Summer of '65: Murder on the Lake - Part I

Historians say America changed in the mid-1960s. It did in the Shoals, but perhaps not for the same reasons it did elsewhere. It was officially less than a week into summer on June 28, 1965. It may have been Monday, but it wasn't unusual for kids out of school to party each night of the week. Many had the money and parents who trusted them--a lethal combination.

It was also a time when there was only one public high school in Florence. Coffee High had five social clubs and an arch enemy across the river in Sheffield, but as anyone would have told you before that night it was all harmless competition.

Robert Stewart Jr., known to his friends as Bobby, had been a big time jock at Sheffield High. A track star, Bobby had graduated in 1960, winning a scholarship to Florida State University. Five years later, Bobby was back in the Shoals and attending what was then Florence State College, but at 23 he still lacked several credits to graduate. If anyone had any concerns about Bobby, it was that most of his friends were younger and still in high school. The youths looked up to Bobby, and he liked it that way.

It became common knowledge that the Nenon Social Club would be having a party that Monday night. Coffee High was home to only the last three grades of public school, so only rising juniors and seniors would be among the girls who had rented a cabin on Lake Wilson. Bobby decided to crash the event, taking along as many as 30 youths from Colbert County.

The Nenon girls had invited boys to the unchaperoned party, but just not any from Colbert County. Once Bobby and his crew reached the cabin on Lauderdale Beach Road, they found themselves unwanted by the Nenons who managed to bar their entrance. It seems if Bobby Stewart and his Colbert County friends couldn't attend the party, he would make sure no one else did...

To be continued...

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Colbert County Coroner Carlton Utley has a new Facebook page; be sure to like it:

Colbert County Coroner's Office

Shoalanda

The Shoals: Just One Big Happy?

A Florence-Lauderdale visitors center has been in the works for some time. We're now told that once it's completed it will have a new name to better reflect its service to the entire Shoals. Not too long ago we would have been pleased with that news. Now? Not so much.

For those from across the river who are applauding this move, we have some questions. First, let's look at a positive quote from Rodney Hall:

Thank you Debbie Wilson for thinking outside the lines and over the river... We are the Shoals! 

We have to ask if Mr. Hall spoke to the Colbert County Commission about the oneness of the area? Perhaps he wrote a letter? How many who want to use Florence and Lauderdale's greater tax base to promote the county just to the south stood up to the Colbert Commission when they opposed the new hospital?

Everything in life is give and take, but it seems some of the powers that be in Colbert want only to take...

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Both Pen N Sword and the Quad-Cities Daily have some interesting photos related to the Jessica Bevis Broadfoot murder investigation:

The Many Faces of Danger

Boyfriend in Custody 

While visiting the QCD, be sure to check out their ongoing photographic coverage of the Helen Keller Festival--it's the next best thing to being there!

Shoalanda

My New Boyfriend "Slimy Bastard"

"Slimy Bastard" Jones

Yes, after years of looking, I think I've found the right one. Oh, I know I thought Mad Dog was the one. And then Wikkid--you all know what happened to him. Of course there was Killer and finally Danger--looks like he's going South too. But I really think Slimy Bastard is the perfect man. Hope all my friends wish me well.

*****

Ladies, and one in particular, we've said this before, but we'll go for it one more time. If he trash talks about you and degrades you, he'll probably hit you. If he hits you, he definitely won't hesitate at some point to shoot you. You have parents, siblings, children, and friends who care for you. Okay, so you luuuuuv him. You're probably the only one, and that's why he thinks he can control you.

There are counselors who can help you get over your addiction to this man and men like him. Please do whatever it takes. Please...

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Sadly, one young lady chose unwisely and paid the ultimate price for it. PNS is covering the story:

Jessica Bevis Broadfoot

Shoalanda

Doesn't Know a Taser from a Gun?

A guest editorial in Pen N Sword concerning the incident at Hurricane Creek Baptist Church is extremely interesting. It does portray Red Bay Sgt. Kyle Palmer in a better light than he has previously been presented, but one statement is extremely odd. We're told that Palmer pulled his gun, waved it around, then holstered it before pulling his taser and making a statement.

The editorial relates that Palmer drew his gun thinking it was the taser and then returned it when he realized his mistake--at least that seems to be the official story. Okay...

We recently saw a photo of a police officer in a large northern city who had the scope on his assault rifle mounted backwards. Anything is possible, but even in a stressful situation, pulling a gun instead of a taser seems a stretch.

Drop the Matter

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We incorrectly listed the new trial date for Kimberly Bynum George as August 17th, a Saturday. The correct date is August 19th, if it's not postponed an eighth time.

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We've had a lot of feedback concerning yesterday's blog on the pink splotch defacing the photograph of a local man. Many of the comments we couldn't publish due to their language and many didn't wish to comment publicly. It seems that some felt the mysterious splotch was a pink shadow surrounded by a pink halo.

