Anonymous Alabama?

We, along with scores of others, recently received a press release from a group called "We Are Anonymous." We're not going to publish it here, but the release stated that it was the first with more to come.

Looking on FB for such a group, we did find: Anonymous Alabama

We're posting the link for any who might be so inclined.

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The flashing light on Cave Street in Tuscumbia that cautions motorists school traffic is entering or exiting? Apparently it's been out for some time. A reader has inquired; however, we're not sure whom to contact. If it's not working at all, it would indicate a wiring/contact problem. We suggest you try the Tuscumbia Utilities first and they can direct you further if needed.

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TotallyDecatur strikes again: Our local newspaper has a section for "State News." Apparently, whoever has been picking items to include in this section has also been including articles from Alaska. Our concerned reader states there is often more Alaska news found than Alabama news.

Observant editors, aren't they?

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Several readers have asked if DreamVision is connected to a former theme park outside Birmingham called Vision Land. No...two entirely different animals.

The DV press conference is slated for February 11th; at that time, more concrete plans will be announced for this proposed new theme park. How do we feel? Mehhh. Don't hold your breaths waiting for this one.

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May the Shade be with you tomorrow!

Shoalanda

DreamVision: Yea or Nay?

DreamVision...that's a lovely name. They're bringing a dream vision to the Shoals, at least we think they are. Several readers have sent us links that challenge what the company says about itself. All great enterprises have detractors; so who's right? Perhaps only time will tell, but the Shoals has been burned before.

Not all announced projects that didn't materialize have been humongous like National Rail Car. There was that golf course/walking trail proposed for Sheffield some years back. Unlucky in love Sheffield was also promised a new cinema multiplex that failed to materialize. Then of course there's UNA's College of Integrative Health which has only one student this semester. We're sure there have been more failures, but those come to mind.

What do we know of DreamVision? Here's some facts that may...or may not...be problematic:

1. When Al.com attempted to contact DreamVision on Friday with some very pertinent questions, the company did not respond. Perhaps because the PR department had left for a long weekend? It's possible.

2. The company states on its website that it's "emotionally driven." We have no idea what that means. If it's raining outside, they don't feel up to working? It may be just us, but this is a strange way to describe a company that supposedly deals in millions or even billions of dollars every day.

3. Three of the top executives of the company are in the Silanskas family. A very wise lady once told us never to work for a family run business unless prepared for continual bickering, etc. Would this hold true for such a large company. Who knows?

4. The company's website says that it wants to make Texas the "epicenter of the theme park world." Does that leave any room for the Shoals?

5. The Texas theme park? It was announced at a Ft. Worth gala on June 1, 2013. So far there have been no other new developments.

6. The Ft. Worth theme park was originally slated for Dallas in 2011, but DreamVision owners abruptly changed their minds without giving an explanation.

7. At the 2013 announcement in Ft. Worth, DreamVision also announced its intention of building a theme park in South Africa (known for its extremely low crime rate) in two to four years.

8. Money, honey? So three theme parks are now scheduled, costing billions of dollars, and the company's only income is currently from? One short video on the market and one in production?

Let's hope it's true and doable, but let's not bet the rent money just yet.

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Been Accused of Blogging Something You Haven't? Why, Yes. Yes, We Have

Some time ago we remarked that we had no idea why this blog was considered "homophobic" by anyone. We received two replies that supposedly offered some of our previous comments. The only problem was that the comments came from another Shoals blogger--not us.

During the election season last fall, we opened our e-mail inbox to find at least 20 angry e-mails accusing us of publishing a statement from a Lauderdale County candidate that one of his ex-wives was responsible for the death of his son. To say we were gobsmacked would be putting it mildly. How anyone who reads this blog could think we would publish such a thing is beyond our reasoning.

