Muscle Shoals Church Mafia?/Another Colbert Murder

HIGHLAND PARK BAPTIST CHURCH FRATERNITY

Want to know why everything is in chaos in Muscle Shoals? Look no further than the HPBC fraternal organization located on Wilson Dam Road. Seemingly staff members and employees come and go like a revolving door at HPBC but there is one common denominator to this situation in Muscle Shoals = Brian Lindsey is the personnel chairman….and you wonder why Jeff Eddy was allowed to molest children for all those years without any notice.

Let’s look at the hierarchy at HPBC as is related to Muscle Shoals City politics:


Members of HPBC are as follows:


Mayor David Bradford

Councilman Allen Noles

Councilman Neil Willis

Councilman Mike Lockhart

Councilman Ken Sockwell

Superintendent Brian Lindsey

Assistant Supt. Denise Woods

Principal Alan Willingham


Any further questions why our city and school system is deteriorating at such a rapid pace?

A Parent

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Unfortunately, murders come with much more regularity than Christmas. We understand that forensics are still being completed in the Rogersville murder of Connie Ridgeway that Mayor Richard Herston has refused to address recently. Let's hope an arrest will soon be made.

Also unfortunately, there was a murder near Nitrate City yesterday:

Stabbing Death in Colbert County

No matter how little you may know, don't fail to report it!

Where Do You Start to Clean Up Muscle Shoals Schools?

“SAVE THE DATE” OK Muscle Shoals parents…put this on your calendar: BOARD OF EDUCATION (5 year terms) *Appointed in April, assume duties in June of each year.
Farrell Southern	404 Hill Avenue	381-2726	June '21
Celia Rudolph	105 Brooke Drive	366-4727	June '19
Willis Thompson	908 Midland Avenue	381-9963	June '20
Clayton Wood	150 Cottonwood Drive	381-5526	June '18
Jeremiah Stoddard	126 Cottonwood Drive	710-0853	June '22

In March 2018, Muscle Shoals Board Member Clayton Wood comes up for reappointment to the Muscle Shoals Board of Education. Wood openly admitted at the City Council meeting that he bases all his decisions on what Superintendent Brian Lindsey says. Hopefully Lindsey won’t ask any of the rubber stamp board members to jump off O’Neal Bridge or anything like that.

Remember citizens, put a viable, self-thinking candidate up against Wood for the Board of Education. Hopefully, this will be the last appointment the City Council gets to make as we strive for an elected Board of Education. Our children deserve better! 

But thinking of Lindsey, one has to remember the cult leader Jim Jones…a lot of similarities between the two and Lindsey has some followers (much fewer now that he’s shown what a liar he is) who will drink the poison Kool-Aid.

From Concerned Parents

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Our mail box is certainly running over with communications from Muscle Shoals parents. We'll continue to publish throughout next week. 

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If Lindsey has to give up his job as superintendent, we predict he may have a rosy future as a Santa impersonator...

MUSCLE SHOALS…MUSCLE SHOALS…MUSCLE SHOALS...WILL YOU EVER LEARN?

From a reader:

I’ve watched and listened with amazement the antics of the Muscle Shoals City Council and the Board of Education, both ruled and governed by the infamous Brian Lindsey. Don’t think this is true, check the facts which will be listed later and see for yourself. And I realize there are those who will actually check the facts and those who will continue to drink the poison provided by Lindsey and band of henchmen (aka MSBOE).

First to address City Council member and president Allen Noles. At the meeting last night President Noles said there was absolutely nothing they could do to overturn the ruling of the Superintendent and Board of Education. Well, that is somewhat true “BUT”, Noles failed to mention that he and the city council are solely responsible for this debacle because they took good people who actually researched their decisions before voting off the BOE and replaced them with individuals approved by Mayor Lindsey who will rubber stamp anything he desires.

