Cherokee on Eve of Destruction?/HKH's Country Club Business Style

Cherokee on Eve of Destruction - Part I

By C.R.

Budget Battle Looming

This coming Tuesday the Cherokee City Council will meet and decide what to do about the city's dwindling finances. During the last city council meeting several ideas were tossed around. One idea was to stop paying for the diesel fuel for the Cherokee Rescue Squad and Fire Department. The city pays over one thousand dollars a month to provide the fuel to the two volunteer organizations. During the meeting the Cherokee Fire Department Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal spoke and advised cutting off the fuel funding would cause fire insurance to go up for the cities citizens. The vote would cause the ISO Rating to go up and cause rates to increase. I would like to point out that this is false. There are around thirteen volunteer fire departments in Colbert County and only four of them receive free fuel from a city. The four are Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, and Cherokee. The ISO Ratings are based on a lot of things but not on who pays for the fuel. The Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal suggested that cutting the pay of the police officers could help save money.

The City of Cherokee is also paying a seven hundred dollar a month truck payment for the fire department. During the Willis administration Fire Chief Chuck Lansdell told the Cherokee City Council that an older model city fire truck with a five hundred gallon tank did not meet ISO standards and if they did not purchase a new truck the ISO ratings could go up. Lansdell told the city council that they had to buy a new fire truck. Lansdell purchased a bush truck that has a three hundred gallon tank. After buying the truck the ISO Rating is still the same. The rating did not drop after the purchase of the new bush truck. Looks like the city council got took.

Employees

Currently the city has seven full time employees; two city/sewer workers, one city/court clerk, and four police officers. In private the city council is considering major cuts in the police department. The city council wants to cut three full time police officers and make the positions part time. There are a lot of drugs and break-ins in Cherokee and this would have a disastrous effect on the city. This could run away the few businesses that are left in town.

Mayor Lansdell and Councilwomen Lambert proposed to cut the four hundred and thirty dollar payments to employees that decline the cities health insurance. At least four employees receive the payments.

Stop Payments Until Audit

I am sure everyone has heard about the Colbert County 911 office worker that allegedly took money from the 911 office. Well this person was also the Cherokee Rescue Squad Treasurer. It is alleged that the same person took money from the rescue squad and it was discovered that money was taken. Another rescue squad member and local business owner paid the money back and law enforcement was not contacted. This is not the only alleged misdeed going on at the rescue squad by its members. Several rescue members were swimming at a fellow member’s house and the pool pump went out. The rescue squad bought a new pump for the member. Who is this member with the broken pump? It is alleged that the member is Mayor Lansdell.

During Christmas the rescue squad gave its volunteer commander five hundred dollars for running a lot of calls. The rescue squad has not missed a call for over a year. No other members received any money for their service. The commander lives at the Cherokee Fire department with his school age son. Who is allowing the rescue squad commander to live at the fire department? Could it be no other than Fire Chief/rescue squad member/Mayor Lansdell? Could this be payback?

It is also alleged that city property has been taken and given to the fire department under the direction of the Mayor. Manly light bars, when a new light bar is ordered for the city fire truck the old one is taken off and put on another none city fire truck. The red lens could be changed out and used on the city’s police cars. This costs the city money.

To be continued tomorrow...

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Two interesting new sites:

Ripples From Sweetwater (a new blog that we hope to hear more from)

Sweetwater Memories (a Facebook page similar to Remembering Florence)

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More on Helen Keller Hospital from a reader. This source has given us much info before and has not yet been in error:

Huntsville has been paying the administrators at Keller a while before it came out in the paper. The hospital even though it’s loosing money pays country club dues for them. From what I understand in the agreement with Huntsville Hospital, if Keller is sold Huntsville has right of first refusal. If it is sold to another group, HH gets 50% of the money. I haven’t seen a copy of the agreement to confirm this.

In the agreement that has been going on for a few years, Cardiology services not offered at Keller, the patient is sent to Huntsville even though it is offered at ECM. If the patient said they wanted to go to ECM instead of HH, the patient was told they needed to find another Cardio. So you have the travel expenses, plus hotel and miscellaneous costs that are a hardship on the family. With the latest agreement it expands to other services such as gynecology. Keller wanted to be the big dog and call the shots in the failed agreement between Coffee Health and Huntsville. That’s the biggest reason it failed not CHG debt.

