This is the most inhumane thing I have ever seen. You pass a $69 million budget on stuff but you don't want to help people who are suffering the most in this city...SHAME ON YOU! 

Banning us from the park & now this..it was deliberate & malicious. How do you go into Thanksgiving & Christmas & vote to block people from a vital service. And the  "non-compliance" that they claim is from a policy that was created by city planning dept in Aug (8 months into our contract) that changed the way we capture data & what expenses were eligible AND they made the new policy RETROACTIVE. This meant going back to January & changing everything we had submitted & not being reimbursed for items that had been eligible for all of 2018 & the 1st quarter of 2019. Jan-Mar was reviewed by the city, approved & paid to us & now even what they had approved they want the new policy to apply to that as well.

While I am disappointed, I'm definitely not surprised. I know what God asked me to do therefore I know God will make a way & Crossroads will continue to provide our services. Thank you to everyone in this community who prays for & supports the vision & mission of this organization. Contract or not we are committed to those we serve!!

Councilwoman Kaytrina P. Simmons thank you for supporting the work we do, for keeping your word to represent ALL in this community & for being willing to vote your conviction this evening!

Don't forget that a Crossroads client Shane Davenport is still missing. Please continue to pray that he'll be found:

Shane Davenport

Crossroads Community Outreach for Homeless Out in Florence

The Crossroads Community Outreach has lost 60% of its funding, funding that came from the City of Florence. While it's a "he said, she said" situation, Florence claims it can prove malfeasance with the funds and is prepared to initiate a forensic audit if necessary. A representative from Crossroads has stated the city wants to encourage the homeless to leave. We sincerely doubt that this is the case since the most recent census estimates indicate the town has just broken the 40,000 population ceiling. Take away enough homeless, and it's back to a previous level. Florence needs those citizens for funding purposes.

That leaves two programs serving the homeless in Lauderdale's county seat. One is the exemplary Room in the Inn, and the second is the Salvation Army Church. 

The Salvationists have presented nothing but problems for the town. If this were a new group, there would be few who would hesitate to condemn them. Rumors of sexual attacks and proselytizing are certainly at the top of the list, but even dinner time is a royal debacle with males being served meat while women are forced to make do with peas and beans.

Take a stand now. Let Florence leaders know you want any new grants allocated to Room in the Inn. 

Murder a Golden Retriever, Go to Jail

"Linda" last saw her cherished golden retriever safely shut in her back yard on Spout Springs Road in Tuscumbia. At least that's the last time she saw him alive. After hearing gun shots and wails, Linda found her family member dead, shot by a SIG Sauer 9 mm handgun. Arrests records indicate the 5'6" shooter weighs a whopping 165 pounds, so we'll theorize his super macho handgun provides him with a greater sense of manhood.

Canine Killer Demastus

After taking a police report, Colbert County investigators arrested the diminutive Justin Aaron Demastus. The 31 year-old neighbor has claimed Linda's docile retriever entered his property and growled at him. Law enforcement doubted his story, and took Demastus into custody on October 21st, charging him with Felony Cruelty to Animals. 

Demastus is married and has a young son. Apples, monkeys, sons; animal cruelty is a vicious way of life among some families. Let's put a stop to it now.

Putting the Lauderdale County Commission on Notice

When presented with a problem, there are three kinds of governing styles:

1. This is definitely a problem. We will work until we solve this issue to the satisfaction of our citizens and will do so with all permitted haste.

2. This looks like a problem to us, but we are not experts in the field. Therefore, we're appropriating $30,000.00 for a study that should be completed within the next year. Good luck to our citizens in the meantime.

3. This might be a problem. Thank you for bringing it to our governing body's attention. Now we'll adjourn and have coffee in the reception area.

Shall we all now take a stab at identifying which style the Lauderdale County Commission follows? 

The new Florence animal shelter is partially owned by the county. Does the county provide its fair share to maintain the shelter? In one word, NO!

Yes, it's easy to put animals on a back burner. If the commission isn't in any hurry to remedy deadly situations on Paradise Drive in Waterloo, why should the public think the elected officials would care more about the lesser creatures?