So where was the statement published? In the same blog which produced the anti-gay remarks. Now this blogger says he, or someone, has been accused of writing something that actually came from our pen, so to speak. Mistaken attributions seem to come with blogging territory. We didn't blame the blogger in question when we received fallout for his words, therefore we humbly request the same courtesy.



Shoalanda

Laura Fitterman: New Animal Cruelty Charges

We've blogged about Laura Fitterman before. In fact, we have a link dedicated to her in our sidebar.

Laura Fitterman

Now Fitterman, using the surname Sherwood, has again been arrested in Lauderdale County on charges of animal cruelty. Laura and her husband Patrick are accused of cruelty to 25 horses and donkeys, plus two lamas, 50 rodents, and over 150 rabbits, cats, and dogs. They are both being held without bond in the Lauderdale County Detention Center.

Undoubtedly, Fitterman-Sherwood and her husband will plead some kind of mental defect causing them to collect and the neglect these animals--they face one felony charge and 15 misdemeanor counts. Will Laura Fitterman stop now? We doubt it. Let's hope permanent monitoring is in her future.

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Frequently we read comments about various drug users; many say just watch the news for their obituary. Is that all we can do?

We are extremely interested in any new programs or therapy out there that can help these individuals. We know the methadone clinic in Sheffield is a savior for some, but what about others?

Today we saw the latest mug shot of a young lady we've blogged about at the request of her family when she went missing...twice. The change in her face was gut-wrenching. How do get help for someone who doesn't want it? Comments?



Shoalanda

A Word From Chief Tony Logan

Tuscumbia Police Chief Tony Logan has offered us an update on the search for Mr. Elbert Farley Davis Jr's killer. We should have more on this next week:

About a year and a half ago we assembled all of the investigators, chiefs, and the sheriff of Colbert County for a day long summit to discuss the case. I felt it was important to have fresh eyes look at the case. We did not share our suspect list early in the day so that we did not influence their conclusions. At the end of the day the group had pretty much come to the same conclusions and suspect list that we had which at least made me feel that we were working in the right direction.

Most recently I asked Lauderdale District Attorney Chris Connolly to have his cold case squad to review the case. About 2 months ago his squad along with Dr. Greene of Alabama Forensics and our staff met at Mr. Davis residence to go over the scene along with reports and photos of the scene. I felt important because the residence was sold and the new owners were about to move in so it would be our last opportunity to go into the residence with it in much the way it was when Mr. Davis was attacked.

I am in constant contact with his (children). We meet each Wednesday to discuss where we are with the case. Ever since it took place anytime the investigators have someone in to interview on any crime they always ask if they have any information on the Davis case.

Please feel free to share any suggestions you might have that would assist us in this case. I just want to be able to give closure to the family and bring to justice those responsible for his death.

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This week Mark Montgomery pleaded Not Guilty to shooting two women and a pet dog dead. He will now stand trial in Lauderdale County and waste countless dollars of taxpayer money. Let's see...he told his sister he killed them, he had their blood on his clothes and shoes...yep, a jury should buy the not guilty plea.

Shoalanda

Tattoos? We Can Go Either Way

A reader has contacted us about a post on our personal page that she either intentionally or unintentionally misunderstood. Why the remark about the handcuffs tattoo?

We had been attempting to contact Tony Logan. For those who don't know, Tony is a long-time police officer and the current chief in Tuscumbia. The first "Tony Logan" we found was apparently a tattoo artist, but since the tattoo icon was a pair of hands in cuffs, we had to do a double take on it. That's called serendipitous humor, or more colloquially "what are the odds?" Our remark was not an indictment of tattoos.

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We will comment on a negative side of tattoos. Having the word "Crip" written out numerically on your abdomen, with Adolph Hitler above it, might just make people think you were not mainstream society material.

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On another note: Over the years we've been blamed for posts on OB's Corner, Left in Alabama, Pen-N-Sword, and the Quad-Cities Daily...and probably a few on the ShoalsInsider, but we're not totally sure about the last one.