Shoalanda

Where's Mallard Fillmore When You Need Him?

We're not usually too enamored of the comic strip Mallard Fillmore. Obviously most newspapers carrying the strip do so in order to balance Doonesbury or other cartoons that may be considered of the liberal genre. Still we hope the conservative duck was on alert last Friday when most newspapers carried articles on the anniversary of the Challenger disaster. In case you missed this quote from a TimesDaily article, let's play "Which One Doesn't Belong Here?"

There has been a growing list of calamities since then: Waco, Oklahoma City, Columbine, 9/11, Space Shuttle Columbia, Katrina, Virginia Tech, and now Tucson.

We hope none of our readers had difficulty in finding the odd man out. Why in the name of J. Edgar Hoover would Waco belong in a list of calamities/tragedies that affected innocent citizens? We realize the TD doesn't proof its own articles, much less those of the Associated Press, but hope springs eternal. Perhaps our local rag could at least find a volunteer to check content before it's published.

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While on the subject of cartoons, we've previously mentioned the often offensive Argyle Sweater. Did any among us truly find a joke about Walt Disney's frozen head to be humorous--tastefully or otherwise? For a paper so afraid of offending local business interests, the TD doesn't seem to put much thought into what's published in a family oriented section.

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It seems Cherokee has recently been a focal point for even more controversy. We'll have a full report from C.R. tomorrow.



Shoalanda

HKH Loses CEO/Cherokee Loses First Lady

Helen Keller Hospital is losing its longtime Chief Executive Officer Bill Anderson; however, plans for a search for his replacement are already in place. Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers will be leading the search. Spillers say he knows what the Sheffield based hospital needs.

We have no lack of faith in Spillers' qualifications in deciding what any medium sized hospital needs in order to run efficiently and economically. We do hope the Huntsville CEO will take the opinions of Colbert Countians into consideration. It is their hospital...or at least it was.

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It seems Tina Lansdell has left Cherokee Mayor Chuck Lansdell and is joining the opposing camp. We have no word on whom she will actually support in the next mayoral election, but we do have a (slightly edited) report from J. J. Ray:

It has been confirmed that the wife of Mayor Señor De La Viagra has separated herself from him. Apparently, the posting on his facebook page struck a painful nerve with the missus. Apparently the facebook episode was the last straw that ended 18 years of marriage.

The fire and rescue squad was observed meeting in a Tuscumbia restaurant on Monday without Mayor Señor De La Viagra. Something must be amiss in the quaint village. My goodness, has the mayor sinned and been caught?

Perhaps he is a candidate for the Pillory instead of the city clerk Mrs. Malone. I hope this is a reprieve for her and perhaps the alienated spouse of the mayor would like the rotten vegetable concession for the cad. Apparently, Karma has struck the mayor with a vengeance.

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Tuscumbia Post Office in mid-1950s: Link

Related Posts: Tuscumbia Post Office Mural



Shoalanda

Ron Sparks Gets a Raise

As Agriculture Commissioner, Ron Sparks made $79,026.00 annually. Now as Gov. Bentley's pick to direct the newly minted Rural Development Office, he'll be making 80K a year. Where else but in Alabama politics? Several pundits have already commented on Bentley's lack of organization...and from our point of view, they were being overly kind. Of course, Sparks is nothing if not rural and he's done quite a bit of developing of his own finances...

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Two local items were on the January 2011 Certificate of Need meeting canceled by Gov. Bentley. You may see the entire agenda here: Link

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Want to hear more from Mo Brooks? Or would that be less? It seems Mo is now on Twitter. Shades of TK the AG, you can find him at MoInTheHouse.

Okay, we have to say it, please tell us it doesn't include audio clips of Rep. Brooks rapping...

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Will it be a Publix? Or a Whole Foods? With our luck, it'll be a new Pete's Meats...



Shoalanda

South of the Tennessee River...

Barry Obama and the Redheaded Step Children

By J.J. Ray

Most will be wondering what Barry has to do with the redheaded stepchildren south of the Tennessee River. The answer is nothing right now. Actually many folks have asked me to quote on the State of The Union address by Barry. The Pepto-Bismol was ready and I took some after the speech. The nausea left and I slipped serenely into sleep. Of course, there is nothing that we can do about the rhetoric and baldfaced misnomers he loosed except shrug and hope for better days in 2012.