Elections are coming up. Let's say that again, shall we? Elections are coming up!

If the current commissioners and chair, no matter how much we may like them personally, do not start to remedy the financial situation at Florence-Lauderdale Animal Services, we will make sure the public is reminded of every questionable and just downright bad decision made by these gentlemen. We will actively campaign for those who support the shelter, as well as much needed repairs to dangerous roads.

What say you, Lauderdale County Commission?

To Those Who Want to Sue Tony Hughes

Since the arrest of Florence attorney Tony Hughes hit the headlines, we've had several contact us with tales of malfeasance and outright theft perpetrated by the disgraced lawyer. To those we suggest:

Never Trust a Man in a Clown Tie

1. If you just want your story told, there are currently two individuals who are behind movements to "expose" the attorney or to report on his alleged malfeasance. 

a. The Expose' - This involves a custody case. We take such cases with the proverbial grain of salt. If you wish to help the young man in this case, contact us and we will give you details on how to contact him.

b. The News Story - This involves an attorney and a private detective who have been working on a case in which Hughes represented the defendant. We have been aware of this case for some time and have been expecting the story to be published for several weeks now. If you simply want to discuss your problem with one of these two gentlemen, we'll be happy to give you contact details.

2. If there was actual theft, you should contact the district attorney in your county or the county in which the crime occurred. It's just a personal opinion, but contacting the bar association does little good unless there is legal paperwork to back it up.

3. No Criminal Case - If you feel you may not have a criminal case against Hughes, but that his lack of action hurt you financially, you are not alone. While we cannot give out the name of Reader A to Reader B, etc., we can take your contact info and forward it to a gentleman who wishes to initiate a civil suit against Hughes. Would you get your money back? Our guess would be no, but you might derive some personal satisfaction.

Good luck!

Thanksgiving Turkey Tony Hughes?

Turkey No. 1

Turkey No. 2

Over the years, we've had several friends who told us of being victimized by Tony Hughes, either when he was a police officer or later when he was practicing law. In fact, when we once told an unnamed someone in this blog that he should consider us the blind man on the corner, we were speaking to Hughes.

Today Anthony Baxton Hughes was arrested on three counts of insurance fraud, and we hear more charges could be in store. We've already had readers ask about his law license - that is something we don't have a clue about. Hughes could voluntarily surrender it or the bar could remove him from practice. We'll try to keep everyone up to date.

Google regularly publishes reviews of attorneys and other professionals, as long as they aren't libelous. Let's look at some that the Internet giant has previously published:

1, Dirty lawyer I fired Toney because I did feel that he had good intentions for my case try to milk me of money after that he called my landlord and informed them of my charges and tried to get me put out my apartment building he told all my information and put the Florence Police Department on me and tried to help them lock me up.. not a good lawyer to deal with

2. The staff was kind and friendly but didn't return phone calls and we were told our paperwork had been submitted, when in fact, it was lost in a stack of other file folders. It seemed to me, that once they had our money we were ignored and put on the back burner. I will not be using their services, ever again.

3. I am a veteran and he make jokes and thought it was funny...... the bar won’t find it as funny I don’t believe

Warning stay away from this “attorney” he currently works part time as a prosecutor for rogersville al
He has several complaints with the Alabama State Bar regarding unprofessional behavior in the court room and stalking
Rude unprofessional unethical

4. blocked his number to leave a voicemail and was very rude

5. He seems like a very nice man but I have tried for a month now to get with him about possibly hiring him. Every time we schedule an appointment he calls and cancels or I get there and he has left the office for the day. Today was the fifth time he had rescheduled me for 7 this morning and I sat outside his office for 45 minutes and he never showed only to text and say he thought we were meeting tomorrow. When tried to reschedule he never responded. Just really let me down.

6. Very unhelpful & rude !! Don't call

7. Rather not...

These are obviously from disgruntled clients, so you may take them however you wish. We'll update our readers when the Alabama Attorney General releases more information.