One thing Mr. Noles and his other council members might want to explain is how the dentist, Jeremiah (Jamie) Stoddard from Florence was suddenly appointed to the BOE. There were 6 other applicants, many are long time residents of Muscle Shoals, Terry Copley, Doris Metcalf, Jeb Miles, Margaret Farley, Allison Mefford and Greg Hill. These residents were passed over for Mr. Stoddard who appeared on the scene and moved to Muscle Shoals a few months prior to the appointment. None of you council members could have known anything about him but we’re sure you were told by Mayor Lindsey to appoint him and that’s what you did. And now you want to tell us that you had nothing to do with what’s going on at the BOE…really!

Now let’s look at your other appointments on the BOE...in 2013 you had applicants Butch Fleming, Joey Puckett and Clayton Wood and you chose Wood. After listening to him at the council meeting last night, OMG! As us southerners would say, Bless His Heart. Now you could have chosen professional people like Butch or Joey and you chose Clayton Wood…in 2014 you had applicants Marilyn Granville Davis, Pam Doyle, current council member Ken Sockwell, Phillip Green and Celia Rudolph and you chose the former Assistant Superintendent who Mayor Lindsey and Scott Basden told you to choose. Can’t deny it because Lindsey, Basden and their minions have boasted all over the city how they got Doyle booted off the board. Even councilman Lockhart’s wife boasted at school the next day (as verified by more than one teacher) that “we won, she’s gone”!

And would anyone think that Rudolph would be unbiased in any form or fashion in dealing with her former employer...in 2015 you only had Willis Thompson that applied so you had no choice but to appoint him but there has never been a board member who micromanages any more than Thompson…..in 2016 you had applicants, former council member Steve Bradford, Pete Waldrep, Allison Mefford and career board member Farrell Southern and of course you chose Farrell Southern because Mayor Lindsey told you to choose him. So much for the history lesson but Mr. Noles needs to face the situation that he helped create. Hall and Sockwell are only responsible for Stoddard but Willis, Lockhart and Noles are responsible for the all the appointments.

Enough said now but the citizens of Muscle Shoals deserve much better representation than we’re getting. Mr. Noles said they can all be replaced but nothing will change…..I’d be willing to take a chance on change, with the exception of Chris Hall who definitely listens and responds to the people as evidenced last night. This council has proven they don’t consider merit whatsoever in selecting board members so “we the people” need to remove those appointments from them and have a BOE elected by and for the people of Muscle Shoals!

ELECTED SCHOOL BOARD IN 2018…

VOTE OUT ANY COUNCIL MEMBER WHO IS OPPOSED TO AN ELECTED BOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Meanwhile, in Rogersville...Let's hope the crooks give it a rest for the holidays. It seems three police officers have left Richard Herston's happy home for greener pastures.

More on this later.

Reagan Was Right: Unfunny Satire/SHS Investigation

If you haven't heard of Reagan Was Right, it's a satirical website. No, wait, satire is intended to be funny, and almost all the articles on this site are merely boring and apparently confusing to some who don't follow the news with any regularity. The site does display a disclaimer; however, it's no Onion. Facts mingle with fiction, as in Jefferson County in Alabama becomes Avondale County. Interesting, but not funny.

Now some sites are republishing these stories without the disclaimer. Even Politifact has had to get into the act to straighten out one Roy Moore story. Some are calling it "fake news," and we know how rare that term is these days. Our take is that at some point the author will announce the whole site has been research for a doctoral thesis.

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We certainly had some interesting questions and comments on yesterday's blog concerning highjinks at Sheffield High. In clarification, the sex act witnessed was consensual even though it was illegal. The incident was reported to DHR only last Friday, so it will be at least a few days before an outcome. 

No, the specially called Sheffield school board meeting on Monday night was not about the softball incident. Two non-tenured employees were terminated, at mid-year no less. Other than one teaching at the high school and the second at the junior high, no information is available.

Are Sheffield and Muscle Shoals having a contest?

Parent Accuses Sheffield Coach of Sex Act with Student

Colbert County DHR is now involved in an investigation of Sheffield City Schools and specifically a softball coach at the high school. Several in the school system have been informed of the investigation, and this is what is known as of today:

Approximately two weeks after Jared Mothershed's death, a parent observed a high school coach engaged in a sex act with a student. The parent reported the observation to Supt. Keith Lankford. The parent soon realized that no action had been taken on the situation and then informed school board president Steve Hargrove. Still no action, according to the parent, was taken.