Now about the rest of us that live on the south side of the river in cities like Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. Has anyone ever wondered why we have to go to Florence all the time to eat or shop leaving our tax dollars in Lauderdale County when they should stay here? Driving through the main shopping areas on any given night, the eateries are full and store parking lots are full of Colbert county tags. Where have our leaders on the south side been? Asleep at the wheel apparently. What happened to our mall--it sits empty, the new Wilson Dam road, restaurants or Movie Theater?

Apparently, Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals are content to remain the epicenter of the world for minimum wage employment. Mr. Mayors, why do we not have large chains moving here? Oh, I forgot we have a Billion Dollar White Elephant in Barton, that great golf course in Ford City and 43 new jobs coming to Wise Alloys. Mercy, I may have to increase my heart medication the shock is to great.

Could it be the liquor on Sunday law in Florence? Perhaps. The real reason however is much deeper than that. How about the old south mindset and the old money portrayed in so many books and movies. Why if the folks over here were to make a living wage instead of minimum wage, poverty could decrease and they might have a say in government. My goodness prosperity could set in, crime might go down and then the minimum wage folks would not have to live like third-rate citizens. The old money and lazy politicians would lose control of the minimum wage workers and that would be calamitous for them. They might have to move into the 21st Century.

Why are the armies that threw out the bums last election not ringing the phones at city halls? Why do we have to fly to Memphis and change planes to get to Atlanta? That is kinda like going around your elbow to get to your thumb. Bottom line is it is not necessarily the economy but the reluctance of our civic leaders to actually do their job. While we are talking about leaders, has anyone seem the phantom representative Mo Brooks over on this side of the state or our State Senator Abstaining T. Irons?

Be proactive--take a stand. Call or write those in charge get involved don’t just gripe. After all, we do pay their salaries they are supposed to work for us not the reverse.

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Another great column from J.J., and we understand he has a big story lined up. Stay tuned for a shocker...

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For all you on Facebook, be sure to check out Larry Fisher's Remembering Florence page. He's begun to sign off each day with a very interesting quote.


Shoalanda

Gangstas fo' Profit; Gunstas fo' Fun

Gangsters, aka ganstas, use weapons to secure ill-gotten gains; gunsters, aka gunstas, use guns to have fun. That's right--they just wanna have fun...along with protecting their own and killing the odd stray animal. Who could find fault with this?

Yesterday's TimesDaily published an in depth article on the size of ammunition clips available in the United States. Here's what three well-respected law enforcement officers had to say:

“Extended magazines should not be allowed on handguns.” Bobby Timmons, President of the Alabama Sheriffs Association

“As an officer, I would not want to come across someone with one of those things with evil intent.” Colbert County Sheriff Ronnie May

“There’s no need for a law-abiding citizen to need that many rounds.” Florence Police Chief Rick Singleton

Are there those out there who disagree? Apparently so, judging from some of the comments on the TimesDaily forum. Here's a few remarks of rebuttal in green; our comments in red:

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Notice the term "well regulated militia."

I say that if citizens can't have it, COPS or the military shouldn't have it either. Wow, we can't wait to get our first nuclear ground to air missiles.

I can’t reload fast with only one hand which is arthritic. Sir, if it takes you 30 shots to disable the home intruder(s), sorry, but you'll be gone first any way.

Now, for those who still may be in doubt, or those who just like to make jokes about men and their guns, here's a most interesting article (PG-13):

Scientists Discover That No Matter How Many Guns You Own...

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The results for the Red Mountain Theatre search for Tracy poll should be published sometime today. Here's a link to their Facebook page: Link

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Another Sheffield Centennial flag: Link





Shoalanda

Bentley's Edict: Where Does It Leave ECM?

If you haven't heard, our new governor has steered our ship of state into some uncharted medical waters; specifically, on Tuesday he ordered that the Certificate of Need Board not meet until further notice. When this notice might come or what those facilities with petitions before the board will do until then is unknown.

It was a given that Helen Keller Hospital would contest any expansion by ECM and the Coffee Health Group, but if anyone saw Dr. Bentley's take on medical expansion coming, we're not aware of it. We're sure RegionalCare is lobbying furiously to end this moratorium.

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Want to see Stephanie Smith of Rogersville play the lead in Hairspray? Today's the last day to vote: Link

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Any Cloverdale Dairy collectors out there: Link





Shoalanda