We've never seen anything like this before, but both intuition and common sense tell us that no shadows or halos could be pink. We consulted with some semi-professional photographers who agree. We're certainly still open to comments, but please keep the language suitable for all family members.



Shoalanda

Who's the Prankster at the "TimesDaily?"

Practical jokes are usually anything but. We hadn't intended to make any comment on the SCOTUS decision from earlier today, but after looking at the online edition of the TimesDaily, we're compelled to get in our two cents...valued at approximately .008 in today's market.

At first glance we wondered why some gentleman was wiping pink paint from his face. Then we noticed it wasn't paint, but a Photoshop-type pink blur intentionally placed over the image of a local man celebrating what many consider to be a milestone in gay rights.

No matter what you think of homosexuality, we hope you don't condone this type of juvenile humor. Perhaps the perpetrator was thinking of only the print edition which is often prone to such extraneous color washing and felt safe from punishment. But an online photo in the age of digital photography?

Let's hope TD editor Scott Morris issues the gentleman an apology. This is much worse than an article of over 20 years ago that changed the name of Wilson Park to Queer.

If you wish to debate homosexuality, do so on its own merits or lack thereof. Don't take a cheap shot at the gay community. Pink represents breast cancer awareness, not gayness. Now aren't you, whoever you are, ashamed of yourself?



Shoalanda

A Foot in the Back & a Gun to the Head...

Obviously rumors are rampant at this point over what really happened on June 2nd at the Hurricane Creek Baptist Church near Vina in Franklin County. Red Bay Police Chief Jana Jackson has issued a public statement, but she's impeded by being able to say only so much concerning an ongoing investigation. Church members have commented publicly, but their accounts have been reported in snips and sometimes the sequence of events has not meshed in all of them.

Was there wrong on both sides? We think Mr. Steve Scott, a church deacon, would have fared much better if he had not asked Red Bay Sgt. Kyle Palmer a second question. Does that mean Mr. Scott deserved the physical abuse he took from Palmer? Remember, the good sergeant was working with a group of rural Baptists, not the Hell's Angels. A kind word from him would have gone far. Instead, Palmer chose to show these radical anarchists just who was in charge on church property. Nothing like drawing a gun to show who's boss.

Is this a rare instance of abuse of police authority in Franklin County? If you've read our blog for a while, you may remember our mention of another Franklin County event that we've been asked not to blog about in order to protect the jobs of innocent victims. We have no wish to delve deeply into this and hurt the innocent, but perhaps we can offer our readers a snippet of what happened in the city of Russellville a few years ago.

There was a place where people lived, worked, and gathered...and one sold dope. Did any of the others know? We're told they didn't. We do know most didn't have a clue as to any illegal activity. A woman exited her vehicle, saw the glint of a gun, and was told to hit the ground. When her knees and weight made the act of hitting the ground too slow a go for the officer, he placed his foot in her back, pushed her to the ground, placed a gun to her head, and told her if she wanted to see her family again she would do as he said. The woman had a large family, many of them sick, many of them young. She did what the officer said. Later she had to visit a hospital with her injuries. Her attorney, a local all-purpose country barrister, advised her to "forget it."

Again we ask if these events are rare? We somehow doubt it. Should you report an officer if he's rude? We wouldn't--maybe he was just having a bad day. Should you report an officer if he's physically abusive when no one deserved such treatment? If you don't, his next victim could wind up in the cemetery where he will have no earthly voice.

No, we don't think the members of the Hurricane Creek Baptist Church were wrong to complain. Let's hope it does some good.



Shoalanda

You Read It Here First...

The town of Red Bay has announced it will be hiring extra security this August for the scheduled joint convention of the DAR and Colonial Dames. Police Sgt. Kyle Palmer stated that you can't be too careful when these two groups of gangbangers get together.

Ronnie Willis held a news conference today in which he promised to rid the courthouse of the scourge of female employees over 40. Willis stated it may be a Herculean task and plans first to travel to Savannah, Georgia, for a human resources conference led by Bubba Hiers. 

Fired UNA women's softball coach Jason Anderson remained mum on the possibility of a lawsuit against the university. He stated he had no plans to act until all the wiretap tapes were listened to.

Helen Keller Hospital CEO Doug Arnold has been given 30 days to change his hairstyle or face a copyright infringement suit by Donald Trump.

The Colbert County Commission went on record today as being opposed to the new Alligator Ice kiosk at McFarland Park in Florence. They stressed they had no opposition to four flavors, but a selection of five was entirely too much for Lauderdale County.

Finally, Shelton Publishing in Decatur announced it would be changing the name of the TimesDaily to Veces al Dia.



Shoalanda