Again we ask that you send your criticisms of any links to the proper site. Again, we remind you that ANY posts with profanity or vulgarity will be deleted and you will be banned. No one has the automatic right to post vulgar comments, threats, etc., on a site belonging to anyone else no matter what any uneducated person may think.

Similarly, while we feel certain articles about murder victims may have gone too far, hindsight being 20-20, libel is making false statements--not true ones. Also, while we hope all news outlets have spoken truthfully, a dead person cannot be legally libeled in Alabama or any other state.

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Murder is a horrible crime. Earlier today we discussed this with a former police officer. He affirms the position that some murders are justified and the world is better off. We take the position that this is not the case, but we can understand why some murders are not prosecuted. We also, as we've stated many times, understand why a family who's hurting wants to strike out.

If your family member needs help, it's wonderful to pray about it. We do suggest you also try to get that family member help.



Shoalanda

Reward for Info in Davis Slaying "Around" 15K

We recently reported that there is a 5K reward for information in the murder of Mr. Elbert Farley Davis Jr, 88, who was killed during a home robbery in Tuscumbia in 2012. The current amount is "around" 15K. We're not sure what "around" actually means, but it's a tremendous sum to many of us.

We heard indirectly from Chief Tony Logan that he appreciated our keeping this in the public eye. We have some ideas on this and are asking Chief Logan to contact us via our e-mail or our FB personal page "Shoalanda Hutton Speaks."

We're also asking that any of our readers who live in Tuscumbia share this post. Someone knows something. We can't imagine how Mr. Davis' family feels at this point. Let's help get this scum off the street.

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Oh, news flash, we've just been told we can't ban anyone from our FB page. Well...we had no idea. A law suit? Really? For excluding you from our FB page? You can still read us here and we encourage you to do so. You might learn something. Oh, okay, we have no hopes of that. Disregard. And, hey, it could be worse; we could be quoting "Contendah" on this extremely sordid situation.



Shoalanda

We've Been Mistaken About Republicans & Pit Bulls

Much Cuter Than a Thug or a Republican!

First, our apologies to the Pit Bulls in our reading audience; we really love you, but we'll get to that later. At one time we thought Republicans in charge in Alabama would turn things around for the state. How wrong we were. Progress has been made--mainly due to Gov. Bentley. Others? Not many Repubs. have helped that much.

So what else have we been wrong about? Pit Bulls. Yes, it seems there is some new research that there may be, at least in some of the dogs, a gene that can cause the animal to snap without very much provocation. Yet there's good news; researchers are attempting to find ways to remove/replace this gene. We hope it's very successful and very soon!

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Now regular readers may be wondering why this topic is of news today. We've had almost 100 new likes over the weekend...and very few of them seem to be fans. Insert any jokes here that you wish. Lest you think these new followers are Muscle Shoals school system groupies, think again. These are friends of the Muscle Shoals murder victims.

We have linked both QCD and PNS articles on these murders. We've found them of great interest. Apparently many have not. Many have made comments that would make the proverbial sailor blush. Who are these people?

We've thought about this phenomenon before, but not to any great degree. We know these individuals have had the same educational opportunities as the rest of us. Yet they refuse to learn; they refuse to fit in; they blame everyone but themselves for their problems.

We've had friends murdered....and you know what? None of them was innocent. All of them were participating in things that were either illegal or immoral or both. We loved them. We wanted to see their killers punished. Yet we never defended their actions or blamed the police or those who reported on their crimes.

So why are there so many in the area who have the mindset that nothing is their fault? Why don't they want to learn and improve? We've come to the conclusion that there is a bad gene in their biological makeup. They see crime and violence and threats as acceptable behavior; even though society has offered support, they have refused it. They seek the lowest common denominator. Yet they can't understand why they aren't a success in life.

After the Pit Bull genetic problem is mended, perhaps we start on homo sapiens?



Shoalanda