The parent considered this a violation of Erin's Law and subsequently went to the Colbert County Department of Human Resources to file a formal complaint. Not familiar with Erin's Law? Here's some invaluable material:

Erin's Law

At present, this is only an investigation. If DHR finds the parent's allegations to have merit, the police will then become involved. The coach was not named in the edited version of the story sent to us. 

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Think about this: In the past five or so years, how many coaches in northwest Alabama have been accused of inappropriate relations with students? If these coaches had presented with tuberculosis, the area would have declared an epidemic.

We said think about it; are you thinking?

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If you're a coach and have been guilty of this behavior, we have some advice for you. Put all your assets in your soon-to-be ex-wife's name, sign over custody of any children, tender your resignation, turn in your teaching credentials, and visit the nearest tattoo shop to ask that the following be placed on your forehead: I am a child molester.

Then do whatever you think best...

The Rocker Returns!/Not How It Works

No, it's not about Mick Jagger rebounding from another session of cosmetic surgery. It's about the much maligned thrift store owner who refused to relinquish a donated rocking chair. 

While we haven't previously used her name, and she seems to have several, the former owner of the thrift store is Melissa Gayann Hargett, aka Melissa Cook, aka Melissa Graham. Apparently she had a set-to with a partner/family member this weekend and was arrested:

Thrift Store Owner Jailed

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Area makes international news...twice in one day! No, sorry, it wasn't good news. If you glanced at the Daily Mail this afternoon you saw where Christopher Kilpatrick's famous escape routine was featured. The second story? It featured hilarious typos. Do we need to say "Sex Clams?"

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Do you know how things work? Two incidents this week (and it's only Monday) reminded us how little most know about their local governments. We've seen criticism of Florence police for allowing Christopher Kilpatrick to escape. In case any don't know, Florence pays a fee to the county to house its prisoners and has no control over jail employees or protocols. 

Now we're seeing Muscle Shoals citizens who think the city council can override the school board. We had inferred those attending tonight's meeting wanted the school board sacked for incompetence, which theoretically could be done...and perhaps should be done. But to overrule them and let them remain? No. Why have the board in the first place? Perhaps they should be elected as they are in Florence?

Let the lawsuit against the board begin.

Age, Please?/Doug Jones/Escaped!

We had at least one reader who questioned our take on the three casualties of the recent Muscle Shoals police chase. Several Sheffield parents knew the eighth grader; was he 13 or 14? Our critic felt we should have taken the TD's stated age of 16 as gospel since it was taken from the police report...and we all know how accurate such things are.

One parent offered that the youngest member of the trio may have been held back a grade, and that was apparently the case. He plays, or did play, basketball at Sheffield, and the high school athletic association gives his age as 15. We are going to take that as gospel, since the school certainly wouldn't lie to an athletic governing body, now would it?

What was stolen besides the flashlight? The police report in question mentions electronics. We'll stand corrected on that also; however, the last time the wisdom of instigating such chases was questioned in our blog, we had three out of four LEOs come out as opposed to the practice.

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Everyone, including our own Southern Son, has weighed in on why Doug Jones won Tuesday's election. We're going with one of the most simple. The voters liked Doug and his common sense approach to advancing this state and its people. 

Black women? We voted for Doug and aren't black. Under 40? No, contrary to what many under 25 may believe, those over 40 can have an IQ above 140 and at least a modicum of common sense. It took everyone who voted for Doug to ensure his election.

Let's hope ol' Roy doesn't turn up again until Walmart puts out the Halloween costumes next fall.

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What is Christopher Wayne Kilpatrick attempting to accomplish? He was on the run for a week during his last escape and didn't make it any farther than Underwood. So, Mr. Kilpatrick, if you're reading this, here's some good advice: Either turn yourself in before a deputy shoots you dead or hitchhike to Mobile and jump a dubious freighter bound for Mexico. Your choice...